Invented by: William Henry Fox Talbot (Photography)

Information : Talbot was born in 1800. One of his favourite subjects at school was chemistry, but this got him into some trouble, as many of the things he was experimenting with were causing explosions. Instead, he continued his experiments at a nearby blacksmith's shop.

In 1833, when he was on holiday in Switzerland with his wife, he was trying to take pictures with the only camera available at the time. He couldn't get any god pictures at all, and on returning home, started experimenting.

By the end of the year, he was able to make "photogenic drawings" (as he called them) by exposing a chemically sensitive paper to sunlight with objects such as leaves, lace, etc. on top. This produced what is now called a negative image, with white where the original scene was dark, and vice versa. Talbot recognized the value in producing a negative image at first, because it meant that the picture could be copied. When the paper negative was soaked in oil it became transparent, and could then be printed onto another piece of paper, producing a positive.

In late September 1840, he patented the positive / negative process.
A Frenchman called Daguerre had just announced that he also had invented a photograph, and although the image was much clearer than Talbot's, he could not make any copies of his photos.

Victorians Inventions Page