Louis Braille was blind. When he was three, he poked himself in the eye with a tool. His other eye became infected. Then he was blind in both eyes.

Louis was smart but he could not read. He got a scholarship to a school for the blind in Paris, France. They had raised letter books. The books were hard to read. The books were very heavy. There was no way to learn how to write! Louis did learn how to play the piano and organ.

When he was 12, Louis met Charles Barbier. Barbier had invented “night writing.” Night writing was a way for soldiers to send messages in the dark. It used dots and dashes. It was really hard to read. Louis worked on it. By the time he was 15, he had made it easier to read. Braille used dots to stand for letters and numbers. Now blind people could read and write!

Louis stayed at the school in Paris, France as a teacher. The students liked him. He wrote two books using Braille dots. He also made a way for blind people to write to people who could see.

Louis died of tuberculosis. His system for reading and writing did not become popular until after he died. Now braille is used everywhere.