Google is tipping its hat today to the physicist who devised the daguerreotype, the first successful form of permanent photography, in a Google Doodle on its homepage.
Today is the 244th anniversary of the birth of Louis Daguerre.
The Google Doodle on the search engine giant’s homepage features what looks like a black-and-white family portrait, with each letter of the word Google acting as the people’s heads.
Daguerre was born in Cormeilles-en-Parisis, Val-d’Oise, France, on 18 November 1787. He apprenticed in architecture, theatre design and panoramic painting.
The development of the daguerreotype came about when Daguerre exposed silver-coated copper plates to iodine, light and then mercury vapour heated to 75°C. He found the process would create an exact reproduction of a scene that would not disappear.
Daguerre died at age 63 on 10 July 1851, in Bry-sur-Marne, France.