Prof. Otto Wichterle

Otto Wichterle (27 October 1913 in Prostějov in Austria-Hungary, now in the Czech Republic – 18 August 1998) was a Czech chemist and inventor, best known for his invention of modern contact lenses. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... ProstÄ›jov (-Czech, German: Prossnitz) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... is the 230th day of the year (231st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Chemistry - the study of interactions of chemical substances with one another and energy based on the structure of atoms, molecules and other kinds of aggregrates Chemistry (from Egyptian kÄ“me (chem), meaning earth[1]) is the science concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the... A pair of contact lenses, positioned with the concave side facing upward. ...

After finishing high school in Prostějov, Wichterle chose science for his career and began to study at the Chemical and Technological Faculty of the Czech Technical University (now the independent Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague). He graduated in 1936 and stayed at the university until further activity was blocked by the Protectorate regime in 1939. However, Wichterle was able to join the research institute at Baťa's works in Zlín and continue his scientific work. There he led the technical preparation of plastics, namely polyamide and caprolactam. In 1941, Wichterle's team invented the procedure to throw and spool polyamide thread thus making the first Czechoslovak synthetic fiber under the name silon (the invention came independently of the original American nylon procedure in 1938). Wichterle was imprisoned by the Gestapo in 1942 but was released after a few months. ProstÄ›jov (-Czech, German: Prossnitz) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. ... Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU, České Vysoké Učení Technické v Praze – ČVUT in Czech) is one of the largest universities in the Czech Republic. ... Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague (in Czech Vysoká Å¡kola chemicko-technologická, VÅ CHT) is largest university specialised on chemistry in the Czech Republic. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Capital Prague Language(s) Czech, German Political structure Protectorate Reichsprotektor  - 1939-1941 Konstantin von Neurath  - 1941-1942 Reinhard Heydrich (acting)  - 1942-1943 Kurt Daluege (acting)  - 1943-1945 Wilhelm Frick Staatspräsident  - 1939-1945 Emil Hácha Historical era World War II  - Occupation March 15, 1939  - Fall of Prague May 13... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tomáš BaÅ¥a (born April 3, 1876 in Zlín, Moravia - July 12, 1932) was the founder of Bata Shoe Organization, one of the worlds biggest multinational retailer, manufacturer and distributor of footwear and accessories. ... Coordinates: , Country Region (kraj) District (okres) Zlín First documented 1332 Area  - town 118. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A polyamide is a polymer containing monomers joined by peptide bonds. ... Caprolactam (C6H11ON) is the monomer used in the production of nylon 6. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Synthetic fibers are the result of extensive research by scientists to increase and improve upon the supply of naturally occurring animal and plant fibers that have been used in making cloth and rope. ... Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers first produced on February 28, 1935 by Wallace Carothers at DuPont. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The   (contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei: “secret state police”) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

After World War II, Wichterle returned to the university, specializing in organic chemistry and was active in teaching and writing a textbook of organic chemistry. In 1952 he was made the dean of the newly established Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague. However, six years later, in 1958, he was expelled from it in one of the political purges held by the communist chairmanship of the institute. A year later, he became the chief of the new Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (CSAS), which he joined in 1955. In the institute, he planned to continue his research on the polymerization of lactams and on the use of thinly cross-linking hydrogels that he had patented earlier, in 1953, together with Drahoslav Lím. As the institute was only being constructed at that time, Wichterle carried out the first experiments at home. By late 1961 he succeeded in producing the first four hydrogel contact lenses on a home-made apparatus built using a children's building kit (Merkur). Thus, he invented a new way of manufacturing the lenses using a centrifugal casting procedure. The CSAS inexplicably, and without Wichterle's knowledge, sold the patent rights to the United States National Patent Development Corporation (and later even consented to cancellation of the licence agreements). Actual mass production of contact lenses took place mostly abroad, mainly in the United States. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Organic chemistry is a specific discipline within chemistry which involves the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation (by synthesis or by other means) of chemical compounds consisting of primarily carbon and hydrogen, which may contain any number of other elements, including nitrogen, oxygen, halogens as well... Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a classless, stateless social organization based on common ownership of the means of production. ... The Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences was established in 1953 to be the scientific center for Czechoslovakia. ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... Hydrogel is a network of polymer chains that are water-insoluble, sometimes found as a colloidal gel in which water is the dispersion medium. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Drahoslav Lím (d in June 2003) was a Czech chemist. ... Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A pair of contact lenses, positioned with the concave side facing upward. ...

In 1970, Wichterle was expelled again from his position in the institute, this time for signing the "Two Thousand Words" — a manifesto asking for the continuation of the democratization process begun in 1968 during the Prague Spring. Punishment by the regime included removing him from his executive positions and making his research more and more difficult mainly by cutting off contacts from abroad and limiting his teaching opportunities. Full recognition did not come until the Velvet Revolution in 1989. In 1990, he was made president of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences till the dissolution of Czechoslovakia and was the honorary president of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic after that. 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... People in a café watch Soviet tanks roll past The Prague Spring (Czech: Pražské jaro, Slovak: Pražská jar, Russian: пражская весна) was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia starting January 5, 1968 when Alexander Dubček came to power, and running until August 20 of that year when the... Non-violent protesters face armoured policemen The Velvet Revolution (Czech: , Slovak: ) (November 16 – December 29, 1989) refers to a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the communist government there. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... The Dissolution of Czechoslovakia is a general term for the dissolution of the former country of Czechoslovakia into the nations of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, effective January 1, 1993. ... The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (ASCR) was established in 1992 by the Czech National Council as the Czech successor of the former Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. ...

The asteroid number 3899 was named after prof. Wichterle in 1993. High school in Ostrava (district of Poruba), Czech republic was named after him in September, 1st, 2006. 253 Mathilde, a C-type asteroid. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ...

External links

• A page on Wichterle at the Czech Academy of Sciences
• The History of Contact Lenses (article)
• [1] Contact Lens Pioneers