The document discusses the history and development of Braille. It began as a military communication system called "night writing" developed by Charles Barbier in the early 1800s. Louis Braille modified and refined this system at a school for the blind by developing a 6-dot cell code that could be read quickly with one fingertip. Over time, contractions were added to the Braille system to allow for faster reading and more compact texts. Braille's system was officially adopted in France and later spread to other countries like the United States.