There is no doubt that Louis Braille invented the braille writing system – a system that has had a lasting impact on the lives of many blind and visually impaired people. However, every major change, every groundbreaking idea, always depends on a variety of factors, people and external circumstances, and creates a legacy that is further developed by many individuals.
The origin of this development can be traced back to the 1780s, when Valentin Haüy, inspired by the blind concert pianist Maria Theresia von Paradis, founded the first educational and teaching institute for blind children. This institute initially focused primarily on musical education and produced a number of important organists in its early years.
In the course of his work, Haüy began to research the field of tactile writing in order to develop a practical writing system for blind people.
It is quite possible that Hayü was inspired to do this by existing approaches such as barbed writing, in which Latin letters were made tangible, since barbed writing proved to be problematic in both creation and readability in essential aspects.
Over the years, his efforts led to a lively exchange with inventors and visionaries who tested their concepts together with teachers and students.
This is where Charles Barbier comes into play, an officer who, from 1808, worked on a writing system that could be read without a light source. He probably presented this so-called “night writing” system to the institute in the early 1820s. There he met a young man named Louis Braille, who had lost his sight in early childhood and had been a student at the institute since 1819. Inspired by Barbier’s system, Braille developed his own, much-simplified version by 1825, which used only six instead of twelve dots and also replaced the syllabic system on which the night writing was based with letters
In 1829, Braille published a complete writing system for the first time. However, it took more than seven years before tools were developed that enabled blind students to actually use this writing system. These early methods were inferior to what we take for granted today. Writing with a slate and stylus required that the writing be done in mirror image. In addition, each dot had to be individually embossed into the paper, which made it difficult to use.
Braille also drew on Barbier’s work for the concept of using slates for writing.
Louis Braille himself was also involved in the development of the first large printing press for Braille. However, a device that allowed a single person to write texts was still a long time coming. The first real Braille typewriter was finally developed by Frank Hall in 1892 and has been continuously improved over time.
Frank Hall was not only a talented inventor, but also a pioneer in the inclusion of the blind. He actively promoted equal educational opportunities and developed programs to teach blind students in regular schools.
In 1899, a similar machine was independently developed in Germany and used for many years.
The step into the digital age began in the 1960s with the first predecessors of modern braille displays, which took up a lot of space compared to today’s devices and could display text from audio cassettes.
The first braille printers followed in the 1980s, and in the 1990s, technology reached another milestone with modern braille displays, which were the first to be able to reproduce the complete screen content of computers.
The first braille organicer also appeared during this period.
Since the early 2000s, digital Braille note-taking devices and Braille displays with advanced features have been introduced, making it possible to write, store and digitally process texts on the go. They are compact and offer the option of synchronizing files directly with computers or mobile devices. As a result, they quickly became an indispensable tool in everyday and professional life. This innovation not only made communication more efficient for blind people, but also paved the way for even greater integration into the increasingly digital world. Nowadays, digital braille can even be written with most standard smartphones, which impressively demonstrates that braille is not only a tactile form of writing, but also a writing system that is still modern and fit for the future.
In conclusion, it can be said that the development of braille was the result of a long process, shaped by the contributions of many people who, through their ideas, inventions and commitment, paved the way. Valentin Haüy, Charles Barbier, Frank Hall and many others have played a decisive role in creating the conditions under which Braille’s system could emerge and spread. Nevertheless, Louis Braille remains the crucial spark that combined these developments into a revolutionary whole. His creativity, enthusiasm and tenacity made braille what it is today: an irreplaceable tool for self-determination and participation for blind and visually impaired people around the world.
You can find the German translation of this text at the following link:
https://offsight.de/viewforum.php?f=24