William Bates (1860-1931) was best known for his work in ophthalmology. He created a method for better eyesight, naturally. His idea was that the eyes become tense and this tension affects the optical lengths and so sight. Once you relax the eyes, perfect sight returns.
You can see the perfect logic here as most of us are indoors, looking straight ahead, at close objects especially screens. There is no exercise of the eyes. Add to that, many people are tense, from a variety of causes, and the eyes respond to that tension as well as the muscles.
Tight neck muscles can cause headaches. Tight abdominal muscles can cause digetive issues. And so on.
He had workshops, where people would go in with bottle bottom glasses and emerge with perfect sight.
He recommended a regime of five daily exercises for the eyes (up/down, side to side, full circle clockwise, full circle anti-clockwise, focus on a cloud, then a very close object). This was amazingly helpful for me, especially when I had been stydying homeopathy, so inside and focusing on books and computers all day.
He recommended getting the Snellen chart (there are many websites which offer a free download) and checking your ability to read it from a distance of 3 metres (10 ft), first covering one eye, then the other, regularly.
This was especially helpful in schools. The children made use of it before lessons every day and it helped their concentration.
I believe he was the instigator, or supporter of the palming method.
I’m still working my way through his book, Perfect Sight Without Glasses, which is downloadable.