In 1965, the Los Angeles Dodgers were the World Series Champs, the first American astronaut walked in space, and Optometric Management (OM) magazine debuted. In celebration of the last 60 years, here’s a timeline of monumental happenings in the profession.

• 

  The American Optometric Association (AOA) files a complaint with US Department of Justice alleging the American Medical Association (AMA), physicians, and other medical organizations are guilty of conspiracy and restraining trade.
• The first issue of Optometric Management is published.
•  “The Story of Optometry,” by James R. Gregg, is published.
• The progressive lens is introduced in the United States.

• The AMA rescinds its 1955 antioptometry resolution.
• The Council on Clinical Optometric Care is established.

  “Seeing is Believing,” a book of eyecare cartoons, by Nathan Kvetny, is published.

• The American Optometric Student Association (AOSA) is established.
• The LaGuardia Meeting, credited for when optometry went from a vision care profession to a healthcare profession, occurs.
• The National Eye Institute (NEI) is established.
• The US Army starts putting ODs in combat divisions.

• The AOA-sponsored Airlie House Conference, where ODs met to make recommendations on interprofessional relations, legislation, optometric education and practice, manpower, and research, occurs.
• The National Optometric Association (NOA), a national organization for minority ODs, is founded.
• The Optometric Historical Society (OHS) is founded.
• The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Optometry opens.

• 

  The Armed Forces Optometric Society (AFOS) forms.
• The Association of Optometric Educators is founded.
• Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History releases its first issue.
• Rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses are developed.

• College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD) forms.
• The first Diagnostic Pharmaceutical Agents (DPA) law passes in Rhode Island.
• The first noncontact tonometer debuts.
• The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves first soft contact lens/requires Drop Ball Test.
• The State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry opens.
• VOSH International is established.
• Herbert A. Wertheim, OD, DSc, MD, creates Brain Power Incorporated (BPI).

• American Academy of Optometry (AAO) celebrates its 50th year.
• “American Optometric Association: A History,” by James R. Gregg, is published.
• Essel and Silor, 2 ophthalmic lens manufacturers, merge.
• The Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital in Birmingham, AL, becomes the first VA site for training OD students.
• Williamsburg Conference on Continuing Education (CE) recommends a CE commission be formed to plot the course of optometric CE.  

• The AAO purchases the American Journal of Optometry (today’s Optometry and Vision Science) from the estate of Carel C. Koch, secretary of the AAO for 33 years and editor of the journal for 44 years.
• Captain Allison Smith, OD, becomes the first female OD member of the US Air Force.
• MF Wickers, OD, is granted a patent for wraparound frames.
• The International Library, Archives, and Museum of Optometry, Inc., is incorporated. 

• The first year-long optometric residency is established.
• The National Stereoscopic Association is founded. 
• “Strabismus and Amblyopia,” a manual on the conditions, by Donald J. Getz, OD, FAAO, FCOVD, is published.

• The AOA Political Action Committee (AOA-PAC) is established. 
• The Michigan College of Optometry (MCO) at Ferris State University opens.

• The FDA classifies contact lenses as a “drug.”
• The first optometry service within the VA’s Department of Medicine and Surgery is created.
• West Virginia passes its first Therapeutic Pharmaceutical Agents (TPA) bill. 

• Hybrid contact lenses are invented.
• The National Association of Veterans Administration Optometrists is founded. 

• The FDA approves RGP contact lenses made from cellulose acetate butyrate.
• The FDA approves the first soft toric contact lens.
• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issues the Prescription Release Rule. 
• OptiFair, the precursor to Vision Expo, debuts.
• The FTC outlaws prohibitions against advertising optometric services and ophthalmic materials.

• The FDA approves the first beta-blocker to lower intraocular pressure.
• The Northeastern State University Oklahoma College of Optometry opens.

• The first scratch-resistant, tintable hard coating for ophthalmic lenses is introduced.
• The University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) College of Optometry opens.

• The FDA approves soft contact lenses for extended (overnight) wear. 
• The Contact Lens and Cornea Section of the American Optometric Association is established.
• The School of Optometry of the Inter American University of Puerto Rico is founded.

• 

  The AOA Low Vision Section is established.
• ADO Practice Solutions is founded.
• Bifocal contact lenses become available.
• The first plastic photochromic lens debuts.
• Morton Greenspoon, OD, FAAO, fits Michael Jackson in transforming contact lenses for the “Thriller” video.

