Charles L. Schepens was born in Belgium in 1912, and originally studied mathematics before turning his interests to medicine.

Dr. Schepens received his medical degree in 1935 from the State University of Ghent. In 1937, he served as assistant to L. Hambresin, MD, in Brussels. In 1940, he was inducted as a Captain in the Medical Corps of the Belgian Air Force, where he served until Nazis overran the country in May of that year. Under the alias "Jacques Pérot," he spearheaded a secret information and evacuation pipeline in the Pyrenees, under the cover of a country lumber mill and his medical office. He was arrested several times by the Gestapo and after being alerted to an upcoming arrest, he and his family escaped to France. His resistance work ended with his own dramatic escape to Spain and ultimately, to England. For this, and later, his many accomplishments in the field of ophthalmology, Dr. Schepens received the Medal of the French Légion d'Honneur in 2006.

After World War II, Dr. Schepens relocated to London, where at Moorfields Eye Hospital he began to work on retinal surgery and the binocular indirect ophthalmoscope—which allowed stereoscopic viewing of the eye fundus out to the peripheral retina, for the first time. The instrument revolutionized fundus examination and was adopted by specialists worldwide. An early version sits on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institute, in Washington, DC.

On the strength of this success, Dr. Schepens emigrated to the United States in 1947, and joined Harvard Medical School as a fellow in ophthalmic research. Shortly after, he founded the first retina service in the world, at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.

The Retina Foundation in Boston—later renamed the Schepens Eye Research Institute—continues to be the world's leading independent eye research institution. Growing out of this establishment were also the Boston Biomedical Research Institute and the Schepens Retina Associates Foundation.

In addition to developing the binocular indirect ophthalmoscope, Dr. Schepens and his associates designed many other ophthalmic instruments including microscissors for vitreous surgery, the small-pupil ophthalmoscope, the scanning laser ophthalmoscope, the scanning laser coagulator, and a universal intraocular laser. He pioneered many surgical procedures including scleral buckle techniques and the open-sky vitrectomy. His devices and surgical techniques have been credited with raising the success rates of retinal reattachment surgery from 40% to 90%. Additionally, Dr. Schepens authored more than 360 publications on these advances.

Dr. Schepens received numerous awards for his work in ophthalmology including: the Concours Universitaire of Belgium in Therapeutic Science, the New England Ophthalmological Prize for Outstanding Work in the Field of Ophthalmology, The Eyes of Texas Sight Foundation Award (Baylor College of Medicine), the Research to Prevent Blindness Award for Outstanding Ophthalmic Achievement, the First Award of Merit in Retina Research (Retina Research Foundation of Houston), and the Laureate Recognition Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

In 1999, he was selected as one of "The Ten Most Influential Ophthalmologists of the Twentieth Century."

In 2001, Harvard Medical School established the Charles L. Schepens Professorship.

Dr. Charles L. Schepens died Tuesday, March 28, 2006 at the age of 94. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Marie G. (Vander-Eecken); his son, Luc J.; his daughters, Claire Delori, Bernadette Butler, and Catherine Wainer; eight grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.