Louis Daguerre

18 November 1787 – 10 July 1851

Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre was a French artist and photography pioneer who invented the daguerreotype, the first publicly available and commercially successful photographic process. Earlier in his career he was a celebrated theatrical designer and co-inventor of the diorama, a popular illusionistic entertainment in Paris.

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Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Louis Daguerre.

Life events

Born in Cormeilles-en-Parisis, France
18 November 1787

Louis Daguerre was born in a small town northwest of Paris.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Apprenticed in architecture, theatre design, and panorama painting
c. 1804

Daguerre trained under panorama painter Pierre Prévost and became a skilled theatrical scene designer in Paris.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Married Louise Georgina Arrowsmith
1810

Daguerre married Louise Georgina Arrowsmith, of English descent.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Opened the Diorama in Paris with Charles Marie Bouton
11 July 1822

The diorama theatre, featuring huge translucent paintings transformed by changing light, became a popular Parisian attraction.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Formed a partnership with Nicéphore Niépce to develop photography
1829 – 5 July 1833

Daguerre entered a formal partnership with Niépce, inventor of the earliest photographic process, to improve methods of fixing camera images.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Perfected the daguerreotype process
c. 1837

After Niépce's death, Daguerre developed a practical process using silvered copper plates sensitized with iodine and developed with mercury vapor.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Daguerreotype announced to the French Academy of Sciences
7 January 1839

François Arago announced Daguerre's invention to the Academy in Paris, creating an international sensation.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Daguerreotype process published as a gift 'free to the world'
19 August 1839

The French government granted Daguerre a lifetime pension in exchange for the rights, and full working details were disclosed publicly in Paris.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Retired to Bry-sur-Marne
1840

Daguerre withdrew from public life to the village of Bry-sur-Marne near Paris, where he painted a large trompe-l'oeil for the local church.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in Bry-sur-Marne, France
10 July 1851

Daguerre died of a heart attack at the age of 63.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