200th Birthday of Louis Braille

A portrait of Louis Braille flanked by his initials L and B written in the alphabet he invented. Above the portrait, 'LOUIS BRAILLE'; below, the country code 'BE' between the dates 1809 and 2009. The mint mark appears to the left and the engraver's mark to the right.

In January 1809, Louis Braille was born in the small French town of Coupvray, near Paris. At the age of three, he was blinded following an accident in his father's workshop. Despite this — or perhaps because of it — he became one of the most influential reformers in the history of education. At fifteen, he completed the system of raised-dot writing named after him, based on a simple grid of six raised dots. This script allowed blind people, for the first time, to read and write independently, and it spread worldwide over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Braille is regarded as the universal standard in more than 130 languages.

Belgium has a special connection to Braille's legacy: the country was among the early adopters of the raised-dot script in Europe and has a long tradition in the education and support of visually impaired people. Brussels is home to several international organizations advocating for the rights of people with disabilities, including the European Blind Union. Belgium's issuance of its own commemorative coin in 2009, marking the 200th birthday of Louis Braille, underscores the enduring significance of this man — not only for France, where he was born and taught, but for the entire history of inclusion and equal opportunity in Europe.