The life of Louis Braille

1. The life of Louis Braille

2. What did Louis braille do that was so important? Louis Braille created the “raised dots” alphabet for the blind so they can read. Louis went through a lot of trouble just to get his raised dot alphabet actually “published” and to prove that every blind person should use his alphabet.

3. About Louis braille • He was born January 4, 1809 • He lived in Coupvray, France • He was three when he lost his eye sight • His dad was a saddle-maker • He died in January 6, 1852

4. Louis braille- born in 1809

5. Louis braille as a child Louis Braille was blind himself. He became blind by wandering into his father’s workshop and taking an awl ( a really sharp tool) and began to dig into leather. The leather was slippery. The awl skidded and flew across the air. And where did it land? Right in poor Louis’s RIGHT EYE!

6. How did Louis braille make his way around? Luckily, Louis’s father was able to make a wooden cane so he can put the cane in front of him to feel his way around. Also, he would sing wherever he went because he said when he sings he can walk around better ( sort of like bats, who couldn’t see in dark caves so they made a chirping sort of noise in caves so if the sound bounced back, it meant it hit the wall)

7. What Louis Braille learned how to do? Even though Louis was blind, he learned how to do many things. He learned how to polish leather, weave leather fringes, set the table, do house chores, fill the bucket with water and many more! Since he learned so much over the years, he would sometimes go out and sit by the road and guess who was coming by. He knew that the bakery was nearby when he could smell the sweet smells. He knew the “Bong! Bong!” sound was the sound of a church bell. He knew he was by a team of horse’s when he could hear them clip-clip clopping.

8. Did Louis braille ever go to school? Yes, Louis did go to school at the age of six when a priest named Jacques Palluy moved into town. The priest heard of the Braille family before and wanted to visit. When he heard Louis was blind, he wanted to help. He talked to Louis’s family and told them that he could teach their son how to do basic things. He said he’d work with Louis three or four mornings a week at church. Mr. Braille, of course, said yes.

9. What did he do after his school days? Well, what happened was Louis was getting to old for the priest. Louis was asking harder and harder questions each day andsome were way too hard the priest couldn’t answer himself. The priest had an idea. He decided to ask the school teacher ( Mr. Antoine Becheret) to see if Louis could become a student at the school house. At first, Mr. Becheret wasn’t so sure, I mean, she never taught a blind student before! Right when Becheret was about to say no, the look on Jacques face made him say “yes”. “They’ll be room for him somewhere” he said.

10. What happened to Louis braille in school? Louis loved school. Even though he was blind, he was one of the best students in class. Louis went to school until he turned 10. There was a problem. “Louis is 10 now, he can’t go to school forever!” said Jacques. “ This will be his last school year!” he stated. Finally, he had an idea. Jacques heard of a school for the blind called The Royal Institute of Blind Youth in Paris. Before he told the Braille's, he went to Marquis d’Orvilliers, the most richest and powerful person in town. Jacques asked Marquis to write a letter to the blind school asking if they had room for Louis. They got a reply saying “sure” . Jacques rushed off to the Braille’s to tell them the good news. At first, Mr. Braille wasn’t so sure, but over all he knew he had to say “yes”. Louis was going to Paris!

11. LOUIS BRAILLE AT HIS NEW SCHOOL Louis didn’t at all think this was how his new school was going to be like. It was dirty, the air was always cold and wet ( since it was near a river), and they were only allowed to take one bath a month! So, at first, all Louis could think about was his home in Coupvray. But it eventually got better. Louis got used to the city ways, he learned to get around buildings, he even began to make a lot of friends. Louis began to love his new home/school; Grammar, geography, history, arithmetic, music- Louis loved them all. Since they weren’t allowed to roam the city by themselves, everyday the teacher would get a rope and all the 100 students would hold on to it. They would go around the city and often laugh about themselves and call all of them the “ Rope Gang”

12. When did Louis make the raised dot alphabet? Louis created the alphabet when a man named Captain Charles Barbier came to tell that he might have discovered another way for blind people to read. It was called Nightwriting. Nightwriting uses raised dots. Charles used this to send secret messages to soldiers. Before long, the people of the school found many things wrong with it. You couldn’t do capital letters, numbers, periods and many more. Louis got an idea. What if he use raised dots to make a alphabet?

13. When did Louis braille accomplish the alphabet? Louis worked for years and years on the alphabet. Finally, in 1829, he finished his first ever Braille book. Copies of his books were sent out to many schools. Soon, almost every blind school had their books in braille!

14. What happened after Louis made braille? When Louis was in the process of making the alphabet, he had a disease called tuberculosis- a lung disease. So what happened is one day Louis got so sick he had to go home. He came back feeling a lot better, But then he got sick again. This cycle went on for awhile, until, one day Louis was sick again. He thought he’d feel better, but this time was different. It was January 6, 1852. It was raining hard. Louis just looked at the window and smiled then closed his eyes. Louis Braille was dead.

15. Louis braille 1809-1852

16. Resources: • http://www.askkids.com/web?q=Louis+Braille&search=search&qsrc=0&o=0&l=dir • http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=TFL&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&biw=1024&bih=578&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=pics+of+Louis+Braille+as+a+baby&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq= • Louis Braille- The Boy Who Invented Books For The Blind by Margaret Davison