The first
theoretical pair of
contact lenses was described by
Leonardo da Vinci in his
Code on the Eye, no surprise there. The first
practical pair was developed in 1877 by a Swiss doctor named A. E. Fick. (I love the
names of these people, really. Like the
safety razor guy.)
The early lenses were glass and were blown or molded into the appropriate curve. They also covered not merely the cornea, but THE ENTIRE EYE. Can you imagine what they must have felt like? It's no surprise that glasses still remained the more practical method of vision correction until 1936 when a plexiglas lens was introduced, and then in the 1940s a cornea-only lens was developed. Which doesn't change the fact that I can't wear them because of weird allergies.