Anna Atkins

Anna Atkins was born on March 16, 1799 in England. Her mother died when she was young; she became close with her father who was a scientist. She learned a great deal from her father and became a very educated woman (not usual for that time period). She became a botanist and a photographer. She is credited with being the first person to put together a book with pictures and she is speculated to be the first woman to ever take a photograph. Atkins became interested in photography when she met her husbands friend William Fox Talbot, an English inventor and photographer. Atkins got her hands on a camera in 1841. Her book was called Photographs of British Algae. Anna died on June 9, 1871.

   

Wikipedia
http://www.rleggat.com/photohistory/history/atkins.htm