Have you checked the Google homepage today? Today’s “Google Doodle” celebrates the 181st birthday of French ophthalmologist, Ferdinand Monoyer. Who’s he then???
Monoyer, who was born in France in 1836, pioneered the way we measure eye sight. He grew up in Lyon before moving to the University of Strasbourg in 1871. He eventually returned to Lyon, where he died aged 76 in 1912.
He is best known for creating the Monoyer chart, as well as introducing the dioptre as a measurement for visual clarity.
He developed the dioptre, the unit of measurement for vision that's still used today. The dioptre measures the distance you'd have to be from text to read it. Most notably, Monoyer devised an eye chart where every row represents a different dioptre, from smallest to largest.
If you have ever had an eye test at the doctors or opticians, you will have surely benefited from this very simple, cheap, yet highly effective practical test.
Try it out for yourself and see if you can see his name hidden in the chart!