History of Eyeglasses by Amita Grewal By Blush girl Period: Jan 1, 1000 to Dec 31, 1010 Italian glass blowers make hand-held magnifiers (reading stones) Period: Jan 1, 1100 to Dec 31, 1199 First version of sunglasses created in China with flat smokey quartz to reduce glare Period: Jan 1, 1285 to Dec 31, 1289 Earliest versions of optical glasses made with Quartz lenses and it was put into bone leather or metal for magnifying Period: Jan 1, 1300 to Dec 31, 1399 Convex lens for far-sightedness were invented in Venice. Period: Jan 1, 1451 to Dec 31, 1451 Concave lens to correct near-sightedness are created in Germany. Period: Jan 1, 1600 to Dec 31, 1610 Frames to keep glasses on are created in Spain with silk ribbons to tie behind the head. Period: Jan 1, 1730 to Dec 31, 1730 Edward Scarlett (optician) from London creates temples that are rigid that are placed atop ears Period: Jan 1, 1752 to Dec 31, 1752 James Ayscough from London designed spectacles with double hinged temples Period: Jan 1, 1784 to Dec 31, 1784 Benjamin Franklin invents bifocal lens Period: Jan 1, 1825 to Dec 31, 1825 Sir George Airy invents the first lens to correct astigmatism Period: Jan 1, 1826 to Dec 31, 1826 John Hawkins invents trifocals lenses Period: Jan 1, 1958 to Dec 31, 1958 Essilor Int'l of France creates the first progressive multifocal lens
