Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles

Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles, (National Institute for Blind Children or Royal Institution for Blind Youth), in Paris, was the first special school for blind students in the world, and served as a model for many subsequent schools for blind students. The first organ class for blind students was established at the institute in 1826, and, by 1833, fourteen blind students held organist positions in the churches of Paris. The institute continued to produce a number of successful organists, such as André Marchal, Jean Langlais, and Gaston Litaize. In 1843, the institute moved into a new, bigger building on Boulevard des Invalides, where it still resides today.