Optician more important and dignified. Far-sighted or aging colonial Americans imported spectacles from Europe. Spectacles were primarily for the affluent and literate colonists, who required a valuable and precious appliance. Benjamin Franklin in the 1780s developed the bifocal. Bifocal lenses advanced little in the first half of the 19th century. The terms bifocal and trifocal were introduced in London by John Isaac Hawkins, whose trifocals were patented in 1827. In 1884 B. M. Hanna was granted patents on two forms of bifocals which become commercially standardized as the "cemented" and "perfection" bifocals. Both had the serious faults of ugly appearance, fragility,
Dutch corvette Scipio (1784) at anchor and attacked the village. Gunfire ensued as the villagers fired some cannon; the only major casualty was a villager, who was killed. Captain Grant, working on the basis of "A life for a life", was willing to let matters rest at that. However, an official inquiry resulted that took some time to smooth over the affair, with the assistance of a made up story and some bribes. For a slightly different account see Karsch. Dutch corvette Scipio (1784) The Dutch corvette "Scipio" was launched in 1784. She convoyed Dutch East Indiamen between the cape of Good Hope and