At the initiative of J. François, W. Leydhecker and E.L. Greve a proposal was made in 1977 to create a European Glaucoma Society.
An invitation was sent to a number of glaucoma specialists representing all European countries. This group of glaucoma specialists met in Ghent in 1978.
The founding members of the European Glaucoma Society were: R. Etienne, J. François, E.L. Greve, W. Leydhecker, R. Smith and J. Stepanik.
Controversies in the history of glaucoma: is it all a load of old Greek?
