Prominent People in the Contact Lens World – William Feinbloom
Being the first person to create a wearable contact lens, Adolf Fick is generally credited with the creation of contact lenses. However, if it wasn’t for William Feinbloom’s work in the field, there is a large possibility that contact lenses would still be hard and uncomfortable objects.
Born in 1903 in Brooklyn, New York Feinbloom had a view to becoming an optometrist from an early age, learning his skills from his father. By 1922, Feinbloom graduated from Columbia University and over the coming 17 years, honed his skills and received a PhD in 1939.
Feinbloom is renowned for his work in the field of low vision and the rehabilitation of vision; however it was three years prior to his PhD that Feinbloom’s most notable work was produced. In 1936, Feinbloom developed the world’s very first plastic-based contact lens. Using polymethyl methacrylate – or Perspex, as it is more commonly known – Feinbloom’s discovery was fantastic news for the contact lens world. Taking over from the then traditional glass-blown contact lenses, this development finally allowed for more comfortable and wearable contact lenses to be created. Of course, these developments didn’t produce perfect contact lenses, but they definitely lead the way for the future.
Over the years, Feinbloom gained mass recognition for his work and five years before he died, he was honoured with a Doctorate of Ocular Sciences from Northern Illinois College of Optometry. Passing away in 1985, Feinbloom’s work made gigantic footsteps in the world of contact lenses, giving the world affordable and wearable contact lenses.