Pioneers in optometry

German and international optometry has a long history, which has been shaped by outstanding personalities. The current status of optometry would be impossible without the great commitment of these early pioneers in optometry, which is why the current OCL editorial is dedicated to the lives of three optometrists from Europe, who had a significant influence on optometry in Australia, Germany and the USA.
Born on 23 May 1908 in Cologne, Peter Abel is known today as the father of German optometry. His national and international commitment to optometry started immediately after his graduation from the German School of Optics and Phototechnology in 1930. Peter Abel was a scientist, clinician and, above all, an optometry politician. He received 30 national and international awards and was the author of over 400 publications and five books in the field of optometry. As president of the German Society of Optometry (DGO), he was responsible for the DGO fee schedule for optometric services, which as early as 1948 included charging fees for a comprehensive eye examination, including ‘ophthalmoscopy’, ‘visual training’,  ‘visual field pictures’ and other services.¹

John C. Eberhard, born in Mühlhausen, Germany in 1857, was another optometrist who had a major influence on US optometry. Eberhard spent the first nine years of his life in Germany before immigrating with his family to Dayton, Ohio. After completing his education in civil engineering, he first worked as an engineer for several years and then sold and fitted glasses in a jewelry store before taking a corresponding course at the Northern Illinois College of Ophthalmology and Otology.² In 1899, he became a member of the American Association of Opticians (AAO), the predecessor organization of today's American Optometric Association (AAO), of which he became president in Atlantic City in 1903.³ At this time, the term optometrist was still rarely used in the USA. Eberhard's commitment to the use of the term optometrist is recognized as one of his key achievements. In his book ‘American Optometric Association - A History’, James R. Gregg therefore describes John C. Eberhard as a champion for the use of the term ‘optometrist’.³

Originally born in 1903 in Hemishofen on the German-Swiss border in the canton of Schaffhausen, Ernst Goetz is now known as the first Australian optometrist to prescribe and fit contact lenses and probably also the first telescopic glasses for visually impaired people. After his apprenticeship as an optician, Goetz studied at the former Jena School of Ophthalmic Optics in Germany. In 1924, he immigrated to Melbourne, Australia, where he started his remarkable career in optometry. In the publication ‘Ernst Goetz 1903-1979 - A pioneer of contact lens practice in Australia’, Australian optometrist Wolfgang Gartner gives an impressive insight into the eventful life of Ernst Goetz.⁴

This brief review of the lives of the three pioneers in optometry shows once again the importance of professional policy. The young generation of today's optometrists should be encouraged to become involved in science and/or professional policy in addition to their clinical work. 

[1] Geyer, H. U. (1988). Ein Leben für die Optometrie – Peter Abel und seine Zeit. Hans-Ulrich Geyer, Fachveröff entlichungen, 7012 Fellbach.
[2] Amos, J. F. (2021). History of the title Optometrist and when the O.D. degree was fi rst conferred. Hindsight, 52, 4,86-90.
[3] Gregg, J. R. (1972). American Optometric Association: A History. American Optometric Association, St. Louis, pp. 22-23.
[4] Gartner, W. (2008). Ernst Goetz 1903-1979. A pioneer of contact lens practice in Australia. Clin. Exp. Optom., 91, 566-570.