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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[Page updated August 2015]
