Louis Braille, a French educator who became blind at the age of three, invented the Braille system in 1824 when he was just 15 years old. He developed this tactile writing system while a student at the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris. Braille's system uses patterns of raised dots arranged in cells of up to six dots, enabling blind and visually impaired people to read and write efficiently by touch

. Braille's invention was inspired by an earlier system called "night writing," created by Charles Barbier, which used 12-dot cells for tactile communication. Braille simplified Barbier's system by reducing the cell to six dots, making it easier to read with one fingertip and more practical for everyday use. He first published his system in 1829, with a more refined version appearing in 1837

. Louis Braille's system remains the foundation of tactile reading and writing for the blind worldwide, with only minor modifications such as contractions to speed up reading and reduce the size of braille books