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The first design for the condom was created in the mid 1500s by Gabriel Fallopius (also famous for a well known part of the woman's anatomy). He designed a medicated sheath to go over the tip of the penis and under the foreskin and held on by a ribbon. He later designed a longer one for circumcised men.
The devices were used mainly to prevent the spread of venereal diseases, syphilis in particular.
In the 1600s England's King Charles II requested his physician, the Earl of Condom, to devise something to protect him from syphilis. His answer was an oiled sheath made from sheep intestine. It was often reused without cleaning and as a result did little to prevent the disease it was intended to protect against.
The modern rubber was invented in 1870. It was a thick vulcanized rubber condom that was designed to be cleaned and reused. The modern latex condom was later developed in the 1930s.
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