José lvares de Azevedo’s 189th birthday is celebrates in today’s Doodle. He founded Brazil’s first blind school and was referred to as the “Patron of Education for the Blind.” National Braille Day also falls on his birthday.
Azevedo was brought into the world on this day in 1834 in Rio de Janeiro. Despite the fact that he was born blind, he was known to be extremely intelligent and to have an insatiable curiosity as a child. He used touch to investigate the world around him. From the age of 10 to 16, his family sent him to the only blind-only school in Paris, the Royal Institute of Blind Young People. When Azevedo went to the school, they were experimenting with the new braille writing system.
In 1850, he went back to Brazil with two objectives in mind: to create a school similar to the one he attended in Paris and to advocate for the social inclusion of blind people in his country. From family homes to the Imperial Court, Azevedo gave talks about how easy and important it was to educate the blind. Additionally, he instructed his fellow blind Brazilians in braille reading and writing.
The daughter of the physician at the Imperial Court was one of his students. The specialist, dazzled by his little girl’s turn of events, coordinated a group of people with the Brazilian head. Azevedo gave a moving presentation that demonstrated what a person with visual impairment can accomplish.
The Imperial Instituto dos Meninos Cegos, also known as the Imperial Institute of Blind Children, was established as the nation’s first school for the blind. He was given the means to do so. As the Instituto Benjamin Constant, the school continues its education program and has added acting classes, self-care and daily living guidance, and more to its offerings.
Happy birthday, José Álvares de Azevedo!