August 19 marks World Photography Day

CAIRO – 19 August 2021: Every year on August 19, World Photography Day is celebrated.

World Photography Day is an annual event held to thank both Louis Daguerre and Joseph Niepce, the French artists and scientists who invented photography. Daguerre and Niepce are the first to take a photograph in history.

Louis Jacques Mandy Daguerre (November 18, 1787 – July 10, 1851) is a French artist and chemist. His most notable work was his collaboration with inventor Joseph Niepce on the development of photography.

Born in 1787 in Corgi, northern France, he began his life as a painter.  At the age of thirty, he invented a method for displaying paintings, using a specific method of lighting. Being preoccupied with this art, he tried to find a way to naturally convey landscapes, i.e. photographing them, not drawing them.

His first attempts to invent a camera were completely unsuccessful, and in 1827 he met another man, Joseph Niepce, who was trying to invent a camera. 

Years later, the two decided to work together, and in 1833 Niepce died, but Daguerre insisted that he continues his attempts. In the year 1837, Daguerre succeeded in devising a practical system of photography, which he called the Daguerre system.

In 1839, Louis Daguerre announced his invention that is known as the "Daguerre system", or "the daguerreotype," the first type of photography ever.

However, the French artist and chemist did not patent this revolutionary invention. On August 19 of the same year, the French government purchased the patent and officially announced it. In return, the French government allocated an annual pension for Daguerre and Niepce’s son.

This invention of Daguerre led people to look at him as the hero of the era. They showered him with honorable titles, and honoring ceremonies were held for him everywhere. Daguerre retired from scientific life, until he passed away in 1851 near Paris, where his memorial grave is located. 

After 171 years of this invention that changed the world, specifically during 2010, World Photography Day was celebrated for the first time, as per the decision of a number of international organizations and institutions.