Albrecht von Graefe and the beginning of modern ophthalmology : Graefe year 2020

After almost 4000 years of history, ophthalmology became independent between 1850 and 1900. The decisive founder of modern ophthalmology was Albrecht von Graefe (1828-1870), who founded both his archive (1854), which still exists today and is named after him, and the German Ophthalmological Society (1857). There are still numerous Graefe sites today, especially in Berlin. Thanks to his timeless values, Albrecht von Graefe can be described as the conscience of ophthalmology in Germany.