Celebrating 50 years: looking back but with an eye to the future

1999 saw a string of meetings and events which marked and celebrated the 50th anniversary of the IOL.

In April, at the 25th meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ASCRS) in Seattle, the American ophthalmic community honoured Harold Ridley. At the Opening Plenary Session on Saturday, 10 April, a series of special tributes were paid to Mr Ridley. These included a presentation to Ridley by Arthur Swain, then Chairman of the Rayner Group, of a silver plaque with the engraving:

Seattle, 1999 – Presented to Mr Harold Ridley by Rayner to mark the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of his completing the cure of cataract at St Thomas’ Hospital, London 29 November 1949.

In Stockholm, from 27 June to 1 July at the meeting of the Society of European Ophthalmology (SOE), Ridley’s work was celebrated by European ophthalmologists led by Professor Bo Philipsson of the world famous St Erik’s Hospital.

In September, at the Vienna Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS), there was a special ceremony during the Opening Session at which the ESCRS acknowledged Ridley for “his dogged perseverance – against odds that sometimes must have seemed insuperable – to reach his goal of assuring better vision and an improved quality of life for millions of cataract patients throughout the world.”

The year’s events culminated on the 29th November 1999 with a 50th Anniversary Gala Banquet hosted by Rayner and held at the Science Museum in London. Over 200 guests paid tribute to Ridley for his pioneering work.

There remained one further celebration in this marvellous year of celebrations when, in the New Year Honours List, Ridley was awarded a knighthood for his pioneering work in cataract surgery.