TechnologyEurope

Photography

Aug 8, 1839

For the first time a moment can be kept

In depth

Photography freed painting from the task of reproduction, and that is an important part of the explanation for Impressionism and everything after. It also gave war, poverty and colonial rule a visibility that changed politics — images from the American Civil War were the first time a public saw what a battlefield actually is.

For children

With photography one could for the first time keep an image of reality without drawing it. Ordinary people could have portraits, not only the rich. And for the first time you could see what people who lived before actually looked like.

Connects to

The American Civil WarApr 16, 1861 – Apr 13, 1865
The electric gridSep 4, 1882
The civil rights movementNov 25, 1955 – Apr 19, 1968
The RenaissanceJan 1400 – Jan 1600

Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org