French inventor Nicéphore Niépce was born on this day in 1765. He is today considered the author of the oldest preserved photo in the world. The photo was taken in 1826 or 1827, from a window of the author’s house in the town of Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, France. It represents the oldest photographic source from which we can see precisely how the world looked like in the past.
The oldest preserved photo in the world shows the view from Niépce’s house on the Le Gras estate in France. The location where the photo was taken is located in the French region of Burgundy, only a few dozen kilometers from the famous medieval Cluny Abbey (one of the most important monasteries in European history). The well-known Christian ecumenical center at Taizé is also located between Niépce’s house and Cluny.
Nicéphore Niépce was over 60 years old when he took the mentioned photo. He was born back in 1765, which means he was 24 at the outbreak of the French Revolution. Niépce was older than even Napoleon Bonaparte, but took the mentioned photo only after Napoleon’s death.
