| 1508 | Leonardo da Vinci sketches and describes several forms of contact lenses. |
1632 | Rene Descartes of France suggests the corneal contact lens. |
1801 | Thomas Young develops Descartes' idea -- a quarter-inch-long, water-filled glass tube, the outer end containing a microscopic lens -- and uses it to correct his own vision. |
1827 | English astronomer Sir John Herschel suggests grinding a contact lens to conform exactly to the eye's surface. |
1887 | Glassblower F.E. Muller of Wiesbaden, Germany, produces the first eye covering designed to be seen through and tolerated. |
1888 | Two independent researchers, A. Eugen Fick, a Swiss physician, and Paris optician Edouard Kalt, almost simultaneously report using contact lenses to correct optical defects. |
1929 | Joseph Dallos, a Hungarian physician, perfects methods of taking molds from living eyes so that lenses can be made to conform more closely to individual sclera. |
1936 | William Feinbloom, a New York optometrist, fabricates the first American- made contact lenses and introduces the use of plastic. |
1945 | The American Optometric Association (AOA) formally recognizes the growing contact lens field by specifying contact lens fitting as an integral part of the practice of optometry. |
1950 | Dr. George Butterfield, an Oregon optometrist, designs a corneal lens, the inner surface of which follows the eye's shape instead of sitting flat. |
1960 | Otto Wichterle and Drahoslav Lim experiment with contact lenses made of a soft, water-absorbing plastic they developed. |
1971 | The soft lens became available for commercial distribution in the United States. |
1978 | The first toric contact lens was approved for distribution in the United States. |
1979 | The first rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lens made of co-polymers PMMA and silicone became available for commercial distribution. Many silicone- acrylate lenses are now available. |
1980 | A tinted daily wear soft lens became available for commercial distribution. |
1981 | Extended wear soft lenses became available for commercial distribution. |
1982 | Bifocal daily wear soft contact lenses became available for commercial distribution. |
1983 | The first tinted RGP lens became available for commercial distribution. |
1986 | An extended wear RGP lens became available for commercial distribution. |
1987 | Disposable soft contact lenses became available for commercial distribution; a soft contact lens to change eye color became available for commercial distribution; first multipurpose lens care product made available for commercial distribution.
A new formulation of fluorosilicone acrylate material for RGP lenses became available for commercial distribution. |
1991 | Planned replacement contact lenses now available on the market.
Daily-wear two-week replacement lenses now available on the market. |
1992 | Disposable tinted contact lenses available on the market. |
1995 | Daily disposable lenses available on the market; RGP lenses with low silicone content / high Dk fluorosilicone acrylates became available. |
1996 | First disposable lenses using ultra-violet absorber are available in the U.S. |
1998 | First multifocal disposable soft lenses available. |
1999 | New generation extended wear soft lenses introduced |
