Abstract
This article summarizes current knowledge about the life and work of Otto Wichterle (1913-1998). It deals with his family background, study and careers.
It describes the cooperation with colleagues especially with Maximilian Dreifus and Drahoslav Lim and their share in the development of contact lenses. The article zooms as well problems with patent rights of contact lenses and at the end it commemorates Wichterle's fate after 1989, therefore his election as President of Academy of Sciences of Czechoslovakia (1990-1993).