Otto Wichterle: Czech chemist who invented the first soft contact lenses

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Otto Wichterle: Czech chemist who invented the first soft contact lenses.

Otto Wichterle was born on 27 October, 1913, in Prostĕjov, the Czech Republic (then, Austria-Hungary). 

As a lover of science from his youth, Wichterle went on to earn his doctorate in organic chemistry, in 1936, from the Prague Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT). 

He taught as a professor at his alma mater during the 1950s, while developing an absorbent and transparent gel for eye implants.  

In 1961, Wichterle (a glasses wearer himself), produced the first soft contact lenses, with a DIY apparatus. 

As the inventor of countless patents and a lifelong researcher, Wichterle was elected the first President, of the Academy of the Czech Republic, following the country’s establishment in 1993. 

Happy birthday, Otto Wichterle!

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