Who made the first spectacles?

Today spectacles are being used even by a common man enabling him to see the world more clearly! Perhaps kings and emperors would have behaved quite differently if they wore spectacles.

Nobody exactly knows who made the first pair of spectacles. In 1266, Roger Bacon magnified writing by placing part of a sphere of glass on a book. In a picture painted in 1352, a portrait or Cardinal Ugone, he is shown wearing two framed lenses with their handles riveted together and fixed over the eyes. Therefore, somebody must have invented spectacles between 1266 and 1352.

Most of the spectacles during 16th century were made in north Italy and south Germany. By 1629, Charles I of England was able to grant a charter to the spectacle Makers Guild. And in 1784, bifocals were invented by Benjamin Franklin.

Today, spectacles are being used not only for reading and seeing better but many other purposes. For example, dark glasses are used to cut down glare and sunlight. Coloured lenses are used to detect camouflage. Red lenses are used by night aviators and photographers. Lenses that absorb ultraviolet light are made for skiers, aviators, polar explored and mountain climbers. Furnace workers wear lenses that stop infrared light. Glassblowers wear special glasses to help them see better.