The history of eyewear could be considered interesting to those who are passionate about their eyes. Seneca, a well known and respected Roman philosopher and dramatist, was said to use a glass globe filled with water to read the history of Rome. It is unclear if this was the beginning of the use of eyeglasses for reading, but later, Roman glass blowers were credited with creating reading stones for use among the nobles of Rome.
In 1268, British philosopher and scientist, Roger Bacon wrote: If anyone examines letters or other minute objects through the medium of crystal or glass or other transparent substance, if it be shaped like the lesser segment of a sphere with the convex side toward the eye, he will see the letters far better and they will seem larger to him. For this reason, such an instrument is useful to all persons and to those with weak eyes for they can see any letter, however small, if magnified enough. Whether he was speaking about reading globes or stones, or actual eyewear using frames and lenses is unclear from this entry. Further highlights in the history of eyewear are varied and interesting in their scope.
In the 1600s, Spanish craftsmen were the first to create
an eyewear frame that attached the eye frames to the ears using leather thongs, string or bits of fabric tied into loops. When Spanish missionaries made their way to China, the Chinese adopted the use of weights at the end of the string instead of looping them around their ears.
In 1730, Edward Scarlett invented and produced the first rigid eyewear frames that would rest on top of the ear rather than loop around them. This form of eyewear became very popular due to its ease of use.
Everyone knows about Benjamin Franklin, his inventions, his writings, and his part in the building of the US government, so few would be surprised to hear that Mr. Franklin invented the very first set of bifocal lenses for use in eyewear for people with near and far vision problems.
The very first trifocal lenses were invented and produced for eyewear in 1826 by John Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins was known in London and Philadelphia for his inventions, music, and engineering contributions.
Over the centuries, eyewear has evolved from its humble beginnings as a globe of water in the hands of a philosopher, into the comfortable, fashionable, and helpful eyeglasses of today not to mention the wonder of eyewear that is contact lenses!
Author Resource:-
To learn more about Oakley eyewear, please visit our website.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://cdnimages.articlefriendly.net/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
