-
Wedgwood and Davy Publish Their Experiments
Tom Wedgwood and Humphry Davy made various attempts at creating photographs; however, all their experiments failed. They also attempted to fix a light-induced image. (Marien, Mary Warner. "Photography: A Cultural History," Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2015. Print.) -
Period: to
Napoleonic Wars
That was a series of wars between Napoleonic France and shifting alliances of other European powers that produced a brief French hegemony over most of Europe. (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Napoleonic Wars," https://www.britannica.com/event/Napoleonic-Wars) -
Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific Ocean
Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Volunteers for Northwestern Discovery reach the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the Columbia River. It took them one year, six months, and one day to reach the legendary "Northwest Passage" to the sea from St. Louis, Missouri. (Tate, Cassandra, "Lewis and Clark Expedition reaches the Pacific Ocean on November 15, 1805" https://www.historylink.org/File/5383) -
Period: to
War of 1812
Even though the War of 1812 can be considered relatively minor for the United States and Britain, it appears large for Canadians and Native Americans. They see it as a turning point in their losing struggle to govern themselves. ("War of 1812," https://www.history.com/topics/war-of-1812/war-of-1812) -
First Photographic Image
Joseph Niepce made the first photographic image using camera obscura, an early device for projecting real-life imagery. However, the exposure time was about 8 hours, and the image faded with time. (Marien, Mary Warner. "Photography: A Cultural History," Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2015. Print.) -
Niepce's "Sun Writing"
Joseph Nicephore Niepce brought examples of his process, called heliography (Greek words for sun and writing) to London. (Marien, Mary Warner. "Photography: A Cultural History," Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2015. Print.) -
Daguerreotype
Daguerre's invention was announced to the French Academy of Science, emphasizing its originality. The process involved a lot of chemicals and hence knowledge of chemistry, which made it hard to take photographs. The exposure time was a couple of minutes. (Marien, Mary Warner. "Photography: A Cultural History," Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2015. Print.) -
Photography Presentation
On this day, photography was presented to the world at a joint meeting of the Academy of Science and the Academy of Fine Arts in Paris. (Marien, Mary Warner. "Photography: A Cultural History," Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2015. Print.) -
Talbot's Invention
Henry Fox Talbot presented his photographic process he called Calotype (Greek kalos - "beauty"). This process allowed a photographer to make multiple photographs from a single negative. (Marien, Mary Warner. "Photography: A Cultural History," Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2015. Print.) -
Cyanotype Invention
The cyanotype technique was first developed by Sir John Herschel. The unique feature of this process was the blue color of photographs. (Marien, Mary Warner. "Photography: A Cultural History," Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2015. Print.) -
Period: to
"The Pencil of Nature"
Henry Fox Talbot published the book of his photographs, titled "The Pencil of Nature, in six sections. It was a first book using silver gelatin photographs. (Marien, Mary Warner. "Photography: A Cultural History," Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2015. Print.) -
Period: to
Mexican-American War
During that war, Mexico had lost about one-third of its territory, including nearly all of present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico, which became a part of the United States. ("Mexican-American War," https://www.history.com/topics/mexican-american-war) -
Period: to
California Gold Rush
The discovery of gold nuggets in the Sacramento Valley in early 1848 sparked the California Gold Rush. As news spread of the discovery, thousands of prospective gold miners traveled by sea or overland to San Francisco and the surrounding area; by the end of 1849, the non-native population of the California territory was some 100,000 (compared with the pre-1848 figure of less than 1,000). ("California Gold Rush," https://www.history.com/topics/westward-expansion/gold-rush-of-1849) -
The Wet Collodion Process
This process was invented by Frederick Scott Archer, which can give you a negative plate to make paper prints, a direct positive plate called ambrotype, and another direct positive plate called tintype. (Marien, Mary Warner. "Photography: A Cultural History," Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2015. Print.) -
