Facts about Louis Lumiére

Louis Lumière died at 83 years old
Born: October 5, 1864
Died: June 6, 1948
Birthplace: Besançon, France
Best known as: Pioneer inventor in moviemaking and projection

     

     

Louis Lumière Biography

Louis Lumière was the son of a Antoine Lumière, a successful pioneer in photography. When Louis was a teenager he developed a photographic process that made the family business even more successful, and then he and his brother Auguste (b. 1862) turned their attention to the new invention of moving pictures. Together they invented a camera/projector called the Cinematograph, and for the first time audiences were able to see large projections of motion pictures (prior to that people watched the new medium through peepshows like those developed by Thomas Edison). The Lumière brothers’ produced thousands of short films, usually documents of everyday life, and were instrumental in the development of the cinema as a popular art form.

Extra credit

At the Paris International Exhibition of 1900, the brothers unveiled a 360 degree panoramic projector, using 70mm film.


     

Related Biography

Something in Common with Louis Lumière