This Day in History: 1820-04-06

Nadar, French photographer, journalist, and author (actual name Gaspard-Félix Tournachon) is born on this day in 1820 in Paris. Nadar was a famously innovative photographer who, in 1855, opened a  studio on Boulevard des Capucines where the famous and powerful people of France had their portraits taken.  In 1858 he hired a large balloon and became the first person to take aerial photographs. During the siege of Paris, 1870-71, Nadar sent mail across enemy lines in hot air balloons, establishing the first air mail service.   In 1862, artist Honoré Daumier portrayed him in a balloon basket “Elevating photography to the height of the art.”