Braille was the child of a leather maker. He was the youngest of four children. He had three older siblings, two sisters and a brother. He became blind at the age of three. He accidentally stuck a stitching awl into one eye while he was in his father's workshop. There were no antibiotics and soon his injured eye was infected. It spread to his other eye and soon, he became blind in both eyes. He went to the Royal Institute of Blind Youth at the age of 10. Braille was a good student, especially when it came to science and music. Later he became a church organist. He was also a teacher at the Institute of Blind Youth. Braille died in Paris at the age of 43 of tuberculosis.