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"An Account of Method of Copying Paintings upon Glass, and making Profiles by the Agency upon Nitrate of Silver"
The earliest record of photography is presented by Thomas Wedgewood and his father where they explore Silver Nitrate and its ability to print onto products. -
Louisiana Purchase
In 1803 the U.S. bought over 800,000 square miles of land from France, doubling its size. This land consisted of what are now 15 states and also part of Canada. This purchase ended the French presence in the United States and was a fundamental part in the growth of the country. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition
This expedition was a more than year long journey to explore the unknown territory of the Louisiana purchase and find a path from the existing U.S. territories to the Pacific ocean. The voyage also established trade with Native Americans along the way. The expedition was a success and was essential to exploring the western regions of the U.S. -
First contracts for the national road are signed starting westward expansion
The goal of the national railroad was to connect the U.S. and make travel around the country possible. This helped connect the territories, but it also facilitated the westwards movement by making the journey more accessible. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was between the U.S. and Britain beginning in 1812 and lasting until 1815. The war is considered by some to be the second war of independence after the Treaty of Ghent was signed and Napoleon was defeated in his European conquests. The end of the war began ongoing peace between the U.S. and Britain. -
First Surviving Photograph
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce creates “View from the Study Window at Maison du Gras,” which is considered the first surviving photograph. The photo is produced on a pewter plate. -
Invention of Telegraphy
Samuel Morse developed an electric telegraph machine that enabled long distance communication. This eventually led to the revolutionary creation of the radio. -
First Photograph of a Human
Louis-Jacques Mandé Daguerre, who was one of the main inventors of photography takes the first photograph of a human. This is a major accomplishment during the time because the man photographed stood there for a long enough period of time in which the camera recorded it. -
The Calotype
The "Calotype" was invented by Henry Fox Talbot. This photographic process allowed multiple copies to be created from a single image. -
Photography and Social Documentary
From 1843 to 1845, two Scottish men named David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson wrote an essay including about 130 photos of the fishing village in Edinburgh, Scotland. The photos encompassed topics of labor in relation to community and companionship. -
Anna Atkins
Anna Atkins was a well-known scientific illustrator who used the cyanotype process. The process required the object to be placed on sensitized paper. -
"The Pencil of Nature"
"The Pencil of Nature" was the first photographic book that was published by Henry Fox Talbot during 1844 to 1846. It used silver gelatin photographs and contained six parts . -
Studio Portraiture is established
Photographers and photography studios begin to use props, furnishings, and backdrops for their businesses. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war between the U.S. and Mexico and established the borders between the two countries. Mexico also sold and succeeded 500,000 square miles of land including the Texas territory and other parts of the southwest U.S. This was one of the last land settlements for constructing what is the modern boundaries of the mainland United States. -
California Gold Rush
The Gold Rush began when James Marshall found gold on his land and news of the finding spread across the United States. The Gold Rush was the biggest mass migration in U.S. history. This was the year after California was purchased from Mexico, so the Gold Rush was the driving force behind the growth of California and the west. -
"Jack, born on the Coast of Guinea"
This image was an example of one way ethnologists used photography. It was considered a scientific study, where they photographed a slave at many different angles. Unfortunately, these photographs were used to justify racial inequality. -
Invention of the Wet Collodion Process
The Wet Collodion process was invented by Frederick Scott Archer. The process required a portable darkroom in order to coat and sensitize the photograph in time. It produced a glass plate negative that allowed for reproduction of images. -
Charles Darwin studies emotions in humans and animals
Charles Darwin, a British Scientist, worked with photographers and studied images to find connections and similarities with emotion in humans and animals. Darwin claimed that they were the same emotions and used photographs to assert his point. In 1859, he published the book "The Origins of Species." -
American Civil War
The Civil War lasted for four years from 1861 to 1865 between the Northern Union and The Southern Confederacy mostly due to the differing stances on slavery. The Civil War claimed the most American lives of any war in American history. The Union eventually won the war, but five days after the South surrendered the president of the Union Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. -
The Light Bulb is Invented
Thomas Edison began researching and experimenting to create a functional lightbulb in 1878. -
Statue of Liberty Dedicated to New York Harbor
The Statue of Liberty was built in France and sent to the U.S. as a gift where it finished reconstruction in 1886. Since then Lady Liberty’s torch has guided the path towards freedom in the United States.
