Ray-Ban was founded in 1937 by Bausch & Lomb, an American eyeglass company. The company designed and created aviation sunglasses that would reduce the glare caused by sunlight and white clouds. These sunglasses were remodeled in 1939 and offered for sale to the public as Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses.
The company was sold to Luxottica Group in 1999 for $640 million. Today, Ray-Ban continues to be one of the most popular selling sunglass brands in the world. The popular Wayfarer model was released in 1952. In the late 1950s, the company released a more squared off style called Caravans, which were popular in the 1970s after Robert DeNiro wore this style in the movie Taxi Driver.
The company has approximately 55,000 employees and has US headquarters based in Mason, Ohio.
