The First Photograph Ever Taken, 1826 or 1827
This photograph provides a unique window into the past. Dating back to 1826 or 1827, this is said to be the world’s earliest surviving photograph. To someone living today, it might look rather unremarkable – just a view of rooftops peeking out through trees. Yet its importance can’t be overstated – before this, there had been no permanent means of capturing images. The person responsible for this innovation was Nicéphore Niépce, a French inventor who almost lost his invention forever. Fortunately for us, he managed to preserve it and keep alive the earliest physical proof that humans were tinkering with photography long before we knew it’d become the ubiquitous part of our lives it is today.