Leonardo da Vinci was the first known to think of developing some kind of contact in around 1508. He wrote down descriptions in notebooks, but that was as far as it went at that time. The early concepts largely floundered until Sir John Herschel, an English astronomer, developed techniques for grinding and fitting a contact lens to conform to the eye's surface sometime in the 1820's. In 1884 anesthesia was developed which furthered along the development of contacts. Then came some experimental attempts at contacts but they were heavy and could only be warn for short periods of time. The first true contact lense was developed by A. E. Fick in 1888 in Zurich. He made himself some glass contact lenses to correct his own vision and coined the name 'contact lens'. This lens was very uncomfortable. Also because the glass impaired the flow of oxygen to the eye; these early contacts were not particularly good for the long-term health of the eye.

Now a general search began for the perfect material to use for contact lenses for both therapeutic and cosmetic purposes. Scientists were asking what material can correct vision and also allow oxygen to get to the eye? Finally in 1938 a breakthrough came when the first all plastic contact lenses were made. This happened in the US when two guys named Obrig and Mullen used a new material, polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). Which was vastly superior to glass in weight, safety, workability and comfort. These lenses covered the whole eye.

The modern contact lense was created in 1947 when Kevin Tuohy, an American, created plastic corneal lenses.

This was an advancement from the scleral lens because it only covered the cornea of the eye. His we know as "hard" contact lenses and for the next twenty years were virtually the only type of contact lenses. As you can imagine they were a big hit in Hollywood. The hard contact was non-permeable.

The modern contact lense was created in 1947 when Kevin Tuohy, an American, created plastic corneal lenses.

This was an advancement from the scleral lens because it only covered the cornea of the eye. His we know as "hard" contact lenses and for the next twenty years were virtually the only type of contact lenses. As you can imagine they were a big hit in Hollywood. The hard contact was non-permeable.

The next major improvement came in the 1950s when a Czechoslovakian polymer chemist named Otto Wichterle and his colleague Drahoslav Lima developed a new, transparent hydrogel plastic called hydroxyethylmethacrylate, made up largely of water. This new lens had the unique characteristic of being hard when dry but soft and pliable when wet. This was the first "soft" contact. The biggest limitation of the new "soft" lens was the possible absorption of infectious bacteria. None the less, they were very popular.

Then in 1971 Bausch and Lomb invented of a new manufacturing process called "spin casting". Then competitors started popping up. Now according to the Vision Council of America there were 136 million American adults who wore prescription eyewear in 2000. This is 66% of the total U.S. adult population - 43% of whom are men and 57% are women. Many of these people choose contacts over glasses. This is a vast market!

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The innovations have continued. In 1979 the FDA approved 'gas-permeable hard lenses'. The gas-permeables allowed oxygen to reach the cornea through the lens, while also offering the optical clarity and ease of handling. The market share of the various types of contact lenses is currently approximately 82% soft lenses - 16% gas permeable - 2% hard lenses. The first tinted soft lenses arrived in 1980. Extended wear contact lenses came along in 1981 and Bifocals in 1982. The first disposable lense was in 1987. The first disposable tinted soft lenses in 1992. And Daily Disposables first came on the market in 1995. In 2001 the most recent innovation in Contact Lenses was the Extended Wear Soft Lenses that are approved for wearing for a continuous period of thirty days.