National Institute for Blind Youth
The National Institute for Blind Youth (INJA) is a special school for blind students in Paris, France. It was founded in 1785 by Valentin Haüy and is considered the first school for the blind in the Western world. Haüy showed that blind people could read and write by teaching a young blind man to read raised letters.
The school began on Coquillère Street, moved to Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, and later received royal support and changes of name. It was known as the Royal Institute for Blind Youth, then became the National Institute for Blind Youth after the French Revolution. Between 1800 and 1815 it joined with Quinze-Vingts Hospital and was called the National Institute of the Working Blind, a period of hardship for students.
After 1815 the school became independent again. A doctor named Sébastien Guillié led it from Saint-Victor Street, followed by Alexandre-René Pignier, who improved the school and looked for a better building. Louis Braille, the inventor of the Braille system, attended the school in 1819 and later taught there.
In 1843 the institute moved to a larger building on Boulevard des Invalides, where it remains today. The school started the first organ class for blind students in 1826, and by 1833 there were blind organists in Paris churches. The INJA influenced other schools, including Perkins School for the Blind in the United States.
Address: 56 Boulevard des Invalides, Paris 75007, France. Established 1785. Website: injalouisbraille.fr.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 16:21 (CET).