original template by Ray Lam, Fall 97

revised template by Rachel Shorey and Steve Bergen 2/9/98

Eyeglasses are round or elliptical glass lenses in a plastic or metal frame worn in front of the eyes. The frame has two hooks that grab onto the ears. This frame also has two soft pieces of rubber that support the nose. Lenses are often colorless and transparent. The frame, however, comes in all sorts of different styles, shapes, and colors or designs today. Eyeglasses are used for the correction of nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, or other forms of faulty vision. The invention of eyeglasses is credited to Roger Bacon, an English scientist. Bacon attended the University of Oxford and the University of Paris. He has been credited for many other inventions, such as gunpowder, and the telescope, although he had not really discovered these important inventions. In 1268, he was the first person to state the use of eyeglasses for optical purposes. However, most evidence shows that eyeglasses used for the correction of visual defects was invented in 1286 in Pisa, Italy. The name of the inventor is unknown. Eyeglasses finally became widely used once the printing press was invented. Then, people who were far-sighted needed eyeglasses in order to read. This was the beginning to the discoveries of all sorts of interesting kinds of eyeglasses.