McAllister Family Ophthalmic Legacy
Near this site in 1796, John McAllister Sr. opened America’s first optical shop and began a family tradition of innovation in optics and eye care. John Sr. was a pioneer of opticianry. His son John Jr. became the first American hospital opti-cian. Third generation William, working at Wills Eye Hospital, was the first to teach refraction to ophthalmologists, and his son Francis was a founder of the American Optometric Association in 1898.
Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public LibraryDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Marker data: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission via data.pa.gov
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