THE SPECIALTY of ophthalmology in Spain became established during the second half of the 19th century. In Madrid in 1872, the Instituto Oftalmico Nacional provided the training of Spain's first-generation ophthalmologists and it continues to thrive. The second generation of ophthalmologists became established with the founding of the Sociedad Oftalmologíca Hispano-Americans in 1903. Ophthalmology was officially recognized and included as a subject in medical schools in 1902, and the first professorships in ophthalmology were created at the Universities of Madrid and Barcelona.1