Happy Birthday January 4

Louis Braille was born near Paris on January 4, 1809. Despite having been warned not to play with his father's tools, young Louis picked up a sharp knife and tried to cut a piece of leather. The blade slipped, gouging one of his eyes. The wound became dangerously infected. which spread to his good eye leaving him blind aged 3. 

Louis received a scholarship to France's Royal Institute for Blind Youth and while still a student there, he developed a system of reading and writing for use by the blind or visually impaired.

By Son of Groucho from Scotland - Braille's memorial in the Panthéon

For more January 4 anniversaries, including the admission of Utah as the 45th U.S. state, the publication of Billboard's first music chart, and Burma's independence from the United Kingdom check out OnThatDay.