Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre

Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre was born on November 18, 1787 or 1789 (discrepancy in sources) near Paris, France. Daguerre started out as an apprentice to a local painter outside Paris. Then, after moving to Paris, he became an apprentice to a local stage designer. He then became a professional scene painter for the Paris Opera. Daguerre had a particular interest in lighting effects. He eventually went on to make the Paris Diorama from 1821-1822. Then he formed a partnership with Joseph Nicephore Niepce in 1829 to perfect the method of photography. After Niepce' death, Daguerre final invented the Daguerreotype, a type of photography (named after himself). This new type of photography had an approximate exposure time of thirty minutes. The earliest recorded Deguerreotype was taken in 1837 and the first picture of a human being was taken in 1828 called Boulevard de Temple, Paris. Deguerre publicly announced his discovery on August 19, 1839 at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris. He was a good business man and wanted to make money off his discovery. He made a deal with the French government to have a government paid salary for life and to sell the Daguerreotype patent to foreigners and to give it free to all Frenchmen. Daguerre died on July 10, 1851.

    




about.com
wikipedia.com
Boulevard de Temple, Paris