Major contributions to our understanding of the human eye were made by Swedish ophthalmologist Allvar Gullstrand, particularly in the area of how the eye forms images. His mathematical approach to solving physiological problems had a great significance in the science of ophthalmology, and his discoveries won him the Nobel Prize for medicine or physiology in 1911. He also developed a number of devices, such as the slit lamp and the reflector ophthalmoscope, which became valuable tools in eye examinations and for the treatment of optical disorders. Gullstrand also served for many years as a member, and later as president, of the Nobel Committee responsible for awarding the prize for physics.

Gullstrand was born in Landskrona, Sweden, to Pehr Alfred Gullstrand and Sophia Korsell Gullstrand. His father, the city physician, influenced his decision against a career in engineering, in favor of one in medicine. After studying at universities in Uppsala...