Louis Braille lost his sight at age three following an accident in his father's leather workshop. At age 12, he learned about 'night writing,' a system of raised dots used by the French army to communicate silently in the dark. Finding the military system too complex, he simplified it into a six-dot cell that could be felt under a single fingertip. By 1824, he had completed the system that now bears his name. Despite its brilliance, the Braille system wasn't officially adopted by the Royal Institute for Blind Youth until after his death. His invention provided the first universal path to literacy for the visually impaired, allowing them to read and write independently for the first time in history.