Andreas Anagnostakis

Andreas Anagnostakis (Ανδρέας Αναγνωστάκης; 11 August 1826 – 27 March 1897) was a Greek ophthalmologist, physician, and educator. He is best known for inventing the ophthalmoscope, a handheld tool used in diagnostics and still relevant today.

Biography Early life Anagnostakis was born 11 August 1826 on the Greek island of Antikythera. His parents were from the village of Anopolis in Sfakia, Crete and possibly from one of the original founding Sfakiote families. They fled Cretan Turks on the island and settled in Syra, where Andreas attended school. He later went to the Medical School at the University of Athens, then continued his studies, funded by Queen Amalia, in Vienna, Berlin, and Paris.

Career While studying in France, he came up with the idea to add a concave mirror to ophthalmoscopes previously suggested by Hermann von Helmholtz, Theodor Ruete, Eugène Follin, Cocius, William Cumming, Charles Babbage, and Eduard Jäger. In 1915, after Anagnostakis' death, William Noah Allyn and Frederick Welch (of Welch Allyn) built upon his work by adding direct illumination to the handheld device; their version was a step closer to what we use today. Anagnostakis served as the president of the University of Athens in 1877 and was twice the dean of the Medical School, once in 1868 and again in 1873. In 1867, he returned to Berlin to learn about cataract surgery techniques from Albrecht von Graefe, his collaborator and former professor. He pioneered treatments and surgical methods for entropion; this method is referred to as the Hotz-Anagnostaki Operation.

Outside of his clinical work, Anagnostakis greatly enjoyed ancient Greek literature and poetry. There is also a commemorative bust of him in Markopoulou Square near Chania that incorrectly lists his lifespan as 1896—1897, rather than 1826—1897.