The New York Times Was Founded
The New York Times, then New-York Daily Times, was founded by journalist and politician Henry Jarvis Raymond and former banker George Jones, the Times was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica "The New York Times" https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-New-York-Times) -
Panoramic Camera Invention
The first panoramic camera was invented in 1859 by Thomas Sutton. The camera was made out of wood and had a curved back and wooden hinged flap at the front. The glass plate negatives were also curved. All that combined helped to produce panoramic photographs. (Museums Victoria, https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/407437) -
Stereoscope Viewer Invention
Around 1861 Oliver Wendell Holmes presented his work. Stereoscope cards had two photos taken with the same focal point, but from different angles, in order to make a single 3-D image (when looking through the viewer). (Thompson, Clive. "Stereographs Were the Original Virtual Reality" https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/sterographs-original-virtual-reality-180964771/ -
Period: to
US Civil War
The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 caused seven southern states to secede and form the Confederate States of America; four more states soon joined them. The conflict was the costliest and deadliest war ever fought in American. With 620,000 of 2.4 million soldiers killed, millions more injured and much of the South left in ruin. (Weber, Jennifer L. and Hassler, Warren W. "American Civil War," https://www.britannica.com/event/American-Civil-War) -
Release from Slavery
Slavery in the U.S. officially ended in 1865 after long 246 years. However, African Americans' challenges haven't ended, and people kept fighting for freedom. ("Slavery in America," https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery) -
The Silver Gelatin Process
Richard Leach Maddox first published his findings in the British Journal of Photography. The exposure time was significantly reduced. (Marien, Mary Warner. "Photography: A Cultural History," Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2015. Print.) -
Telephone Invention
Alexander Graham Bell was working on the harmonic telegraph, a device that allowed multiple messages to be transmitted over a wire at the same time. However, while working on the telegraph, he found a way to transmit the human voice over wires.
On March 7, 1876, Bell was granted his telephone patent. ("Alexander Graham Bell," https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/alexander-graham-bell) -
Dry Plates Available to Public
Dry plates become available commercially, freeing photographers from having to develop their images immediately. Tripods were also no longer necessary due to fast exposure time.
(Marien, Mary Warner. "Photography: A Cultural History," Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2015. Print.) -
Period: to
Portrait for Police Purposes
In the 1880s Alphonse Bertillon developed and standardized mug shot photography for identification. (Marien, Mary Warner. "Photography: A Cultural History," Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2015. Print.) -
Celluloid Photographic Film
Reverend Hannibal Goodwin, as well as George Eastman, was working on creating celluloid film. He applied for a patent in 1887, but for various reasons, the patent was not granted until 1898. (Alfred, Randy, "May 2, 1887: Celluloid-Film Patent Ignites Long Legal Battle," https://www.wired.com/2011/05/0502celuloid-photographic-film/) -
Kodak Camera
In the summer of 1888, George Eastman released the camera that anyone could use. Its slogan was "You press the button, we do the rest." Anyone could buy a camera, make photographs, and then send it back to the Kodak; after that, you would get your photographs developed and the camera with fresh film. (Marien, Mary Warner. "Photography: A Cultural History," Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2015. Print.) -
Aspirin Invention
Felix Hoffmann, Bayer Company's employee, found a new pain killer, which was later called Aspirin. The letter ‘A’ stands for acetyl, “spir” is derived from the plant known as Spiraea ulmaria (meadowsweet), which yields salicin, and “in” was a common suffix used for drugs at the time of the first stable synthesis of acetylsalicylic acid. (Goldberg, Daniel R. "Aspirin: Turn-of-the-Century Miracle Drug," https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/aspirin-turn-of-the-century-miracle-drug) -
Color Film
The first color film, called Autochrome Lumiere, was found in France by Lumiere brothers. It involved glass plates, a backlight, soot, and potato starch. ("These Beautiful Antique Photos Were Made With Potato Starch," https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/01/150131-pictures-autochrome-color-photography-history-people-culture/)