• The C&E Vision optical buying group established.
• The Vision Trends buying group established. 

• The Primary Eyecare Network is established.
• “Clinical Ocular Pharmacology,” by Bartlett and Jaanus is published.

• The AOA/Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) adopt optometric oath.
• The FDA approves RGP contact lenses for extended wear.
• Medicare recognizes ODs.
• Spectacles celebrate their septicentennial.
• Vision Expo debuts (OptiFair, its precursor, was started by OM).

• Tinted contact lenses debut.
• The corneal topographer debuts.
• Disposable soft contact lenses debut.

• Contact lenses celebrate their centennial anniversary. 
• Vision West buying group is founded.

• The National Optometry Hall of Fame was founded.
• At this point, every state has DPA and TPA laws. 
• The Neuro Optometric Rehabilitation Association is formed. 
• The Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry opens.

• The Vision Source network of independent ODs is founded.
• Vision USA is created by the AOA. 

AOA/ASCO host first Georgetown Conference – Summit on Optometric Education.

Joan Exford, OD, elected first female president of the AAO.

The first AOA “Optometric Clinical Practice Guidelines” are published.

• The FDA approves the first prostaglandin-based drug for glaucoma.
• The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act becomes law.
• 1-day disposable soft contact lenses debut.
• The Alliance OD group is established.

• The first optical coherence tomographer debuts. 
• The Southern California College of Optometry becomes the first to require a baccalaureate degree for admission.

• The EastWest Eye Conference debuts.
• The FDA approves the first combination drug for glaucoma.
• The National Optometry Hall of Fame is established and recognizes Drs. Irvin Borish and Glenn Fry.
• Oklahoma passes a law enabling ODs to use lasers for certain treatment purposes, such as YAG capsulotomy.

• IDOC is founded.
• The International Board of Boards changes name to Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry.

• Disposable toric contact lenses debut. 
• The OD Wire website debuts.
• Wavefront aberrometry debuts.

The Age-Related Eye Disease Study Part 1 (AREDS 1) is released.

• The AOA launches the “Healthy Eyes, Healthy People” program.
• The FDA approves orthokeratology.
• EyeDoc.com launches.
• The Optometric Glaucoma Society is founded.
• Silicone-hydrogel contact lenses become available. 

• The Fairness to Contact Lens Consumer Act becomes Federal law.
• The FDA approves an immunosuppressive for dry eye disease.
• Optometry Giving Sight is founded. 
• The Optometric Retina Society is founded.

• The AOA’s InfantSEE program launches. 
• The Optometry 2020 Summits debut.

• 

  The AOA Foundation is established as a charitable arm of the AOA. 
• “Borish,” by William R. Baldwin, OD, is published. 
• The Alliance buying group is founded.
• Professional Eye Care Associates of America (PECAA) is founded.

• The 2007 Report of the International Dry Eye Workshop (DEWS) is released.
• The OD Excellence practice management group is founded.

• The AOA establishes the National Commission on Vision and Health.
• The FDA’s Ophthalmic Devices Panel issues recommendations to improve contact lens safety.
• The Fyidoctors optometric alliance is founded.
• The Professional Eyecare Resource Cooperative (PERC) is founded.

• The AAO supports the concept of board certification and starts the creation of the Maintenance of Fellowship requirement and committee.
• The AOA votes to establish the American Board of Optometry.
• The “Avatar” film prompts 3D film popularity and focus on binocular vision.
• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) names ICD-10 as new code standard.
• The Infinity Vision Alliance group is founded.
• Midwestern University – Arizona College of Optometry opens. 
• The Rosenberg School of Optometry at the University of the Incarnate Word opens.
• The Western University of Health Sciences College of Optometry opens.

• The AOA Foundation is renamed “Optometry Cares - The AOA Foundation.”
• CMS releases final rules for the Meaningful Use of Electronic Health Records (EHR).
• Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (COPE) no longer allows commercial entities to submit courses for COPE accreditation. 
• Custom-manufactured silicone-hydrogel contact lenses become available. 
• The Ocular Nutrition Society, now the Ocular Wellness and Nutrition Sociey, is founded.
• The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act becomes law, which includes the Harkin Amendment and the essential pediatric care benefit.
• Carol Z. Rymer, OD, MBA, becomes the first female OD to become a US Army colonel. 
• CMS’ Physician Payments Sunshine Act is signed into law.

