This Monday, September 23, Google woke up with a change in its image and dedicated its doodle to Oskar Picht, the German inventor who designed the first typewriter for the blind. On this day, back in 1907, the German received a gold medal at the International Typewriter Exhibition in Venice for his development that helped millions of people around the world express themselves in writing.
On this occasion, entering google.com reveals a very striking illustration featuring a rectangular bronze shape with various reliefs. In the center, there is a large typewriter for the blind; in the upper left corner, a pair of glasses like those used by Picht; and below, a book representing his work. On the right side of the screen, there is a roll of metal and the appropriate tools to develop an element like a typewriter. At the bottom of the banner, the letters of the search engine’s name are intertwined over the bronze.
The Google doodle aims to celebrate or commemorate events, achievements, or people who have made a significant impact on the world. In this sense, the internet server changes its logo on the homepage for one day.
Oskar Picht was born in Germany in 1871. After finishing school, he started working as a teacher, which sparked his interest in education for the blind. To dedicate himself to this field, he studied the profession at the Institute for the Blind in Berlin-Steglitz for two years.
Already immersed in the field of education and communication with visually impaired individuals, Picht began working on a braille typewriter in 1899, and in 1901, he received the first patent certifying his invention. After three decades of improvements and modifications to that initial prototype, in 1932 he obtained another patent for a typewriter that had six keys, which, when pressed in different ways, produced various combinations that printed dots on the paper.
Beyond his inventions, Oskar Picht remained closely connected with the world of blind individuals, always from an educational perspective. He served as the principal of the Bromberg Institute for the Blind (1910 to 1912) and his alma mater (1920 to 1933). Among other notable achievements, he was the first to give a class for the blind via radio, a mass communication medium that was among the most important and significant at the time, especially for the visually impaired community.
Picht dedicated his life to improving access to education for people with blindness, the quality of the content provided, the technology utilized, and the equality of opportunities available in the workforce and educational settings.
LA NACION