The International Congress of Ophthalmology (, or International Ophthalmological Congress), now known as the World Ophthalmology Congress is a biennial international scientific conference to promote ophthalmological science.

History 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. A call to ophthalmologists and physicians interested in the field was issued on 15 January 1857 by an organizing committee formed by the editorial board of Annales d'oculistique to plan a special ophthalmology congress.

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.

First congress When over 150 ophthalmologists from 24 countries gathered in Brussels, Belgium in 1857, the First Periodic International Congress of Ophthalmology () was inaugurated and the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) was established.

The first Congress of Brussels occurred from 13 to 16 September 1857 at the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium and the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium at the museum.Proceedings of the International Congress / International Congress of Ophthalmology. (1858). Netherlands: Excerpta Medica.

Second congress The 1862 International Congress of Ophthalmology was held in Paris, France.

Third congress 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 12 to 14 August. 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.Compte-rendu: 3. Session 1867, 2e. Congrès de Paris. 1867. (1868). France: (n.p.).

Fourth congress Opening on 1 August 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.Proceedings of the international congress. (1873). (n.p.): (n.p.). 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.

Fifth congress The Fifth Congress of Ophthalmology was held at Chickering Hall in New York City from 12 to 14 September 1876.Report of the Fifth International Ophthalmological Congress: Held in New York, Sept. 1876.... (1877). United States: D. Appleton & Company. Once the congress was adjourned, the American Ophthalmological Society held a banquet for the foreign delegates at Delmonico's.Proceedings of the International Congress of Ophthalmology. (1877). Netherlands: Excerpta Medica Foundation. 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.

Sixth congress At the 1880 Congress in Milan, Italy, Dr. Quaglino was elected by the committee to preside. It was held from 1 to 4 September 1880.

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

Eighth congress

Edinburgh, Scotland was the venue for the Eighth International Ophthalmological Congress, which took place from 7 to 10 August 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.Transactions of the Eighth International Ophthalmological Congress: Held in Edinburgh August 1894. (1894). United Kingdom: T. and A. Constable.

Ninth congress 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.TOWER P. Richard Liebreich and His Atlas of Ophthalmoscopy. Arch Ophthalmol. 1961;65(6):792–797. doi:10.1001/archopht.1961.01840020794007

Twelfth congress The proceedings of the Twelfth International Congress in Washington, D.C. took place from 25 to 28 April 1922.An International Congress of Ophthalmology: Proceedings, Washington, D.C., April 25, 26, 27, 28, 1922. (1922). United States: Philadelphia : WM. F. Fell Company.

Eighteenth congress The Eighteenth International Congress of Ophthalmology was held from 8 to 12 September 1958 in Brussels, nearly 100 years after the inaugural congress in Belgium.Eighteenth International Congress of Ophthalmology, September 8–12, 1958, Brussels; Abstracts of Reports, Symposia, Discussions and Free Communications. (1958). Belgium: Amsterdam : The Excerpta Medica Foundation.

Congress locations and dates

Number Year Location Notes 1st 1857 Brussels, Belgium 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 Society39th2024Vancouver, Canada40th2026Prague, Czech Republic

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