Salvino D'Armate (1258–1312)
Born 1258 CE, died 1312 CE.
Salvino D'Armato degli Armati of Florence is sometimes credited with the invention of eyeglasses in the 13th century, however it has been shown that this claim was a hoax, and that there was no member of the Armati family with that name at the time. The earliest mention of Salvino degli Armati as the inventor of eyeglasses occurred in 1684. Ferdinando Leopoldo del Migliore (1628–1696) of Florence published a book, Firenze città noblissima illustrata (Florence, Most Noble City, illustrated). In this book, del Migliore claimed to own a burial register of the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, which had recently been renovated. This register supposedly recorded Armati's epitaph as follows: Original : "Qui diace Salvino d'Armato degl'Armati di Fir., Inventor degl'occhiali. Dio gli perdoni la peccata. Anno D. MCCCXVII" Translation : "Here lies Salvino, son of Armato degli Armati of Florence, inventor of eyeglasses. May God forgive his sins. A.D. 1317." Del Migliore never produced this burial register, and it has never been found.
Text from the Wikipedia article Salvino_D'Armati, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.