people

• Archimedes of Syracuse - used mirrors to reflect light and set fire to ships
• Pythagoras of Samos - thought vision was because light rays emitted from peoples eyes (although this is incorrect)
• Euclid of Alexandria - created laws of reflection, thought that light emitts from persons eyes (incorrect)
• Claudius Ptolemy - discovered that light refracts
• Antonie van Leeuwenhoek - father of microbiology, discovered bacteria and protozoa, made simple microscopes
• Isaac Newton -

  • Discovered gravity - apple falling from a tree
  • Used prisms to separate colours of light
• Ole Romer & 

  Albert A.  Michelson

  • determined speed of light
• Alessandro della Spina -

  • Created first pair of eyeglasses - magnifying qualities
  • Two convex lenses
• Sacharias Jansen - invented the microscope
• hans lippershey - magnification and early telescopes
• Galileo Galilei - invention of the telescope (refracting)
• Ignazio Porro - using porro prisim to invert an image
• Edward Hubble - Made telescope and discovered major galaxies and moons

  Mirror based optical system collects light and focuses it on the universe 
• Al-Haytham - figuired out how vision worked, discovered how reflection worked
• James Webb - Served nasa, james webb telescope, uses infrared light, High resolution and high sensitivity allow it to view objects too old distant or faint