James Ayscough was an English optician

Optician

An optician is a person who is trained to fill prescriptions for eye correction in the field of medicine, also known as a dispensing optician or optician, dispensing...

 and designer and maker of scientific instruments. He was apprenticed to an optician named James Mann from 1743 to 1747. James Ayscough became known for his microscope

Microscope

A microscope is an instrument used to see objects that are too small for the naked eye. The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy...

s. His shop was in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 between 1740 and 1759. Around the year 1752, James Ayscough introduced spectacles with double-hinged side pieces. Although he made clear lenses

Lens (optics)

A lens is an optical device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmits and refracts light, converging or diverging the beam. A simple lens consists of a single optical element...

, he recommended lenses tinted blue or green to treat some vision problems. These spectacles with tinted lenses are believed to be the precursors to sunglasses

Sunglasses

Sunglasses or sun glasses are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can sometimes also function as a visual aid, as variously termed spectacles or glasses exist, featuring lenses that...

.