History Of The Contact Lens

If you think the contact lens is some type of recent technological advancement you would be very wrong.  The history of the contact lens can be dated back to the sixteenth century. Yes you read that right – since the 16^th century.  In fact, the first person to dream about the concept of a contact lens was none other than Leonardo Da Vinci in 1508!! 

The modern day contact lenses have the efforts of many researchers and scientists over the years.  In fact it’s thanks to all those years they invested along with some recent turns that have resulted in some fabulous benefits to the contact lens wearers.  So let’s explore the history of the contact lens a little more.

F. E. Muller is the man that is given the credit for the contact lenses in 1887.  Rene Descrates was the researcher that was responsible for the corneal contact lens.  While John Herschels who was a British scientist also played an important role in the contact lens.

The second half of the 19^th century was a time of amazing inventions relating to the contact lens field creating a niche that extended out past the upper societal walks of life. 

A German glassblower created the first glass contact lens during the late 1800’s, which were fitted to German soldiers during WWII because Nazi soldiers were not allowed to wear glasses.  When the war had ended there was an increase in demand around the world for contact lenses.

It was during this same time frame that Eugen Fick’s Scleral came up with some new contact lens concepts that became an instant hit among average everyday folk.  Later these lenses were modified by August Miller to once again create an improved lens

With the advent of scleral plastic use in the contact lens the history of contact lens took yet another turn, diverting researcher’s attention towards developing more sophisticated contact lenses.  William Feinbloom took contact lenses to another new high which is why he is considered one of the pioneers in the modern history of the contact lens.

As technology reached another revolution many scientists played an important role.  George Butterfield improved the corneal lenses with the silicone hydrogel that was now being used shifting the focus to a new improved contact lenses.

But for many the recollection of the contacts from the 1970’s would be enough to make you run now.  Contact lenses were made out of glass or plastic.  They were rigid and they were in some cases dangerous.  They certainly were uncomfortable but anyone with vision issues like astigmatism they were the only option.  Of course there were also soft lenses for the more run of the mill eyes.

Today there are all kinds of terrific lens improvements that include flex wear, extended wear, and disposable lenses.  Today’s disposable lenses come in one week, two week, and monthly disposables.  Now that’s convenient.

And today even if you need bifocals or suffer from astigmatism there are all kinds of great contact lens choices.  There are also a wide range of new contact lens manufacturers.  Of course companies like Bausch and Lomb are still an integral part of the contact lens market.

Can you imagine what the history of the contact lens will look like in another hundred years ?