The development of the first eyeglasses took place in northern Italy in the second half of the 13th century. Some people wear them because of optical issues, whereas others put them for fashion. Historical archives do not indicate who the first inventor of a wearable glass was, but Romans were the first ones to discover the ability to use a glass to enhance one’s ability to see a small text creating small magnifying glasses with spheres. Those primitive glass-blown lenses were set into leather frames and held before the face or perched on the nose. Being mostly used by monks, these are the ones that grew in popularity and the technology improved through the renaissance. Some renaissance paintings depict scholars using handheld frames, according to All about eyes Magazine. The glasses were then spread to Europe, bought by the wealthy and they became a symbol of intelligence and prosperity. The next development of spectacles took place in the 17th century, where the glasses became ‘hands free’ and temples extended over the ears. This development was fronted by Benjamin Martin. The next development was the creation of bifocal lenses by Benjamin Franklin, allowing a person with both near and far-sighted affectation to use one pair of glasses instead of two. The next style was called “Scissor spectacles” which could be stored in the pocket and taken out when needed because some men did not enjoy wearing glasses full time. The 19th century saw the introduction of peculiar cylindrical lenses for correcting astigmatism. After that, developers kept innovating eye glasses in different modes of colours, shapes, materials, etc. The 20th century also saw the development of sun glasses which originate from Chinese judges who used to put them on to obscure their eyes in court so no one can determine their expressions.