• 

  Dori Carlson, OD, became the first female president of the AOA.
• The FDA approves the first treatment for meibomian gland disease.
• Melvin D. Shipp, OD, MPH, DrPH, becomes the first OD president of the American Public Health Association.
• Tom Little, OD, is posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his optometric mission work in Afganistan. 
• The March/April issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science redefines meibomian gland dysfunction. 
• “ODs on Facebook” debuts.
• Prima Eye Group is founded.

• CMS publishes its Final Rule on Stage 2 of the EHR Incentive program.
• The Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health University School of Optometry opens.
• Project Glass, from Google, is revealed. 
• The standalone vision care plans debate takes hold.
• The US Military offers a slimmer and lighter standard-issue frame. 

• AREDS2 results are released. 
• The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery offers the Integrated Ophthalmic-Managed Eyecare Delivery Model to ODs.
• The FDA approves the first visual prosthesis for patients who have severe to profound retinitis pigmentosa.
• Jennifer Smythe Coyle, OD, MS, becomes first female president of ASCO.

The FDA approves the first ophthalmic drug for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy. 

• The AOA creates the Measures and Outcomes Registry for Eyecare.
• CMS replaces sustainable growth rate with new payment systems through the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act.
• US and Canadian ODs meet for the first Dry Eye Disease Summit.
• Optometry Divas forms.

• The FDA approves a one-time-use contact lens that measures IOP fluctuations through a 24-hour period.
• The World Health Organization releases “The Impact of Myopia and High Myopia” report.

• The Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society’s (TFOS) DEWS II report is released.
• The Brien Holden Vision Institute creates a free myopia calculator.

• The AOA releases a white paper on the OD’s role in the opioid crisis.
• The Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety forms.
• The Contact Lens Compendium database (Centre for Ocular Research & Education) becomes available.
• The Global Myopia Awareness Coalition forms.
• The Brien Holden Vision Institute launches “Guidelines for Myopia Management,” a free online tool.

• 

  The first Myopia Awareness Week occurs May 13 to May 19.
• The AOA joins the National Academy of Medicine’s action collaborative on countering the US opioid epidemic. 
• The Contact Lens Museum opens in Oregon.

• 

  The American Optometric Association created the mobile board game “Blink Land” to educate the public about screen time.
• Optometric Management becomes the first eyecare trade publication to cover the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
• The AOA cancels Optometry’s Meeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The first National Mechanical Dry Eye Day occurs.
• Vision Council provides directions for disinfecting frames and handling deliveries in wake of COVID-19.
• The Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) releases downloadable Mask-Associated Dry Eye (MADE) infographic in 22 languages.

• The new Contact Lens Rule comes out.
• States authorize ODs to give COVID-19 vaccines.
• The World Council of Optometry Board of Directors advises optometrists to adopt a 3-component myopia management resolution.
• The first FDA-approved drop for presbyopia comes out.
• The United Nations Resolution on Eye Health is unanimously adopted.
• The AOA releases “Clinical Report: Myopia Management.”

• Donna Barba Higuera Matney, OD, receives the John Newbery Medal for “The Last Cuentista.”
• The Rocky Mountain University opens a college of optometry.

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends immediate discontinuation of EzriCare Artificial Tear, due to eye infections.
• Latinos En Optometry launches.
• A contact lens to quell symptoms of digital eye strain becomes available.
• The FDA recalls eye drops due to the risk of eye infections. 
• The AOA issues consumer health alert for contaminated eye drops.
• TFOS publishes “A Lifestyle Epidemic: Ocular Surface Disease.”
• The Vision Council launches bill tracker for members.
• The AOA creates the mobile board game “Blink Land.”
• The first drug for Demodex receives FDA approval. 
• The FDA issues label guidance for hydrogen peroxide-based contact lens products.
• Prevent Blindness launches Advocacy.PreventBlindness.org.

• The Vision Council launches PolicyWatch: https://policywatch.thevisioncouncil.org.
• “Creating Your Business of Distinction,” by April Jasper, OD, becomes available.

• The 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act becomes law. The Act includes adding optometry to the physician pay scale. 
• Accreditation Council on Optometric Education recognizes new standards.
• CORE launches SustainableEyecare.com. 
• Vision Council Releases Artificial Intelligence Usage Report.
• “The Great Gatsby,” featuring Dr. TJ Eckleburg, Oculist, turns 100.
• Vision Expo announces consolidation into one event.