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The first photograph -

'View from the Window at Le Gras' is considered to be the first-ever photograph. It was taken by French inventor Nicéphore Niépce in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, in 1826.

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The first reliably-dated daguerreotype -

There are a number of early examples of this photographic process, but 'L’Atelier de l'artiste' by Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre is believed to be among the first ones. It was taken sometime around 1837.

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The first photograph of a person -

When Louis Daguerre took this photo in 1838, he was supposed to capture the Boulevard du Temple in Paris, France. However, a few humans were snapped in the picture too, including a man getting his shoes polished on the lower left side of the photo.

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The first self-portrait photograph -

This is a self-portrait of Robert Cornelius, taken in 1839 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is not only the first selfie ever taken, but it's also the first known photographic portrait in history.

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The oldest photograph of a woman -

This is Dorothy Catherine Draper. The portrait was taken by her brother, Dr. John W. Draper in New York City sometime between 1839 and 1840. It's believed to be the earliest surviving photo of a woman.

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The first hoax photograph -

Photography allowed for a brand new world of hoaxes. The first one was taken in 1840 by French pioneer photographer Hippolyte Bayard. 'Self Portrait as a Drowned Man' was supposedly a photo of Batyard dead.

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The first photograph of the moon -

The first detailed photograph of the moon was taken by John W. Draper on March 26, 1840, from an observatory at New York University. 

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The first photograph of the sun -

This is the first ever daguerreotype photograph of the sun. It was taken by French physicists Hippolyte Fizeau and Léon Foucault on April 2, 1845, in Paris, France.

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The first underwater photograph -

This phot was taken by French biologist and photographer Louis Marie-Auguste Boutan in 1899 at the Observatoire océanologique de Banyuls-sur-Mer in France. The diver, Romanian biologist Emil Racoviță, holds a sign that reads "Photographie sous-marine" (underwater photography).

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The first photograph of a tornado -

This photo was taken 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Howard, South Dakota, on August 28, 1884. 

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The first photograph of lightning -

In 1882, photographer William Jennings managed to capture the first known picture of lightning in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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The first person born ever photographed -

American Hannah Stilley Gorby, born in 1746, is considered to be the earliest-born person ever to be photographed. The image dates back to circa 1840.

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The first high-speed photographic series -

'Sallie Gardner at a Gallop,' taken in 1878, in Palo Alto, California, is the first high-speed photo series on record. Photographer Eadweard Muybridge captured a horse named Sallie Gardner using multiple cameras.

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First photo of a surfer -

This is believed to be the earliest photographic record of a surfer in Hawaii. The image was found in a photo album from 1890.

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The first newspaper photo -

This is the first photo ever used to illustrate a news story. Titled ‘Barricades on rue Saint-Maur,’ it was captured on June 25, 1848, and it shows barricades in Paris during the June Days uprisings. The photo was published in the French newspaper L’Illustration on the week of July 1, 1848.

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The first fatal airplane crash -

This photo from September 17, 1908, captured the death of aviator Thomas Selfridge. Selfridge was the first person ever to die in an airplane crash.

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The oldest aerial photograph -

Before drones, there were hot air balloons! This aerial photograph of Boston, titled 'Boston, as the Eagle and the Wild Goose See It,' was taken by James Wallace Black in 1860. While this is the oldest known aerial photo, it's not the first ever taken. The first aerial photograph was taken by a French photographer named Nadar, but the image was sadly lost. 

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The oldest photograph of a US president -

John Quincy Adams was the first American president to have his portrait taken. This daguerreotype was taken in 1843, after Adams had left office. It was not until 1849 that a US president in office had his picture taken. This was James K. Polk.

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The oldest photograph of people drinking -

'Edinburgh Ale,' taken in 1844 in Edinburgh, Scotland, is the oldest known photograph of people drinking. Pictured (L-R) are artist James Ballantine, Dr George William Bell, and painter and photographer David Octavius Hill.

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The oldest photograph of New York City -

This 1848 daguerreotype is the oldest surviving photograph of New York City. This image of the Upper West Side in Manhattan was actually sold at a Sotheby’s auction for US$62,500 back in 2009.

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The oldest known picture of a Native American village -

'View of a Cheyenne village at Big Timbers 1853-1860' is a daguerreotype by Mathew B. Brady and Solomon Carvalho of a Plains Indian village in Kansas Territory taken during the Frïemont Expedition.

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The first color photograph -

The first color photograph (of a tartan ribbon) was taken by Thomas Sutton, under the instructions of Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell (who developed the three-color method) in 1861.

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The first colored landscape photograph -

The first colored landscape, titled 'Landscape of Southern France,' was taken in 1877 by French photographer Louis Arthur Ducos du Hauron.

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The first digital photograph -

Believe it or not, the first digital photograph was taken in 1957; way before digital cameras were invented. This is actually a digital scan of a photo originally taken on film. The picture depicts the son of American engineer and digital scanner pioneer, Russell Kirsch.

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The first powered submarine -

Pictured is Resurgam, the first mechanically propelled submarine built in 1879. This photo was taken before launching. 

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The first image of Earth from outer space -

This image was captured by the V-2 No. 13 suborbital spaceflight on October 24, 1946. 

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The first powered flight -

On December 17, 1903, the Wright Flyer first flew at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The flight by the Wright brothers was captured by photographer John T. Daniels.

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The first photograph of Earth from the Moon -

This photo was taken on August 23, 1966, by a Lunar Orbiter spacecraft. 

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The first American spacewalk -

On June 3, 1965, astronaut Edward H. White II performed the first American spacewalk during the Gemini 4 mission. The moment was captured on camera.

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The first flower blooming in space -

This Orange Zinnia was the first flower to be grown in space. The picture was taken by a NASA astronaut in 2016.

Sources: (Ranker) (PetPixel) 

See also: Photography tips from Annie Leibovitz

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