Evolution of the Bifocals

The American man of science, Benjamin Franklin, who endured both myopia as well as presbyopia, invented bifocal reading glasses in 1784 to obviate needing to often switch betwixt 2 frames of eyeglasses. The first lenses intended for repairing astigmia were constructed by the British astronomy expert George Airy within the year 1825. Along the history of reading bifocals, the development of eyeglass frames also evolved. Early on glasses were designed to be either kept in place with your hand or by maintaining force on the nose. Girolamo Savonarola advised that oculars could be kept in place with a ribbon passed over a person’s head, which in turn was fastened by the weight of a hat. Entering modern bifocal history, the contemporary fashion of bifocal spectacles supported by temples passing over the ears, was produced in 1727 by the British lens maker Edward Scarlett. These designs were not at once prosperous, however, and various styles with attached handles like “scissors-glasses” and lorgnettes stayed fashionable throughout the eighteenth and into the early nineteenth century. In the early twentieth century, Moritz von Rohr at Zeiss made the Zeiss Punktal spherical point-focus lens system which dominated the eyeglass lens field for several years. Despite the rising fame of contacts and laser restorative eye surgery, spectacles remain quite popular, as their engineering has continued to improve. For example, it’s currently possible to buy frames constituted of special memory metal alloys that return to their correct configuration after being bent. Other frames have spring-loaded hinges. Glasses have come a long way, haven’t they? In fact, today you can even buy bi-focal sunglasses. Most of these modern contraptions are also distinctly better able to resist the stresses of everyday wear as well as the periodic accident. Modern frames are also ofttimes constructed from substantial, light-weight materials such as titanium alloys which weren’t available in earlier years.

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