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Earlier eyepieces had to be held
either hand or applied pressure on the nose such as with the pince-nez
style spectacles.
Franciscus Redi, a professor at the University of Pisa in 1676,
documented that he had a manuscript written in 1289. The author of the
manuscript complained he was unable to see to read or write until the
recent invention of glasses. From this and other evidence, we know that
glasses were invented in the 1280s, in northern Italy. Unfortunately, we
do not know the true identity of the inventor. It is believed that the
original inventor was Arab, who used magnifying lenses sometime
around the 10th century.
A recorded sermon given by a Dominican monk named Fra Giordano da
Rivalto in 1305, states that he remarked glasses were invented less than
twenty years ago, and he'd met the inventor. Because of this evidence,
Redi credited Fra Alessandro da Spina of Pisa, another Dominican monk,
with the re-discovery and re-invention of glasses.
Florentine historian, Domenico Manni, reported in 1738 that a tombstone
located in Florence gives credit to Salvino d'Armato who died in 1317
with the invention of glasses. The truth as to who actually
invented glass may never be known. Whoever they were---Thank you.
The early glasses were fitted with convex lenses to correct the effects
of Presbyopia, farsightedness. It is believed that Nicholas was the
first to discover the benefits of concave lens to correct the effects of
myopia, nearsightedness. In 1604, Johannes Kepler published the first
correct explanation of how convex and concave lenses correct Presbyopia
and myopia. Then in 1784, American scientist Benjamin Franklin invented
bifocals. Like so many of us today, he suffered from myopia and
Presbyopia and was aggravated from having to constantly switch between
two pairs of glasses. 1827, British astronomer George Airy, was the
first to develop corrective lenses for astigmatism. This is the unequal
curvature of one or more refractive surfaces of the eye, which prevents
the proper amount of light rays from entering the eye, causing the
inability to focus clearly, thus resulting in blurred vision.
Over the years, eyeglass frames began to evolve. Earlier eyepieces had
to be held either hand or applied pressure on the nose such as with the
pince-nez style spectacles. Girolamo Savonarola developed eyepieces that
were held in place by a ribbon, which passed over the individual's head
and held securely in place with a hat. However, problems arose once the
hat was removed. In 1727, British optician Edward Scarlett developed the
modern style of how we wear glasses. He created curved stems which held
the glassed by passing the stems over the ears. This design however was
not immediately successful as other styles with attached handles such as
scissors glasses and lorgnettes. Then in the late 1800's at Oxford
University, a professor placed
nose pads on his lorgnettes, easing the pressure they applied to his
nose.
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