Glorious History of Maria Dablemont

Abstract

Maria Dablemont (1919-1992), co-founder of the Optometric Historical Society (OHS) and head librarian for the American Optometric Association (AOA) from 1964 to 1988, had a profound impact on the profession of optometry in the United States. At a crucial moment for the AOA, Dablemont helped to pioneer a new, forward-looking professional identity for the American optometrist, and articulate an origin story that mapped the future the association was plotting for the profession to its past. In part one of this biography, we havedrawn a sketch of Dablemont’s life before joining the AOA (1919-1964) and explore how her life experience made her the perfect agent to help the AOA to craft a new ideal of what it could mean to be an optometrist. In part two, we will trace Dablemont’s personal and professional development through the lens of the history of the International Library, Archives & Museum and the OHS from 1964 until her retirement in 1988.