This Day in History: 1787-11-18

Louis Daguerre, inventor of the first successful photographic process,  is born on this day in 1787.  An artist who specialized in dioramas, Daguerre was searching for an easier way to reproduce landscapes  when he stumbled across a way to fix light-sensitive gels on tin plates.  Daguerre was also known for a generosity of spirit. His partner,  Nicéphore Niépce, died six years before the Daguerrotype process became public, but he continued to support Niepce’s family. Daguerre also made his process public and”free to the world” — a gift from France — when the full process was described on Aug. 19, 1839.  Within weeks, photographic studios sprang up around the world.