Ferdinand Monoyer (9 May 1836 – 11 July 1912) was a French

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

, known for introducing the

dioptre A dioptre ( British spelling) or (American spelling), symbol dpt or D, is a unit of measurement with dimension of reciprocal length, equivalent to one reciprocal metre, . It is normally used to express the optical power of a lens or curved mi ...

in 1872. He invented the Monoyer chart, used to test

visual acuity Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of visual perception, vision, but technically rates an animal's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity depends on optical and neural factors. Optical factors of the eye ...

. He inserted his name in the random letters of the chart. It appears when one reads vertically from bottom to top on each side.

Biography

Monoyer was of Alsatian heritage by his mother and his father was a French military doctor. He was an associate professor of medical physics at the Faculty of Medicine,

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

in 1871. Later, he was the director of the Ophthalmic Clinic of the Faculty of Medicine, Nancy-Université from 1872 to 1877. He was also professor of medical physics at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Lyon, from 1877 to 1909.

Death

Monoyer died at the age of 76 years. His tomb is located in the Cimetière de la Guillotière in Lyon. On Saturday 13 July 1912, a long procession of friends and members of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Lyon accompanied Professor Monoyer to his final resting place; Professor Hugounenq traced Monoyer's career as chair at the University of Lyon, Associate Professor Nogier spoke on behalf of the students of the late master and Louis Dor made a speech on behalf of the Ophthalmological Society of Lyon. The speech made in Monoyer's honour by the president of ''Société nationale de Médecine de Lyon'' during 11 November 1912 session of the ''Société'' was concluded as such: "To the memory of this scholar, the Medical Society bows with respect and sadness; it has lost a friend who was also her counselor who knew to think and to reflect."

References

French ophthalmologists 1836 births 1912 deaths Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg Academic staff of Nancy-Université Academic staff of the University of Lyon {{France-med-bio-stub