On this day (August 19) in 1839, France announced that artist Louis Daguerre (1787-1851) invented the first photographic process, Daguerreotype, and publicly presented it as a “free to the world” gift.

See more original and copied selections of historical daguerreotypes in the Photography Invention Tribute gallery.

Photos from The Library of Congress, George Eastman House, Museum of Photographic Arts Collections, and SMU Central University Libraries.