We definitely can’t imagine our lives without the possibility of taking pictures. Nowadays, we can just take the phone out of our pockets whenever we see something worth remembering and click on a button. We don’t even need professional cameras in order to take high-quality pictures. And what would social media be without all the selfies and holiday pictures?

Photography is definitely something common these days, but it was a huge breakthrough in the past. Pictures weren’t used only for personal reasons, like memories, they also became a great tool for press. The use of photos in newspaper became a reason to believe for the audience, as it was giving credibility to the description of an event.

Moreover, the possibility of taking pictures meant conserving important, even historical moments. Here are 11 “firsts” captured in pictures, that will take you back in time.

1. The First Photograph Ever

The first photograph ever was taken by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1827, representing the garden of his house in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes. He called his first image a heliograph, which means “writing with the sun”, due to the method he used to take the picture.

He placed his camera obscura in front of a window and he used the light to transcript the image on a piece of metal. If you take a look at the original photo, it will be pretty hard to understand it because the metal is shiny. But later, when the picture was discovered and even used in press articles, it was reproduced, emphasizing the contrast between the white and the black areas.  

2. Oldest Photograph of New York City

The oldest known photo of New York City was taken back in 1848, but apparently it wasn’t actually the first. According to the New-York Historical Society, the first picture of NYC was taken by Samuel F.B. Morse, but it has been lost.

Anyway, this picture shows a white house on a hill, in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and it’s definitely not how we expected to see NYC even during the 1840s. However, Upper Manhattan was still considered countryside during that time, it was the place where wealthy people used to have their properties or farms.

The photographer is unknown, except for his/her initials: L.B. In 2009, this photograph was sold at an auction for $62,500.

3. First News Photograph

The first news photo was taken back in 1847 in France and it depicts a man being arrested. It is thought to be the first picture used in a news report. Unfortunately, the identity of the journalist who has taken the picture has been lost.

The technique used for this picture is called daguerreotype, a photographic process that involved a polished silver surface. It was highly used during the 1840s and 50s and it was the first technique that was actually used by a large public.

4. First Photo of the Sun

The first picture of the sun was taken back in 1845, by French physicists Louis Fizeau and Lion Foucault, using the same process as the journalist who took the first news photo, daguerreotype.

Back then, photography techniques were just at the beginning of their development. However, the picture is pretty detailed for its time. There’s a clear contrast between the background and the sun and we can even see some sun spots.

5. Oldest Photograph of a US President

According to The Atlantic, the earliest known photograph of a US President was taken back in 1843, in Washington D.C., using the daguerreotype photography technique. It’s a picture of John Quincy Adams, the 6th President of the United States, 14 years after the end of his presidency.

However, it is thought that the actual first was a picture of William Henry Harrison, but it is long lost.

Adams didn’t really think his photograph was a big deal. In the 1970s the picture was purchased for just 50 cents, from an antique store. Nowadays, it can be found in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.

6. First Photograph of Drinking

It is thought that the first picture of people drinking and partying was taking in 1844, in Scotland by Robert Adamson and David Octavius Hill. This was almost two decades after Joseph Nicéphore Niépce took the world’s first photograph.

The picture shows three man drinking alcohol out of ale flutes. This kind of glass drinking vessel was just beginning to be really popular because of its property of conserving the liquid’s natural taste.

A copy of the photo can be found in Edinburgh’s National Portrait Gallery. According to its description, the men were drinking Scottish beer, “a potent fluid, which almost glued the lips of the drinker together.”

7. First Photograph of Lightning

Before the development of photography, all the natural phenomena were just being described or painted. Many people believed that during a storm, a lightning is an occurrence, in a zig-zag shape. During the 1880s, photographer William Jennings wanted to prove people wrong.

After several failed attempts, he finally succeeded in capturing the first photograph of lightning, during a storm in September 1882. The pictures became famous in 1885, after they were published in the Scientific American magazine.

Moreover, after this success, the photographer tried to prove that no two lightnings are the same.

8. The Earliest Colored Landscape Photo

When we think about landscape photography, the first thing that crosses our minds is most likely to be an outstanding picture of a nice scenery. People had an interest for landscape pieces of art way before the development of photography. Think about paintings.

In 1877,  Louis Arthur Ducos du Hauron captured the first colored landscape photo, a picture of Southern France, that has a vintage appeal and faded colors. It was named ‘Landscape of Southern France.’ 

The main process behind this is called trichrome, meaning that you can get any color by only using the primary colors, red, blue and yellow.

9. First Photograph of a Person

The first photo where a recognizable person was captured on camera is a snapshot taken in 1838 by Louis Daguerre, the inventor of the daguerreotype photography technique.

The photo shows the view of the Boulevard du Temple in Paris. Due to the long exposure used for this picture, the roads seem empty. However, we can actually see the silhouette of two men. If you take a closer look it will be more clear that one of them is polishing its shoes and the other is having its boots shined.

It’s incredible how these two people were actually experiencing a historical moment, without even knowing.

10. First Photograph of a Fatal Plane Crash

Orville and Wilbur Wright, known as the Wright Brothers were the ones that invented the first successful airplane, in 1903. They continued to make several modifications to their original air craft in order to make it better. The brothers agreed on not getting on a plane together due to their father, who was concerned about their safety.

In September 1908, Orville Wright joined Lt. Thomas Selfridge on a test flight, that actually became a tragedy. Several minutes after their departure, the plane started making a weird noise. They decided to get ready for landing, but unfortunately the right propeller split, which led to other complications.

Unfortunately, the plane crashed and Selfridge suffered a severe injury to its skull that caused its death. Orville Wright survived but he was hospitalized for 7 weeks.

11. First Photograph of People Playing Chess

During the Victorian Era, chess became really popular, but winning wasn’t the only thing that mattered. It was about the way you were winning. Games full of bold attacks and unpredictable moves were highly appreciated.

With the development of photographic techniques and the public accessibility to cameras, many photos of people playing chess appeared. They were usually taken in coffee shops, as they were a really popular place for playing this game.

It is thought that the first known photograph of people playing chess was taken in 1841, by Nicolaas Henneman who is also one of the players. This historical moment wasn’t his last photograph of chess players. One of them from 1845 can also be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art