Google Doodle honours physicist Louis Daguerre


18 Nov 2011

The Google Doodle marking the 244th anniversary of the birth of physicist Louise Daguerre

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.