Since Mauthner, in 1867 (Die Lehre vom Glaucom), suggested that "congenital hydrophthalmia is nothing but a glaucoma developed in utero, or soon after birth—more likely secondary than primary," and Muralt, a pupil of Horner, two years later in his inaugural dissertation, called special attention to this view of its pathology, it has generally been considered to be the result of a glaucomatic process due to uveal inflammation.
Reference: Report of a Case of Kerato-Globus. Arch Ophthalmol. 1898;27:202.