who invented the glasses that give sight to the blind
2006 Conrad Lewis
title: Glasses text: known to have written on the magnifying properties of lenses. The development of the first eyeglasses took place in Northern Italy in the second half of the 13th century. Independently of the development of optical lenses, some cultures developed "sunglasses" for eye protection, without any corrective properties. Thus, flat panes of smoky quartz, were used in 12th-century China. Similarly, the Inuit have used snow goggles for eye protection. The first eyeglasses were made in Northern Italy, most likely in Pisa, by about 1290: In a sermon delivered on 23 February 1306, the Dominican friar Giordano da Pisa (ca. 1255–1311) wrote title: History of the telescope text: color, followed by Ibn Sahl (10th century) and Ibn Al-Haytham (11th century). Actual use of lenses dates back to the widespread manufacture and use of eyeglasses in Northern Italy beginning in the late 13th century. The invention of the use of concave lenses to correct near-sightedness is ascribed to Nicholas of Cusa in 1451. The first record of a telescope comes from the Netherlands in 1608. It is in a patent filed by Middelburg spectacle-maker Hans Lippershey with the States General of the Netherlands on 2 October 1608 for his instrument ""for seeing things far away as if they were title: History of optics text: a glass sphere in half. As the stones were experimented with, it was slowly understood that shallower lenses magnified more effectively. Around 1286, possibly in Pisa, Italy, the first pair of eyeglasses were made, although it is unclear who the inventor was. The earliest known working telescopes were the refracting telescopes that appeared in the Netherlands in 1608. Their inventor is unknown: Hans Lippershey applied for the first patent that year followed by a patent application by Jacob Metius of Alkmaar two weeks later (neither was granted since examples of the device seemed to be numerous at the time). Galileo title: Glasses text: that Johannes Kepler published the first correct explanation as to why convex and concave lenses could correct presbyopia and myopia. Early frames for glasses consisted of two magnifying glasses riveted together by the handles so that they could grip the nose. These are referred to as "rivet spectacles". The earliest surviving examples were found under the floorboards at Kloster Wienhausen, a convent near Celle in Germany; they have been dated to "circa" 1400. Claims that Salvino degli Armati of Florence invented eyeglasses have been exposed as hoaxes. Marco Polo is sometimes claimed to have encountered eyeglasses during his travels in title: Glasses text: the Middle East, with one shipment as large as 24,000 glasses. The American scientist Benjamin Franklin, who suffered from both myopia and presbyopia, invented bifocals. Serious historians have from time to time produced evidence to suggest that others may have preceded him in the invention; however, a correspondence between George Whatley and John Fenno, editor of "The Gazette of the United States", suggested that Franklin had indeed invented bifocals, and perhaps 50 years earlier than had been originally thought. The first lenses for correcting astigmatism were designed by the British astronomer George Airy in 1825. Over time, the construction of