WHAT WAS THE FIRST PICTURE TAKEN?
Believe it or not, it is not precisely known when the camera was invented. Many pictures are claimed to be the oldest in the world, with the dates taken varying based on the perspective of those studying the photographs.
For instance, this photograph taken in 1826 was once believed to be the oldest photograph in the world:
The photograph in question is almost universally credited to Nicephore Niepce, who was sixty-one years old when this photograph — known today as the View from the Windows at Le Gras — was taken.
While this may be seen as the earliest known surviving photograph of what black and white imagery would look like in later decades — albeit with far less grains and more details — Niepce almost certainly had other photographs taken BEFORE the one above had been.
View from the Window at Le Gras
For instance, there is a photograph that is today believed to have been taken in 1825 — one year before the View from the Windows at Le Gras — had been. This picture shows a Flemish man pulling a horse, and it is believed to have been done through the process of capturing the physical presence of surrounding objects and translating them by putting ink onto paper; effectively drawing a real life drawing with the use of a machine.
Nicéphore Niépce
Next, I am going to go back even FURTHER back in time.
The date of this photograph has been disputed, because the date that this picture was taken depends entirely on who you believe took this next photograph.
What you will see is going to be something that is seemingly quite unremarkable.
And yet, it is quite possible that this photograph was not taken during the 1800’s like the two photographs above were.
Rather, this next picture may have been taken in 1790; making the picture nearly 230 years old.
I bring you the one and only…
…A LEAF!
For some of you, this may seem anticlimactic, but it is nonetheless considered by some to be the oldest surviving photograph ever taken.
This photograph was once regarded as a work of William Henry Fox Talbot, who did not get into photography until the 1830’s, after Niepce had already spent nearly a decade in the field.
Photograph by pottery maker Thomas Wedgwood was taken in the 1790s
However, some contemporary researchers now claim that this photograph may have been taken by a man named Thomas Wedgwood, who was a potter by trade, and he used a light sheet of paper and exposed the leaf to the sun in order to capture a more colourful photograph.
This would mean that if Thomas Wedgwood — who died in 1805 — really did take this picture in 1790 as some people now claim he did, then that means that history’s first photograph may very well have been in colour after all.
Above: A Photograph Of A Coachman Taken By William Henry Fox Talbot
Talbot would go on to take the first known picture of a realistic human being to be translated onto paper. The photograph in question is above and it was believed to have been taken near his studio at Lacock Abbey in the county of Wiltshire.
William Henry Fox Talbot
While the date of the leaf cannot be conclusively determined has rendered it ineligible to be officially proclaimed as the world’s oldest surviving photograph, there is no dispute that the idea of the camera as well as its components does not go back by mere centuries, but by millennia.
Above: Nicephore Niepce
Even though there is evidence to indicate that photography was born during the late eighteenth century — with some scant evidence suggesting it might even date back to the late Renaissance period — there is even more overwhelming evidence to suggest that the idea of a camera was not only known to ancient people, but that many of its scientists and inventors would have known how to make a camera by hand.
Above: An 1838 Photograph Showing The First Human Ever — The Real Street Was Busy At The Time, But This Human Stood In Place Long Enough To Tie His Shoes That It Exposed Him To The Camera
Out of all the ancient scientists, philosophers and inventors who thought up the camera, the oldest surviving evidence of assembling a camera that has survived and can be mentioned by name is the Ancient Chinese Philosopher Mozi, who was also the founder of the Mohism belief.
He had been born in 470 BC, just nine years after Confucius had died. Mozi had been a former believer in Confucianism before deciding to create his own school of thought, which tended to rely on survival without the need of material possessions; an idea that was unsurprisingly looked down upon by many Chinese of the time — particularly from the wealthier classes.
Mozi
It was also Mozi who made the first surviving record of creating a modern camera, which included exposing an object to a light and then capturing it within what would today be described as a camera obscura, which would trap the captured image within a device and give it a permanent print.
Who Invented Camera Obscura?
Unfortunately for him, Chinese emperors were not exactly interested in investing in his idea, since Mozi just so happened to be living during the Warring States Period, when civil war and violence was a daily part of life.
The irony, however, is that many of history’s inventions from scuba diving equipment all the way to the radio and internet were largely invented for militaristic purposes. Today, photography is considered to be a vital part of warfare that helps make the lives of scouts much easier while giving intelligence more accurate information on enemy whereabouts and strength.
Perhaps if Mozi as well as all the other ancient philosophers from Europe, Africa, the Middle East to Asia had been able to convince their state rulers of the benefit of the camera — centuries before even the likes of Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar walked the earth — then it is also quite possible that today we may even have photographs of the most famous person to ever walk the face of the earth…
JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF!
Above: Watch Jesus Christ Turn Water Into Wine At 5 PM Tomorrow, Middle Eastern Time!
THE FIRST OF THE FIRST!
Before I depart and leave readers to decide for themselves when the camera was invented and by whom it should be credited to, let me show you some early photographs believed to be the first of their kind to be taken and survive to the present.
Underwater photography is almost as old as land photography itself. The first photograph ever taken underwater was in 1856. However, that photograph has since been lost to history. Instead, the oldest underwater photograph with a confirmed date is the one above, taken in 1893.
