Hasan Ibn al-Haytham ( c. 965 – c. 1040), known to Europeans as Alhazan, was an Arab scholar of mathematics, theology, and medicine as is known as the “Father of modern optics.” He was also a scholar of wide-ranging interests and wrote treatises on philosophy, theology, and medicine. His works on ophthalmology were the most authoritative and thorough texts on the subject well into the 20th century.