Overview

• On August 19, 1839, Louis Daguerre presented the daguerreotype to the French Academy of Sciences, with early images including the Boulevard du Temple.
• The French government acquired the rights to the process and released it without patents, enabling broad public adoption.
• The daguerreotype fixed a permanent image on a metal plate coated with light‑sensitive silver compounds.
• Coverage notes the technique’s rapid spread beyond Europe, reaching Mexico and Uruguay in 1840, Colombia in 1841, and developing in Argentina between 1840 and 1860.
• Contemporary observances include World Photo Day—reported as a project begun in 2009 with a first celebration in 2010—and the date is also recognized as World Humanitarian Day.