Sunday, January 4, 2009

THE BLIND GENIUS



T
wo hundred years ago today...


Nearly 200 years after the birth of Louis Braille, the alphabet of raised dots he created to overcome his lack of
sight continues to touch the lives of blind people everywhere. Braille was born on January 4, 1809, near Paris.





T
he son of a saddler, he injured his eye with an awl when he was three years old. The resulting infection spread to both eyes and he was soon blind. Despite his blindness, he continued to attend a regular village school until the age of 10, when he enrolled at the Royal Institution for Blind Youth in Paris. There, while his fellow students slept, he began punching dots into soft wood to create an alphabet.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hsve you seen the movie about Helen Keller? Di ba blind din siya at sa movie, she was using the Brailee and her hands to communicate!

Bay Martin said...

Yes, had seen it probably three or four times. It was a very good movie in b/w.

Two years ago, I met a blind kabayan ni Baguio, and I found out he wife is blind, too. They don't know anything about this Braille thing. Their children are normal, though.

My officemate has three daughters, who are all blind since birth.