First Use of Word “Photography”

March 14, 1839

Almost exactly 58 years to the day that his father William discovered the planet Uranus, John Herschel presented to the Royal Society his “Note on the Art of Photography, or the application of the Chemical Rays of Light to the purposes of Pictorial Representation.” This is considered the first recorded use of the word “photography”.

John Herschel was a famous English scientist and polymath, doing work as a mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor, and experimental photographer. He was also the inventor of the blueprint among his many accomplishments.