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Thaumatrope was invented
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John Ayerton Paris invents the thaumatrope. The thaumatrope was a disc with an image on each side, attached to two strings. When it was twirled quickly, the two images merged into one. The following year, Peter Mark Roget used the device to demonstrate persistence of vision. -
Phenakistoscope was created
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The phenakistoscope was simultaneously invented by Joseph Plateau and Simon von Stampfer. It consisted of evenly spaced drawings on a disk, and vertical slits, also evenly spaced. The viewer would spin it in front of a mirror, looking through the slits, creating the illusion of motion. -
Zoetrope was created
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George Horner created this device. It consisted of a cylinder with slits at even intervals above the pictures, and it was really an improvement upon the phenakistoscope because it did not require a mirror, and multiple viewers could use it. -
Flip book (kineograph) was patented
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John Barnes Linnett patented the relatively simple concept of making slightly different drawings on each page of a book, then flipping the pages to give the illusion of motion. -
Praxinoscope was created
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Created by Charles-Émile Reynaud, this device was an improvement on the zoetrope, using a circle of mirrors placed in such a way that the pictures remained relatively stationary as they spun around the cylinder. -
Eadweard Muybridge films a horse in motion
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Eadweard Muybridge was hired by the governor Leland Stanford to photograph his race horse. Stanford made a bet with Muybridge, asking him to prove that all four of a horse's hooves left the ground when running. Using 24 cameras, a system of trip shutters, and high speed film, he proved the theory. -
J. Stuart Blackton releases "Humorous phases of funny faces"
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J. Stuart Blackton used stop-motion and cut-outs to make the cartoon "Humorous phases of funny faces", which is regarded as the first animated film recorded on picture film. -
Émile Cohl releases "Fantasmagorie"
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Inspired by J. Stuart Blackton's flim "Humorous phases of funny faces", Émile Cohl created "Fantasmagorie", the first known instance of hand-drawn animation. -
"Colonel Heeza Liar" begins
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"Colonel Heeza Liar", created by John Bray, was the first animated series to feature a recurring character. It was a parody of Theodore Roosevelt as an outdoorsman or hunter. It lasted from 1913 to 1917, and was restarted from 1922 to 1924. Walter Lantz animated the second series. -
Winsor McCay releases "Gertie the dinosaur"
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Winsor McCay was a caricaturist who did a vaudeville act. In 1914 he created "Gertie the dinosaur", in which by camera tricks, McCay appeared in the film and interacted with Gertie. -
Cel animation appears
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At the John Bray studios, Earl Hurd made animation easier by introducing cel animation. This involved having a single painted background, and transparent sheets containing the rest of the details; the transparent sheets would be stacked on top of the background to make a composite image, which would be photographed. -
Max and Dave Fleischer start a studio
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The Fleischer brothers invented rotoscoping, which allowed the animator to trace over film footage. Their cartoons included Betty Boop, Koko the Clown, Popeye, and Superman. -
Otto Messmer debuts Felix the Cat
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Otto Messmer was the creator of Felix the Cat. The cat first appeared in "Feline Follies". At first, during the silent era, Felix was very popular, and occasionally used for propaganda purposes, but once "talkies" started, the Felix cartoons were no longer successful. Van Beuren Studios had attempted to reboot Felix's popularity by animating color talkies in the early 1930s, but discontinued after only three shorts. -
Walt Disney debuts Mickey Mouse
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Walt Disney's first success was the introduction of Mickey Mouse in "Steamboat Willie". It was the first Disney animation with synchronized sound. This short was the most popular cartoon of its time. -
Flowers and trees is released
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First animation to use three-color Technicolor (earlier films had used a two-color process). It was also the first animated film to win an Academy Award. -
Warner Brothers studios are founded
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The Warner brothers founded their animation studios in 1933. They allowed their animators to have a lot of artistic freedom, as opposed to Walt Disney who had strict control of all releases from his studio.
Warner Bros were the creators of the Looney Tunes! :) -
"Snow White and the seven dwarfs" is premiered
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Widely regarded as the first animated feature film. (There were seven other animated feature-length films before this, but they were done with cutout, silhouette, or stop-motion. This one was the first to be done entirely in hand-drawn animation.)