During the Victorian Ages, taking pictures of your cat and showing it to your friends and family was just as popular then as posting videos of your cat on the internet is today.
This particular photograph is believed to be the oldest picture to survive that is solely depicting a cat posing before the camera. It is believed that this picture was taken in 1880.
In 1903, the Wright Brothers made the first known practicable aircraft by flying the Wright Brother. However, the plane was not designed to give a steady landing, so the plane crashed. As did the second Wright Brother plane a year later.
The third Wright Brother plane — which is pictured above — was the first time that a plane was able to depart and safely land. The photograph of the third Wright Brother plane — taken in 1905 — is also the first known photograph of an airplane in flight.
For all you military history buffs out there, take a look at this picture taken on February 18, 1900 at Paardeberg, involving Canadian soldiers as they battle Boer fighters during the Second Boer War.
While this was by no means the first picture ever taken of soldiers in combat uniform, it was the first time in history that a photograph was taken of soldiers in the middle of a battlefield.
J. Cooper Mason & The Great Boer War
The man who took this photograph was a man named J. Cooper Mason, who was a civilian that chose to volunteer with the Canadian forces upon declaration of war in 1899. Mason would later admit that he barely survived that day. The bullets being fired from the Boer snipers was so intense that he said his cap was actually shot off from his head just moments after the photograph above was captured, shattering the Maple Leaf symbol that had been attached to it.
WarMuseum.ca - Canada and the South African War (Boer War) - 1899-1902
This would have made history’s first official battlefield correspondent the first casualty of this type, had the Boers aimed down just a little lower.
Robert Cornelius was an early American pioneer of photography who also took the first self-portrait of a human. The photograph has some blurs because he was required to sit still for up to fifteen minutes for maximum quality — a feat that is unsurprisingly next to impossible for a living human to achieve.
Speaking of which…
The man seen sitting in the photograph above is actually DEAD. It is also quite possibly the first picture ever taken that shows someone else taking a picture simultaneously.
As a way to remember their deceased loved ones, many people used to dress up their relatives and have their picture taken so that they could “cherish” those memories.
Not to mention, having a dead person means that it will be easier to keep them sitting/standing still. The number of photographs from the nineteenth and early twentieth century showing pictures of dead relatives posing with living relatives are abundant.
It is just a matter of checking it up on the internet.
Hannah Stilley was born in 1746, and she may be the earliest born person to ever get her photograph taken. The photograph is believed to have been taken in 1840, on the year of her death at the age of 94.
This is Hannah Stilley, born 1746, photographed in 1840. She may be the earliest born person ever captured on camera. | Historical Photos | Pinterest | Rare historical photos, Historical photos and History
Above is an 1839 daguerreotype photograph taken by Robert Cornelius, who was also the same person who took the first known self-portrait a year prior. Cornelius was a native of Pennsylvania who had been studying in Europe under other like-minded people when he had taken some of his earliest photographs, including the self-portrait of himself.
Central High School (Philadelphia)
This photograph depicts Philadelphia’s Central High School, which is today the oldest high school in the United States that is still operating. The school itself had been founded only three years before the photograph was taken, and it is generally accepted as being the oldest surviving photograph to have been taken on American soil.
This picture above was, at the time, the highest quality picture ever taken. This photograph dates back to 1837 and it was also said to be one of the first pictures taken inside a building, where light exposure was far more limited and less reliable than when a camera was taken in the exterior where light was more readily available.
In 1840, Dr. John William Draper took what is believed to be the first known picture of the moon.
The First Photograph of The Moon
Draper was born in 1811, and he would be the first known photographer to take a detailed photograph of a woman’s face, amongst other achievements in his lifetime as one of modern photography’s first true pioneers.
John William Draper
This photograph is the oldest known surviving photograph of an American president. John Quincy Adams was the president from 1825–1829, and this photograph was taken of him later in his life after he had left the Oval Office.
This 1844 photograph of Queen Victoria sitting with her daughter is believed to be the first photograph ever taken of a sitting British monarch.
This photograph was taken in 1914 in Paris, just weeks before the Great War broke out, and it shows a young woman or teenager selling flowers. It is also believed to be the first modern colour photograph to be taken on French soil.
Rare Color Photos Of Paris Taken 100 Years Ago
Pope Pius IX was the longest serving Pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the pope from 1846–1878 and he was the first pope to ever get his photograph taken. This photograph is also believed to be the first of many pictures he took of himself during his later years. The date of this image is generally believed to have been captured in 1869.
The Roundhay Garden Scene was taken in 1888 and it was the first known moving image ever taken. Spanning a mere two seconds, this picture would no doubt help in paving the way for the future of film making.
Roundhay Garden Scene - Wikipedia
Sadly for the woman in the black gown — Sarah Whitley — died weeks after the footage was taken and she did not live long enough to see herself exposed on film.
While this was not the first colourised photograph in history, it was the first photograph to have met the modern definition of coloured photography. This picture was taken in 1911 and shows Mohammed Alim Khan, the last emir of the Uzbek Manghit Dynasty sitting down for a coloured photograph.
Mohammed Alim Khan
The image was taken by Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky, who would go on to take the first colourised self-portrait of himself in 1912. The image can be seen below.
Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky
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