-
Wedgewood and Davy's Discovery
Thomas Wedgewood and Sir Humphrey Davy present a paper that introduce the concept that the chemical action of light may be utilized for copying images and the use of Silver Nitrate. They were able to copy images but were not able to stop them from further developing while exposed to light. -
Louisiana Purchase
Thomas Jefferson purchased a 828,000 square mile land from the leader of France (Napoleon) for $15 million. Jefferson favored "strict construction" so the purchase was controversial since the constitution does not address purchasing land. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a conflict between the US and British. One of the main reasons for the war was over the issues of trade and impressment. -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine was put forth by US President James Monroe. It was a set of principles that stated the US would stay out of European affairs if European did not interfere in the US's. -
Earliest Surviving Photograph
The earliest surviving photograph, "View from the Study Window at Maison du Gras" was created by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826. The photograph was taken from a window on the third floor of his house. A camera lucida was used to create this Direct Positive Image with an exposure time of 8 hours. -
Invention of a Calotype
In 1835,Henry Fox Talbot invented a Calotype which were negatives that were later printed as positives on paper. "Latticed Window" was the first known image by Talbot. The image was a window in his family home in Lacock Abbey. Talbot did not announce his invention until 1839 after Daguerre announced his invention. -
First Image of a Human Being and the Invention of the Daguerreotype
The photograph "Boulevard du Temple" was taken by Louis-Jacques Mandé Daguerre in 1838 in Paris. The image includes a man standing on a street corner and is believed to be the first image of a human being. Due to long exposure times, moving images did not register in light-sensitive materials. Daguerre named this type of photograph a Daguerrotype. -
First Example of Political-Protest Photography
Hippolyte Bayard created a portrait of himself as a drowned man creating one of the first examples of political-protest photography. Supposedly, Bayard invented photography before Daguerre and Talbot but a friend of Daguerre persuaded him to postpone his announcement. He was not named the inventor of photography. The portrait was a response to the injustice. Through this image, he demonstrated photographs could be created but not represent the truth. -
First Photographic Book
Anna Atkins, a scientific illustrator, self published her photograms in Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions. This book is considered to be the first photographic book. Atkins used the cyanotype process to create her illustrations. -
First Sustained Use of Photography for a Social-Documentary Project
David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson created an essay consisting of 130 images of the fishermen and women of Newhaven. Hill and Adamson photographed the labor of the women along with the sense of community. -
Mexican American War
The Mexican American War was between the Mexicans and Americans over the boundaries of Texas and control over California. The war was ended by the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848 with America winning the titles to both Texas and California. The new land raised disputes about slavery in the new territory. -
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush was a gold rush that began when James Marshall found gold in California. This discovery brought over 300,000 people to California to mine for gold in hopes to become wealthy. -
Wet Collodion Process Invented
The Wet Collodion Process was invented in 1851 by Frederick Scott Archer. The process produced a glass negative with detailed print. This process was used between 1850 and 1880 due to the quality of the prints and the ease at which they were reproduced. -
First Substantial War Photographed
The Crimean War (1853-56) was the first substantial war photographed and produced a large number of photographic images. Roger Fenton was the best known photographers sent to Crimea during this European Conflict. Since publishers wanted to make a profit of the photographs, Fenton alters war scenes to make them more photographic Additionally, action shots were not possible due to exposure times so many focused of the decorous side of war. -
Most Well-Known Tableaux Viviant
"The Two Ways of Life" by Oscar Rejlander is the most well-known tableaux vivant created in 1857. This photograph is a tableaux vivants or living pictures and also was an example of combination printing. The photograph was combined from over thirty negatives, taking about six weeks to create. Rejlander believed that the labor put into the photograph, the image's inspiration from a Renissance, and theme made the photograph align with a painting. -
Photographs of the Dead After War Published
Photographs of the dead were taken after the Battle of Melegnano. Due to long exposure times, the image was taken long after the battle. The photograph showed the many men thrown together, in all states of injury, in preparation for burial. Opposed to the photos taken from the previous war, these photographs showed the horrors of war, even making the scene look more brutal. -
Earliest Known Aerial View Photograph
James Wallace Beck took the earliest known photograph taken with an aerial view in October 1860. This photograph was an aerial view over Boston. Although Nadar pioneered aerial photography, none of his aerial photographs survived. -
Beginning of the Civil War
The American Civil war was between the North and South of the US over the enslavement of black people. The South did not want an anti-slavery President (Abraham Lincoln) and wanted to separate from the North. The War lasted about four years. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was created by President Abraham Lincoln and stated that slaves held within the Confederate states were free. -
Alexander Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War Published
Alexander Gardner's "Photographic Sketchbook of the War" was published in 1866. There were two volumes, one hundred photographs, and descriptive text throughout the book. Original albumen photographic prints were placed inside the pages. Since the process of creating the book was labor and cost intensive, only two hundred copies were printed. Only the extremely wealthy were able to purchase the book. -
Invention of the Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in which he received his first patent in 1876. -
Invention of the Light Bulb
Thomas Edison was the inventor of the first light bulb. -
Pictorialist Movement
The Pictorialists did not want the entire image to be in focus and sharp. Instead, they would scratch negatives or smear Vaseline on the lens to make the image go out of focus. They wanted to make the photographs imitate paintings to include more expression. -
First Mass-Produced Camera
George Eastman invented the first mass-produced camera and named it the "Kodak." Photographers no longer needed to have knowledge of chemistry nor did they need special equipment. This gave any person the accessibility to take photographs. "You press the button, we do the rest" was the motto. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation in the South. The court case, Plessy v Ferguson, was a landmark decision the enacted racial segregation laws for public places. The phrase "separate but equal" became known. -
Photo-Secession Movement
The Photo-Secession Movement was created by Alfred Stieglitz to go towards straight objective photography. The images were more straightforward and a form of urban realism. Exhibitions were the goal of the movement.
