[Ophthalmoscopy attempts before Helmholtz]

The principle of contact lens ophthalmoscopy was discovered in 1703; the fundus contact lens was very nearly invented in 1844. Coaxial illumination was applied in 1823 and improved in 1841 by including a mirror, while, the first usable ophthalmoscope was designed in 1847. This article pays tribute to the virtually ignored services of Méry, Kussmaul, Purkinje, Hofmann, and Babbage.