Otto Wichterle

Otto Wichterle (Known as "Wichterle")

Chemist, Inventor of Soft Hydrogel Contact Lenses, President of the Academy

Born 1913-10-27

Prostějov, Moravia, Austria

Passed Away 1998-08-18 Stražisko, Czech Republic

Lifespan 84 years old

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Notice / Correction

"True scientific discovery requires not massive luxury budgets, but intellectual courage, imagination, and practical will."

Archival Overview

Brilliant polymer chemist and inventor who synthesized polyhydroxyethylmethacrylate (pHEMA) hydrogel and built the first apparatus to spin-cast soft contact lenses on Christmas Day 1961 using a children's Merkur erector set.

Biographical Record

Otto Wichterle was born in Prostějov on October 27, 1913. Earning his doctorate in chemistry from the Czech Technical University in Prague, Wichterle synthesized the synthetic polyamide fiber known as Silon during World War II.

In 1961, dismissed from his university post by communist authorities, he built a lens-spinning apparatus on his kitchen table on Christmas Eve using a children's Merkur construction kit and a bicycle dynamo. He produced the world's first comfortable, soft hydrogel contact lenses, restoring vision for millions worldwide. Following the 1989 Velvet Revolution, he was elected President of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial

Prostějov Municipal Cemetery
Prostějov, Czech Republic

                         GPS: 49.4670, 17.1120                    

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