Google celebrates Oskar Picht
Today, a special Google Doodle, created by artist Ute Dietz from Kiel, honours Oskar Picht. He was a German teacher and inventor who made the first braille typewriter. This invention helped blind people write in braille faster and easier. Picht was also a strong supporter of including people with vision disabilities in society.
The Doodle artwork is a bronze relief sculpture. It is designed to give blind people an interesting and touchable Google Doodle experience. This is the first time in Doodle history that something like this has been done! The artwork includes braille, which explains Picht’s achievements. The sculpture is now a permanent feature at the Accessibility Discovery Center in Google’s Munich office.
About Oskar Picht
Oskar Picht was born in Hamburg, Germany, on 27 May 1871. After finishing school, he became a teacher and became interested in helping blind people learn. He studied at the State Institute for the Blind in Berlin-Steglitz for two years.
In 1899, Picht made his first braille writer and got a patent for it in 1901. After making improvements for many years, he received another patent for a better version in 1932. This machine had six keys that made different dot patterns on paper to write braille.
Picht didn’t just invent things—he cared deeply about blind education. He was the director of the Blind Institution in Bromberg from 1910 to 1912 and later led his former school from 1920 to 1933. He also gave the first radio talk about blindness. His whole life was spent making sure blind people had access to good education, the best technology, and equal chances in life. He died on 15 August 1945.
On this day, 23 September 1907, Picht was awarded a gold medal at the International Typewriter Exhibition in Venice for his great work.
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