Bausch + Lomb can trace its roots back to 1853 when two German immigrants to the US, John Bausch, and Henry Lomb made a small workshop which manufactured monocles. The business was so successful that by 1861, they were also manufacturing rubber eyeglass frames, as well as other eyewear products.
The company continued to grow substantially over the decades that followed. In 1945, Bausch + Lomb even refined the optics for the CinemaScope, which made movies more popular and caused theaters to double the width of their screens in movie houses.
Company headquarters are located in Bridgewater, New Jersey.