World Braille Day is celebrated every year on January 4 to raise awareness of the importance of Braille as a means of communication for blind and partially sighted people

The braille code, named after Louis Braille, is a form of written language that uses raised dots for characters. This tactile system has helped blind and visually challenged people across the world to read and write independently.

The braille code that Braille devised is still in use today. Louis Braille’s birth anniversary is honoured as World Braille Day.

Louis Braille was born on January 4, 1809, in a small town called Coupvray in France. His father Simon-René was a leatherer and saddler.

Braille began attending the Royal Institution for Blind Youth in Paris, one of the world’s first institutes for the blind.

Students at the institute were taught to read books that used embossed print letters, a system that was slow and cumbersome.

Braille set out to modify and perfect the system. By the time he was 15, he had found a way to represent letters using six dots. Louis Braille published his braille code in 1829.

World Braille Day is observed in honour of Louis Braille’s enduring legacy. The date of January 4 was chosen by the United Nations General Assembly to mark Braille’s date of birth.