History of Contact Lenses- Timeline
1508: First theory regarding contact lenses
Leonardo da Vinci produced the first known sketches that suggested the optics of the human eye could be altered by placing the cornea directly in contact with water. 1827: Practical lens design was conceptualized British astronomer Sir John Herschel proposed the idea of making a mold from a person's eyes. The mold allowed the first contact lenses to be developed. 1887-88: First tolerable contacts produced German glassblower, F.E. Muller, produced the first eye covering to be seen through and tolerated. Swiss physician Adolf E. Fick and Paris optician Edouard Kalt also made and fitted the first glass contact lenses. But, they reduced oxygen supply to the cornea and could only be used for a few hours. 1936: Plastic contacts were introduced New York optometrist William Feinbloom (1904-1985) introduced made contacts from a combination of glass and plastic, making them lighter and more convenient 1949: First corneal contacts California optician Kevin Tuohy introduced the first contact lenses that were made of all plastic, now known as RGP lenses. The contacts started to be called "corneal" contact lenses because they were smaller in diameter, only covering the front surface of the eye (the cornea). 1960: Soft contact lenses developed Czech chemists Otto Wichterle and Drahoslav Lim created the first hydrophillic( "water-loving") gel. This led to the development of soft contact lenses. 1971: Launch of the first FDA-approved soft contact lenses in the United States |