Daguerreotype anniversary: Invention of photography

[Abraham Lincoln, Congressman-elect from Illinois. Three-quarter length portrait, seated, facing front] (LOC)

Portrait of two unidentified women, twins

Portrait of a young woman

[Woman with three children]

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.