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First apparition
One of the first apparitions of the lens dates back to the ancient Rome, the Roman Emperor Neron observed gladiatorial fights at through an emerald, shaped like a concave moon, because he suffered from myopia. -
476
Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, the friars developed the called
"Stones to read". Possibly they were made of rock crystal or semiprecious stones. They were carved in the shape of a half sphere and increased the letter. -
Nov 18, 1249
"Father" of the graduated glasses
In 1249 the English philosopher Roger Bacon formulated the first statement about the use of lenses to improve vision to help people with presbyopia (progressive loss of ability to focus due to age). Thanks to the increase provided by a segment of glass, he carved the first lenses in the shape of a lentil. -
Jun 8, 1312
Alejandro della Spina
The Franciscan Italian monk, Alexandro della Spina, has also been credited with the invention of the glasses in the archives of St. Catherine of Pisa he is said to have been the first to communicate the secret to manufacture lenses. He made them for his own use and for his relatives, but not for commercial purpose. -
May 10, 1450
Invention of the printing
The glasses remained unchanged until the printing was invented in the fifteenth century. With a greater availability of books, more people learned to read and it began to massively produce cheaper lenses that were sold in the streets of cities, made of wood, leather, bone, even steel, to lower classes. The upper class chose both handmade models with gold and silver. -
Jul 16, 1451
Concave lenses
The German scholar Nicolas de Cusa (1401-1464) proposed the use of concave lenses, thinner at the center than at the edges, in order to see from afar. These lenses were intended for people with myopia. -
Edward Scarlett
At that time a common problem was to keep the lenses in the face without Falling because they had no arms or sideburns and the solution came with the London optician Edward Scarlett who thought to put a stick on each side that pressed the sides of the head. -
XVIII Century
At the beginning of the eighteenth century the first spectacles with rods appear, these are short and are held under pressure on the temporal bones, at the end of the century, the bars of the glasses become longer and are fastened behind the ears, along with this Progress begins the process of industrialization that eventually replaced the artisanal process of crystal carving -
Bifocal Glasses
The first bifocal glasses were made for Benjamin Franklin by his indication. Until then the glasses only corrected myopia and farsightedness. The first bifocal were designed with close-up lenses on the lower half of the mount and the lenses for far vision at the top. -
Monocles
At the end of the eighteenth century the monocles became fashionable, a type of corrective lens were used to adjust the vision in a single eye and in many cases is framed in a ring of wire that has a chain that is attached to clothing to avoid his lost. These began to be used by the aristocracy, especially in Germany and England. -
"Prince-nez" or "Quevedos"
The French used the "pince-nez" which in Spain were known as "quevedos". They were glasses with two lenses, without sideburns, that were held with the nose and the muscles of around the eye. The French version had the advantage that it could be removed and saved quickly because they hated to be seen with lenses in public. -
The contact lens
In 1887 the contact lens began to be used on the cornea when the German physician and physiologist, Adolf Eugen Pick and the French optician Edouard Kalt created glass contact lenses to correct visual defects without anyone noticing it. They covered the entire front of the eye, they were heavy and could be tolerated for a few hours. -
Second Industrial Revolution
In 1936, in the second Industrial Revolution determined by the application of hydroelectric power and oil. William Fleinbloom used synthetic plastics in combination with glass to make lenses, giving the first step to reach the synthetic lenses that we know today. -
40's
In the 40's, the glasses became cheaper because of the appearance of the acrylic glasses that had their frames made of plastic. This marks a beginning for the glasses we know today. -
50's
In this decade was when the fashion in the glasses graduated reached its peak. Cat-eye frames were the favorite of women inspired by actresses like Marilyn Monroe, while men preferred thick, rectangular black frames thanks to actors like James Dean and characters like Clark Kent (Superman). -
70's
In the 70's progressive lenses began to gain acceptance. These lenses are used to correct presbyopia and other vices of refraction of the eyes. The lens is divided into two zones: the top is dedicated to see from afar and the bottom is used to see up close. -
90's
In this decade appear the first plastic photo-chromatic lenses appeared which meant a breakthrough because they avoided people having to wear 2 pairs of glasses since the lenses of these new glasses were adapted to the light conditions, providing comfort and protection. -
Present
Today the glasses have not stopped evolving. The environmental sensitivity and concern for our ecosystem have led us to find glasses of all kinds that make life more comfortable: graduated and adaptive, for eye fatigue, among others. -
Opinion
In my opinion the development of the glasses has been a very extensive process but each of the contributions have helped to make the glasses are what they are nowadays. The glasses today, are the most important vision aid worldwide, while they have become a very popular fashion accessory.
The evolution of the glasses throughout history is very extensive, and they continue to evolve to adapt to the new times. -
Glossary
Massively:Consist of a large mass, bulky and heavy.
Lensses: It's a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction.
Farsightedness: Is a common vision condition in which you can see distant objects clearly, but objects nearby may be blurry.
Optician: Is a technical practitioner who designs, fits and dispenses corrective lenses for the correction of a person's vision.
Carved:To cut (a solid material) so as to form something
Unchanged: Antonym of change. -
References
http://www.oftalmo.com/publicaciones/lentes/cap2.htm
https://www.fayerwayer.com/2011/09/el-origen-de-los-anteojos/
http://todooptica.es/blog/evolucion-historica-de-las-gafas/
https://es.slideshare.net/membrenow/lentes-fotocromaticos
https://histoptica.com/apuntes-de-optica/breve-historia/comienzos/alhazem-roger-bacon/
http://www.muyhistoria.es/edad-media/articulo/gafas-lentes-o-anteojos
https://lanubedospuntocero.wordpress.com/2015/01/18/de-la-lente-y-su-origen-a-las-gafas/
