A Potted History of Eyeglasses

A POTTED HISTORY OF EVEGLASSES 54 68 54-68AD FIRST WRITTEN RECORD The earliest written record of magnification came from Seneca the Younger, a tutor of Emperor Nero of Rome wrote: "Letters, however small are seen more clearly through a globe or glass filled with water". 1286 468 850 1286 1300 1322 1352 1390 1401 INVENTION OF EYEGLASSES The first eyeglasses are made in Pisa, Italy. 1300 "EYEGLASSES" A term for eyeglasses is used for the first time. 1352 CAUGHT ON CANVAS The earliest artistic representation of eyeglasses appeared in paintings by Tomassoda Modena. His paintings showed monks reading manuscripts. 1403 1403 1456 190 1520 70 1600 1001 1603 1604 GLASSES APOSTLE A representation of an Apostle wearing early eyeglasses is painted by Conrad von Soest. 1600 A PORTRAIT OF FRANCISCO de Quevedo y Villegas, depicts the Spanish Nobleman wearing an early pair of eyeglasses. 1604 JOHANNES KEPLER It was not until 1604 that Johannes Kepler published the first correct explanation as to why convex and concave lenses could correct presbyopia and myopia. 1700 1727 1759 1780 1727 OVER THE EAR 1797 FOUR LENS SPECS London optician Edward Scarlett solved the problem by developing rigid side pieces to be placed over the ears. John Richardson invents four-lens spectacles which rotate in from the sides. 1797 1825 1803 1825 1830 ASTIGMATISM The first lenses for correcting Astigmatism were constructed by the British astronomer George Airy 1830 MONOCLES Monocles became fashionable from the 1830s onwards, 1856 1914 1929 1914 WORN BY THE MASSES The stigma of eyeglasses had begun to wane and glasses were being worn in public. 1934 FIRST MASS PRODUCED SUNGLASSES036 $1936 1944 1929 Sam Foster convinced a Woolworth store on the Atlantic City Boardwalk to sell his Foster Grant Sunglasses. 1936 1946 1948 1950 1951 1952 1953 1955 1957 1960 1984 POLARIZED SUNGLASSES Polarized sunglasses first became available in 1936, when Edwin H. Land began experimenting with making lenses with his patented Polaroid filter. 1950 3D GLASSES The "golden era" of 3D began in 1952 with the release of the first colour stereoscopic feature film. 1953 VARIFOCAL LENSES The world's first varifocal lenses were introduced by and given the trade name Varilux, allowing wearers to see distance and reading without the ugly bifocal line. 1960 REACTOLITE 1960s - Corning Glass Works Inc produce a glass lens which reacts to changing light and darkens accordingly. Unsurprisingly this new lens was named Reactolite. 1990 2004 MP3 GLASSES 2004 2009 2011 2014 Oakley created mp3 glasses with built-in earphones. 2014 GOOGLE GLASS Google Glass to be released - a wearable computer with a head-mounted display (augmented reality spectacles). Created By www.yatesandsuddell.co.uk Y&S Yates & Suddell Sources: http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventions/a/glass_3.htm http://www.antiquespectacles.com/timeline/timeline.htm http://www.o-review.com/timeline.asp OPTICIANS, CONTACT LENS PRACTITIONERS AND HEARING AID AUDIOLOGISTS BBB