A Brief History of Contact Lenses

1508 Leonardo da Vinci illustrates the concept of contact lenses

1823 British astronomer Sir John Herschel conceptualizes practical lens design

1887 First contact lens manufactured from glass, and fitted to cover the entire eye

1939 Contact lenses first made from plastic

1948 Plastic contact lenses designed to cover only the eye's cornea

1971 Introduction of soft contact lenses

1978 Introduction of GP contact lenses

1981 FDA approval of new soft contact lenses for extended (overnight) wear

1986 Overnight wear of GP contact lenses becomes available

1987 Introduction of disposable soft contact lenses

1987 GP contacts available in next-generation fluorosilicone acrylate materials

1996 Introduction of one-day disposable soft lenses

2002 Silicone-hydrogel contact lenses first marketed

2002 Overnight orthokeratology approved by FDA

2010 Custom-manufactured silicone-hydrogel lenses become available

Please note that dates above reflect events in the United States; introduction of products in other countries may vary from this timeline.

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