History of Lenses and Eyeglasses

History of Lenses and Eyeglasses

• The history of optometry is linked to opticians' work, as correcting refractive errors depended on lens experiments.
• The oldest known lens: a plano-convex piece of polished rock crystal, 3.8 cm in diameter, with a focal length of 11.5 cm was found in Nineveh ruins, dating back to 1200 B.C.
• Lenses were more likely used as burning glasses than vision aids.
• Philosopher Pliny noted their use by physicians for cauterizing wounds.
• Romans used glass bowls of water as magnifiers.
• The inventor of spectacles is unknown, though a legend exists of an Italian named Armato degli Armati, supported by his tombstone inscription.
• Roman philosopher Seneca (4 B.C – 65AD) used a globe of water as a magnifier to read "all the books of Rome".
• The first magnifying glass, a monk's reading stone, appeared around 1000 A.D.
• This was a glass sphere segment to magnify letters, and allowed the presbyopic monks to read.
• First eyeglasses made in Italy (Venetians) by monks or craftsmen in Pisa around 1285-1289, during the 12th to 13th century
• Magnifying lenses for reading were shaped like two small magnifying glasses that were set into wood, metal, or leather mountings and balanced on the bridge of nose.
• First eyeglasses only corrected hyperopia and presbyopia.
• 14th century: Eyeglasses for myopia appeared and were mounted with biconcave lenses.
• 16th century: Spanish craftsmen created the first eyeglass frame temples, attaching ribbons/strings to loop over the wearer's ears.
• Spanish and Italian missionaries brought eyeglasses to China, where weights were added to the strings rather than loops.
• British optician Edward Scarlett perfected "temple glasses" between 1727 and 1730, equipped with temples that pressed on the sides of the head, ending in loops.
• 1825: Englishman Sir George Airy designs the first lenses to correct astigmatism.
• 18th century: The monocle (eye ring) was introduced in England.
• Monocles were popular among upper-class European men in the 1800s.
• The lorgnette, two lenses in a frame with a lateral handle, was an 18th-century development.
• It was developed by Englishman George Adams
• Pince-nez are believed to have appeared in the 1840s, and consist of oval lenses without side-arms, relying on nose support for stability.

History of Bifocal Lenses

• 1784: Bifocal lenses were invented by Benjamin Franklin (Franklin Split Bifocal).
• 1826: Trifocal lenses were introduced by John Isaac Hawkins.
• 1837: Solid Upcurve Bifocal (1st one-piece bifocal) was made by Isaac Schnaitman.
• 1888: Perfection Bifocal was made by August Morck.
• 1899: Cemented Bifocal was made by John Borsch, Sr.
• 1908: Fused Bifocal (Kryptok) was made by John Borsch, Jr.
• 1910: Ultex Bifocal was made by O'Conner.
• 1915: D-Bifocals (Flat-top bifocal) was made by Henry Courmettes.
• 1954: Executive bifocals were made by an American optical company.
• 1955: Blended bifocal (Invisible bifocal/ Seamless bifocal/ Younger bifocal) was invented by Irvin Rips
• 1958-1959: The first progressive multifocal lens (Varilux) was made by Essilor International of France.