F-586 Otto Wichterle

(*27 October 1913 - †18 August 1998) An ingenious chemist; the world-renowned inventor of soft contact lenses and silon, for which he was nominated for the Nobel Prize. A native of Prostějov, he loved chemistry from his childhood and achieved great success: he authored at least 150 patents and more than 200 publications. His first lens-making machine was assembled on Christmas Day 1961 from pieces of Merkur kit.