Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham (Basra, 965 – Caïro, ±1040)[1] was een Arabisch[2] astronoom en wiskundige.
In Europa was hij bekend als Alhazen, de Latijnse verbastering van Al-Hasan.
Alhazen (965 – c. 1040) carried out many investigations and experiments on visual perception, extended the work of Ptolemy on binocular vision, and commented on the anatomical works of Galen.[9][10] He was the first person to explain that vision occurs when light bounces on an object and then is directed to one's eyes.[11]