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Timeline of significant cultural and photographic events throughout 1800-1910.
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Wedgewood and Davy were researchers who experimented with light sensitive materials in order to capture images in a camera obscura. However, they struggled to find a successful process. Moreover; "Many histories of photography trace the development of European photography through the research of Thomas Wedgwood and Humphry Davy" (Marien 9).
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In 1803, Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, doubling the land of the United States. "Part or all of 15 states were eventually created from the land deal, which is considered one of the most important achievements of Thomas Jefferson’s presidency" This purchase was essential in establishing the modern United States as it also helped expand westward and led to the Lewis and Clark expedition.
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After acquiring the Louisiana Territory, Thomas Jefferson enlisted the help of Lewis and Clark to explore the unknown territory. The expedition took over two years but the "8,000-mile journey was deemed a huge success and provided new geographic, ecological and social information about previously uncharted areas of North America" (history.com). This expedition was essential in the westward expansion of the United States, as it gave people reassurance about going West.
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In 1814, aged 33, George Stephenson combines the tramways and the steam engines to make the first commercially viable locomotive" (history.co.uk). Although this engine has problems, it is the stepping stone to modern locomotives.
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In 1826 Niepce took "View from the Window at Le Gras". It was not completely stable and could not be reproduced as there was no negative. However, "it is considered to be the worlds first permanent photograph. (Marien 12).
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In 1835, Talbot took the famous picture "Latticed Window" with the camera obscura. He did this by exposing sensitized paper in a small camera (Marien 20). This would help lead to his patent of a process called the Calotype.
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In 1839, the photograph "View of the Boulevard Tu Temple" was taken by Louis Daguerre in Paris, France. This is widely considered to be the first image of a human being in a photograph. He would then go on to patent the "Daguerreotype" to the French Academy of Science and awarded a life long pension from the French government. (Marien 3).
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In 1841, Henry Fox Talbot patented the photographic process he called the "Calotype". With the calotype, a negative was produced of which many prints could be made. This made the calotype "the basis for modern photographic reproduction. (Marien 20).
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The Cyanotype was invented in 1842 by John Herschel. (Marien 17) This process made images with dominant tones of Prussian blue and white. "The simplicity and low cost of the Cyanotype made it a commercial success in the 1840's" (Marien 17).
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Anna Atkins, a scientific illustrator, "created impeccable cyanotype impressions of algae species and other specimens" (Marien 32).These images were put in a book and considered to be the first photographic book called "British Algae".
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In 1845, The Irish Potato Famine began when a fungus-like organism called Phytophthora infestans spread throughout Ireland. This caused the death of one million Irish, and another million leave Ireland and immigrate to North America and Great Britain" (history.com). This greatly impacted the culture of these different countries that still have effects today.
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The Mexican American War began in 1846 and ended in 1848. After it was over "Mexico had lost about one-third of its territory, including nearly all of present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico" (history.com) In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, establishing the Rio Grande as the U.S.-Mexican border. (history.com).This was huge in shaping the United States borders and having a larger territory.
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A technique developed by Frederick Scott Archer in 1851. This was the dominant photographic process from the 1850's to the 1860's. (Marien 520).
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The Crimean War lasted from 1853-1856. "The Crimean War was a result of Russian pressure on Turkey; this threatened British commercial and strategic interests in the Middle East and India" (history.com).This war then lead to the Treaty of Paris.
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In 1855 Roger Fenton took the image " The Valley of the Shadow of Death. This area in Crimea was where many British Troops met their deaths and became immortalized in a poem and photograph (Marien 99).
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In order to end the Crimean War, Russia had to sign the Peace of Paris treaty, on March 30, 1856. This preserved Ottoman rule in Turkey until 1914, crippled Russia, facilitated the unification of Germany, and revealed the power of Britain and the importance of sea power in global conflict. It had a major influence on the conduct of the American Civil War. (history.com).
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In 1859 Lewis Carrol took the image of Alice Liddell as "The Beggar Maid". She is the inspiration for the book he wrote "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass" (Marien 89). During the Victorian age children were seen as innocent. However some of his images are now deemed controversial.
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Matthew Brady was a famous battlefield photographer of the Civil War. He then began doing celebrity portraits such as Abraham Lincoln.
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The American Civil War was one of the most impactful events on United States History, as so many lives were lost. "The conflict was the costliest and deadliest war ever fought on American soil, with some 620,000 of 2.4 million soldiers killed, millions more injured and much of the South left in ruin" (History.com). This war impacted the tensions between the North and South and we still feel the effects in modern day.
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In 1863 Alexander Gardner took the famous photo "Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter" from the Civil War. However, this photo had been altered as Gardner moved the corpse of the soldier (Marien 108). These photographs led to the discussion of morals and ethics in photography.
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After working on developing a lightbulb for awhile, Thomas Edison made a breakthrough in 1879 and made a long-lasting and affordable light bulb which still has effects all over the world today. "More than any other individual, he was credited with building the framework for modern technology and society in the age of electricity" (history.com).
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Paris police official Alphonse Bertillon made the photography of criminals standard in the late nineteenth century (Marien 218). His main objective was to identify repeat offenders, and mugshots are still used today in modern times.
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A movement in art photography, characterized by a soft focus or the appearance of brushstrokes or other painterly effects (Marien 522). Some artists who displayed this style were Robert Demachy, George Davison, and Jane Reece.
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In 1888, George Eastman began manufacturing the Kodak Camera. Their slogan was "You press the button- we do the rest" as it was a customer friendly camera (Marien 166).
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In 1890 Jacob Riis produced the book "How the Other Half Lives" which had 15 images and 43 drawings of "slums" (Marien 203). These images were used to bring awareness to the issue of poverty and start the reforming process.
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In 1893, New Zealand became the first country in the world to grant women the right to vote. "The bill was the outcome of years of suffragette meetings in towns and cities across the country, with women often traveling considerable distances to hear lectures and speeches, pass resolutions, and sign petitions" (history.com). This event helped lay the groundwork for women in the US and Great Britain to get the right to vote.
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Alfred Stieglitz was a leader of this art movement who had an aesthetic agenda. Stieglitz "emphasized American artistic expression while accepting mostly modern, mostly European, art movements" (Marien 179).
