(1809-1852) Educator of the blind, born Coupvray, France; died Paris, France. Blind from the age of three, he was educated at the Institute for the Blind in Paris, became a teacher in the institute, 1828, and in 1829 invented a system of point writing for the blind, based on the sound system of Charles Barbier, but representing alphabetical letters, signs of punctuation, and of music. This system, famous under the name of Braille, soon spread tbroughout Europe and the United States and in a somewhat revised form is in general use today.