The French dynasty of the Chevaliers owned a very famous firm in the 19th C. that manufactured optical instruments (in particular, good-quality microscopes). The company's origins go back to the 18th C. The most important members of the dynasty were Vincent Chevalier (1770-1841), his son Charles (1804-59), and his grandson Arthur (1830-74), who, in addition to being excellent manufacturers, introduced foreign innovations into France. Chevalier microscopes were among the earliest in France to be fitted with achromatic objectives. Charles was also a pioneer in photography and invented several types of photographic lenses; Arthur, a photographer as well, perfected eyeglass lenses.