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First Photograph is Taken
Joseph Nicephore Niepce captures "View from the Window at Le Gras" heliograph. Created by placing a pewter plate treated with bitumen of Judea into a camera obscura and allowing it to expose for eight hours. He increased the image contrast by exposing it to iodine fumes to create a direct positive image. Marien, Mary Warner. “Chapter One: The Origins of Photography.” Photography: A Cultural History, 4th ed., Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2015. -
Slavery Abolished in British Empire
"1800–1899 (A.D.) World History.” Infoplease, Infoplease, 28 Feb. 2017, www.infoplease.com/history/world/1800-1899-ad-world-history. -
Daguerreotype is Introduced
Developed by Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre, introduced by Francois Arago. The process created direct positives on silver plates, developed by mercuery fumes and salt water. (Pictured, Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre, 1944)
Marien, Mary Warner. “Chapter One: The Origins of Photography.” Photography: A Cultural History, 4th ed., Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2015. -
Photography is Made Available to the Public
Daguerre is awarded a lifelong pension from the French government in exchange for revealing his Daguerreotype process. He does so in "History and Description of the Process of Daguerreotype and Diorama". It is distributed as a gift to the world from France. Daguerreotypes boast a 3-30 minute exposure time. Marien, Mary Warner. “Chapter One: The Origins of Photography.” Photography: A Cultural History, 4th ed., Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2015. -
Lower and Upper Canada United
“1800–1899 (A.D.) World History.” Infoplease, Infoplease, 28 Feb. 2017, www.infoplease.com/history/world/1800-1899-ad-world-history. -
First Licensed Public Daguerreotype Studio in Britain Opens
Opened in London by Richard Beard, and followed by more. This opened the door for photography to exist as a profession. Marien, Mary Warner. Photography: A Cultural History, 4th ed., Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2015. -
Calotype is Patented
Patented by Fox Talbot, who had been working on and abandoned the process prior to the 1939 release of Daguerreotypes. The process takes longer to expose and produces lower quality images compared to Daguerreotypes, but creates a negative from which multiple copies can be made. It became the basis for modern photography. Marien, Mary Warner. “Chapter One: The Origins of Photography.” Photography: A Cultural History, 4th ed., Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2015. -
Mexican-American War is First Photographed War
Photographs are delicate and need to be developed quickly, so photographs are taken at camps of soldiers and officers, and of the aftermath of battle. As time goes on, both the technology and ethics surrouding war photography will develop. Marien, Mary Warner. Photography: A Cultural History, 4th ed., Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2015. -
California Gold Rush Begins
“1800–1899 (A.D.) World History.” Infoplease, Infoplease, 28 Feb. 2017, www.infoplease.com/history/world/1800-1899-ad-world-history. -
Collodian Process Published
Published by Frederick Scott Archer. It is a wet-plate process that can produce both negatives and direct positives. It boasted a shorter exposure time and produced untextured positives. It used glass instead of paper Marien, Mary Warner. Photography: A Cultural History, 4th ed., Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2015. -
The Great Exhibition/Crystal Palace Exhibition Opens
Displayed, among other things, cameras, photographs, and photographic equipment. The photographs included landscape, commercial, and fine art photography. It included 800 photographic examples from 6 countries, and was visited by over 6 million people. Marien, Mary Warner. Photography: A Cultural History, 4th ed., Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2015. -
"The Valley of Shadow and Death" is photographed
"The Valley of Shadow and Death" is a famous photograph of cannonballs strewn across a road following a battle in the Crimean War. The photograph is subject of talk today about the manipulation of photojournalistic scenes, as photographer Roger Fenton arrived several months after the battle and moved the cannonballs back onto the road to create a more compelling image. Marien, Mary Warner. Photography: A Cultural History, 4th ed., Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2015. -
South Carolina Secedes from the Union
“1800–1899 (A.D.) World History.” Infoplease, Infoplease, 28 Feb. 2017, www.infoplease.com/history/world/1800-1899-ad-world-history. -
"Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter" is Photographed
"Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter" is a famous image made by Alexander Gardener during the American Civil War. Like Fenton's "Valley of Shadow and Death" before it, this photograph would later raise questions about the morality of posing a scene, and also of the dignity of photographing the dead. For this photo, Gardener added a prop rifle and manipulated the body of the soldier to face the camera. Marien, Mary Warner. Photography: A Cultural History, 4th ed., Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2015. -
Civil War Ends
“1800–1899 (A.D.) World History.” Infoplease, Infoplease, 28 Feb. 2017, www.infoplease.com/history/world/1800-1899-ad-world-history. -
Carrier Pigeons Utilized following Franco-Prussian War
After a defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, Paris established a provisional government and was laid siege by Prussian troupes. According to lore, when communications were cut, carrier pigeons spirited hundreds of messages whose text was made photographically smaller Marien, Mary Warner. Photography: A Cultural History, 4th ed., Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2015. -
Thomas Edison Invents Practical Electric Light
“1800–1899 (A.D.) World History.” Infoplease, Infoplease, 28 Feb. 2017, www.infoplease.com/history/world/1800-1899-ad-world-history. -
First Kentucky Derby
“1800–1899 (A.D.) World History.” Infoplease, Infoplease, 28 Feb. 2017, www.infoplease.com/history/world/1800-1899-ad-world-history. -
Alexander Graham Bell Invents Telephone
Duignan, Brian. “Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/list/inventors-and-inventions-of-the-industrial-revolution. -
USA Establishes Buereau of Ethnology
People realized that the Native Americans were dying out and wanted to capture them on camera before that happened. John K Hillers was the Chief Photographer, and produced over 20,000 negatives of Native Americans Marien, Mary Warner. Photography: A Cultural History, 4th ed., Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2015. -
The Silver Gelatin Process Developed
The Silver Gelatin Process revolutionized photography. It is a way of developing photos that allows for smaller negatives (as well as smaller cameras) and replaces heavy, fragile glass with flexible film. It is responsible for essentially all photography into the twentieth century. -
First Sherlock Holmes Story Published
“1800–1899 (A.D.) World History.” Infoplease, Infoplease, 28 Feb. 2017, www.infoplease.com/history/world/1800-1899-ad-world-history. -
Kodak Camera is Released
The George Eastman Company released the handheld Kodak camera, bringing photography to the (relatively wealthy) masses. It was a camera and print service all in one, their slogan was "You Push the Button, We'll Do the Rest". Their first camera was very simple, and lacked a viewfinder. Marien, Mary Warner. Photography: A Cultural History, 4th ed., Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2015. -
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Half-Tone Process is Developed
The half-tone process allowed photographs to be quickly and cheaply printed in newspapers, eliminating the need for sketchers and engravers. This opened up the world of photojournalism as well as opened the door for paparazzi. Marien, Mary Warner. Photography: A Cultural History, 4th ed., Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2015. -
New Zealand Allows Women to Vote
It is the first country in the world to do so.
“1800–1899 (A.D.) World History.” Infoplease, Infoplease, 28 Feb. 2017, www.infoplease.com/history/world/1800-1899-ad-world-history. -
Photo-Secessionist Movement Begins
Launched by Alfred Stieglitz and others, the Photo-Secessionist movement was a departure from the photomanipulation and soft style of Pictorialism, and a move towards Straight Photography, which emphasized using what you saw in the viewfinder to create your work. It was a move towards photography being seen as an art form in its own right. Marien, Mary Warner. Photography: A Cultural History, 4th ed., Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2015.
