Brief History of Corrective Lenses

            In the ancient world, people had already started discovering ways to improve their eyesight.  The ancient Egyptians and the Romans realized that when glass and crystal bowls were filled with water, it became easier to read.  Starting in the 13^th century, magnifying glasses were used for reading, and lenses for nearsightedness were developed in the 16^th century.  In 1775, the American Benjamin Franklin developed the first bifocals.  Adolph Eugen Fick (a Swiss doctor), made the first contact lenses out of glass, in 1887.  Plastic lenses were developed in 1948 by Kevin Tuohy.