International Congress of Ophthalmology

Dr. Évariste Warlomont, who was Editor-in-chief of the French optometry journal Annales d'oculistique and later Director of the Ophthalmic Institute, first suggested and carried into effect the idea of an Ophthalmological Congress.^[2] A call to ophthalmologists and physicians interested in the field was issued on January 15, 1857, by an organizing committee formed by the editorial board of Annales d'oculistique to plan a special ophthalmology congress.^[3]

The original Organizing Committee of the First International Ophthalmological Congress consisted of Dr. Louis S. Fallot, President of the Academy of Medicine of Belgium; Dr. J. Bosch, Surgeon of the Brabant Ophthalmic Institute; Dr. F. Hairion, Director of the Brabant Ophthalmic Institute; and Dr. J. Van Roosbroeck; Director of the Brabant Ophthalmic Institute. Dr. Évariste Warlomont acted as the secretary general of the congress.^[2]

When over 150 ophthalmologists from 24 countries gathered in Brussels, Belgium in 1857, the First Periodic International Congress of Ophthalmology (French: Congrès Périodique International D'Ophthalmologie) was inaugurated and the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) was established.^[3]

The first Congress of Brussels occurred from September 13 to September 16, 1857, at the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium and the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium at the museum.^[4]

The 1862 International Congress of Ophthalmology was held in Paris, France.^{[citation needed]}

Following the second Congress, the 1862 Organizing Committee chose Vienna, Austria as the next location for its meeting, originally set for August 1866. The Vienna Committee, led by Frédéric Jules Sichel, with Dr. Félix Giraud-Teulon and Dr. Louis de Wecker, postponed the Congress due to political unrest during the Unification of Germany and moved it to Paris, France. In 1867, Paris hosted the International Ophthalmological Congress for the second time, from August 12 to 14. The Congress was presided over by Albrecht von Graefe, with Carl Ferdinand von Arlt and Dr. J. F. Vleminckx as vice-presidents, and Giraud-Teulon and Louis de Wecker as secretaries.^[5]

Opening on August 1, 1872, the Fourth International Ophthalmological Congress was held in London, England until the 3rd of the month. Dutch ophthalmologist Dr. Franciscus Donders held the role of president. The Congress was granted use of the Royal College of Physicians library by its council.^[2] At the end of the London session, a provisional committee of New Yorkers Dr. Cornelius Rea Agnew, Dr. Henry Drury Noyes, and Dr. Daniel Bennett St. John Roosa were selected to organize the next International Congress. Cincinnati's Dr. E. Williams was appointed by the committee to be the next president of the International Congress.^{[citation needed]}

The Fifth Congress of Ophthalmology was held at Chickering Hall in New York City from September 12 to September 14, 1876.^[6] Once the congress was adjourned, the American Ophthalmological Society held a banquet for the foreign delegates at Delmonico's.^[1] New York physician H.D. Noye's committee of choice for the next Congress in Milan, Italy included Dr. Hansen of Copenhagen, Prof. Becker of Heidleberg, and Prof. Arlt of Vienna.^{[citation needed]}

At the 1880 Congress in Milan, Italy, Dr. Quaglino was elected by the committee to preside. It was held from September 1 to 4, 1880.^{[citation needed]}

In 1888, the Seventh Congress was held in Heidelberg from August 8 to 11. Dr. Franciscus Donders, who presided over the London Congress, took on the role of president for the second time at the Congress in Heidelberg.^[3]

Edinburgh, Scotland was the venue for the Eighth International Ophthalmological Congress, which took place from August 7 to 10, 1894. The 1894 International Ophthalmological Congress, led by President Douglas Argyll Robertson, included Sir Henry Rosborough Swanzy of Dublin and Mr. Power of London as vice-presidents, and Dr. George A. Berry as General Secretary. The first session opened with Robertson's address at the Physiology Department of Edinburgh University, followed by a speech from Lord Provost of Edinburgh James Alexander Russell, who was named an Honorary Member of the Congress.^[7]

In 1899, the Ninth Ophthalmological Congress took place in Utrecht in the Netherlands. German ophthalmologist Richard Liebreich painted a portrait of Albrecht von Graefe, which he exhibited at the International Ophthalmological Congress.^[8]

The proceedings of the Twelfth International Congress in Washington, D.C. took place from April 25 to the 28 in 1922.^[9]

The Eighteenth International Congress of Ophthalmology was held from September 8 to 12, 1958, in Brussels, nearly 100 years after the first-ever congress in Belgium.^[10]

Number	Year	Location	Notes
1st	1857	Brussels, Belgium	[11]
2nd	1862	Paris, France
3rd	1867	Paris, France
4th	1872	London, England
5th	1876	New York, United States
6th	1880	Milan, Italy
7th	1888	Heidelberg, Germany
8th	1894	Edinburgh, Scotland
9th	1899	Utrecht, Germany
10th	1904	Lucerne, Switzerland
11th	1909	Naples, Italy
12th	1922	Washington, D.C., United States
13th	1929	Amsterdam / The Hague, Netherlands
14th	1933	Madrid, Spain
15th	1937	Cairo, Egypt
16th	1950	London, England
17th	1954	Montreal / New York
18th	1958	Brussels, Belgium
19th	1962	New Delhi, India
20th	1966	Munich, Germany
21st	1970	Mexico City, Mexico
22nd	1974	Paris, France
23rd	1978	Kyoto, Japan
24th	1982	San Francisco, United States
25th	1986	Rome, Italy
26th	1990	Singapore
27th	1994	Toronto, Canada
28th	1998	Amsterdam, Netherlands
29th	2002	Sydney, Australia
30th	2006	São Paulo, Brazil
31th	2008	Hong Kong, China
32nd	2010	Berlin, Germany
33rd	2012	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
34th	2014	Tokyo, Japan	Host: Japanese Ophthalmological Society
35th	2016	Guadalajara, Mexico	Host: Mexican Society of Ophthalmology
36th	2018	Barcelona, Spain	Host: Spanish Society of Ophthalmology
37th	2020	Virtual	Host: Ophthalmology Society of South Africa (OSSA)
38th	2022	Virtual	Host: Chinese Ophthalmological Society
39th	2024	Vancouver, Canada