The first ophthalmic surgeon in Great Britain was John Freke, appointed to the position by the Governors of St Bartholomew's Hospital in 1727. A major breakthrough came with the appointment of Baron Michael Johann Baptist de Wenzel (1724–90), a German who became oculist to King George III of England in 1772. His skill at removing cataracts legitimized the field.[16] The first dedicated ophthalmic hospital opened in 1805 in London; it is now called Moorfields Eye Hospital.