From the Series: A'lam al-Fikr al-Arabi (Notables of Arab Thought): The father of modern optics Hassan Bin al-Haytham (Alhazen) (ca. 364/965 - 430/1040) was a medieval mathematician, astronomer, and physicist of the Islamic Golden Age from present-day Iraq. Referred to as «the father of modern optics» he made significant contributions to the principles of optics and visual perception in particular. A biography by Rihab Akkawi.