Celebrate World Braille Day on January 4

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January 4 is the birthday of the man who invented the Braille writing code, Louis Braille. So every year that date is also World Braille Day.

Braille could see when you was born but had an accident at age 3 that left him blind. He then went to a special school for blind people. That’s were he first came up with the code, which can be used for all written languages, in 1821.

He based it on a military code called “night writing” that soldiers could “read” with their fingers. This let them communicate without giving away their location with lights or talking.

That code, invented by French Army Captain Charles Barbier, used a series of dots and dashes.

Braille’s code also originally contained dashes. But he revised it over the next few years, making it simpler. He had it mostly finished it by 1824, when he was 15.

Most of the world was slow to start using his code. Even the institute where he went to school and later taught didn’t use it until after his death. He died in 1852 and the school finally adopted the Braille system in 1854 (mostly because the pupils at the school wanted it).

It became popular in France quickly and had spread to much of the rest of Europe by 1873. But it wasn’t officially adopted in the United States until 1916.

This code has had a major impact on the lives of blind people around the world ever since. It gives them the ability to read and learn independently.

You’ve probably seen Braille characters (even if you didn’t realize it) on signs around your city.

Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficial holiday.

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Ideas to Celebrate World Braille Day

Explore the Braille alphabet with an Interactive Braille Builder (great for teachers to use with students, too!)

Reach out to local or national organizations devoted to people with vision impairment. Find out what kind of help they need, whether donations, volunteers or simply helping to spread awareness. This is a good idea for companies, too.

Teachers and parents can help children understand how blind people navigate the world through touch with the book The Black Book of Colors by Menena Cottina and Rosana Faria. This book has black pages with raised line art that you are supposed to “see” with your fingers. It’s a children’s book, but it’s interesting for adults too.

 

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