World Photography Day August 19, 2021

It seems there is a “day” for just about everything, so why not a “World Photography Day”? The next one is Thursday, August 19th, 2021. This might be a good time to post your newest images on social media, have a party, buy a photography book, or do whatever you traditionally do on other worldwide “days.”

Why, August 19th, you might ask. That was the day in 1839 when the French government bought the patent for the Daguerrotype and made it available for the world to use.

Here is some trivia from the National Day website:

• The first photo of the moon—1851.

• One of Daguerre's sister was named after a queen— Marie Antoinette.

• Daguerre performed on the stage of the Paris Opera as a dancer.

• British royalty who had their own darkroom and had their librarian teach their children to develop film—Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

• Queen Victoria is the first person known to use the abbreviation, “photo,” in a letter in 1860.

A page from Princess Victoria’s photo album (detail) showing a variety of royal individuals and chemical processes c.1897~c.1898, from the Royal Collection Trust website.