Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Albrecht von Grafe, or Graefe, was born on May 22, 1828 and died July 20, 1870. Graefe He was considered by many, a Prussian pioneer and founding father of 19th century ophthalmology. (Daroff and Aminoff) Father to Albrecht von Graefe and son to Karl Ferdinand von Graefe, he was born in Finkenheerd, Brandenburg. In Berlin, he studied anatomy, natural sciences, logic, and philosophy, going abroad to study in London, Prague, Vienna, and Paris. (Daroff and Aminoff) It was while abroad that Graefe decided to devote special focus to the field of ophthalmology. He traveled back to Berlin to become an oculist where he established a private institute for eye treatment. His thesis, Uber die Wirkung der Augenmuskeln, led to his habiltation and eight years later, a position as an associate professor of ophthalmology. (Daroff and Aminoff) Eight years after that in 1866, he gained the position of full professor. His career continued to progress just four years later as he was elected to be part of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences as a foreign member. (Daroff and Aminoff)

He married in 1862 with only one child out of three surviving into adulthood. Eight years after his marriage he died of pulmonary tuberculosis at the age of 42 in 1870. Although he lived a short life, he managed to accomplish many things and contribute greatly to ophthalmological science. (Daroff and Aminoff) Considered as a notable...

"He introduced the operation of iridectomy for glaucoma, refined several surgical procedures, and had many contributions in the evolving field of neuro-ophthalmology." (Mach, et al. 152)
To understand and refine the treatments he formulated for glaucoma and cataract, Graefe had to dive into the scientific method. The scientific method involves different steps to observe, question, hypothesize, and then develop an experimental design, which would lead to data collection, analysis, interpretation, and finally conclusion. He used the process of the scientific method to not only focus on operating as a treatment for glaucoma, but also to refine lens extraction along with other key areas of ophthalmology. "He introduced the operation of iridectomy for glaucoma and refined the procedure of lens extraction. He is also remembered for having described sympathetic ophthalmia, retinal embolism, progressive external ophthalmoplegia, and some of the ocular signs in dysthyroid ophthalmomopathy." (Pryse-Phillips 425)

Graefe had to observe the eye, study it in order to develop the analysis that would lead to effective treatment protocols. Sjorgen in his article, "A Study in Pseudoglaucoma" notes the ability of Graefe to effectively describe the disease of glaucoma noting the…