Recognition, honours and awards
In the thirty years after implanting the first intraocular lens, Ridley received scant thanks and recognition from his peers. That began to change in the last twenty years of his life when he began to receive recognition for the invention that had restored the sight of millions of patients worldwide – including his own; finally he was honoured with a knighthood.
1986
Ridley was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
1992
Ridley received the Gullstrand Medal named after the famous Swedish ophthalmic surgeon Allvar Gullstrand.
1994
Ridley received the Gonin Medal named after the renowned Swiss retinal surgeon Jules Gonin.
1999
Ridley honoured in a special anniversary session as one of the most outstanding and influential ophthalmologists of the 20th century
2001
A plaque was installed at St Thomas's Hospital, London to commemorate the first IOL implantation