Thomas Wedgwood (photographer)

Thomas Wedgwood (14 May 1771 – 10 July 1805) was an English inventor and one of the very first people to explore the idea of photography. He dreamed of making permanent pictures by using a camera and special chemicals that change when light hits them. Although the pictures he created were only shadows and didn’t last long, his big idea was very important. Because of his early work, some people today call him “the first photographer.” His experiments helped lay the groundwork for the photography we know and use today.

Life

Thomas Wedgwood was the fifth of eight children born to Josiah Wedgwood and his wife Sarah, who was his third cousin. His father started the famous Wedgwood company. Thomas grew up in Etruria, Staffordshire, which is now part of Stoke-on-Trent in England.

He loved art from a young age and spent time with painters, sculptors, and poets. After receiving some money from his father’s estate in 1795, he supported these artists. Thomas never married and had no children. He was often sick during his life and passed away at age 34 in Dorset.

A pioneer of photography

Wedgwood was the first person known to have used special chemicals to capture images, like pictures made in a camera. He tried to make lasting pictures by using paper and leather coated with a light-sensitive chemical called silver nitrate.

He could not capture real scenes with a camera, but he did manage to create silhouette images by placing objects in sunlight. These pictures showed dark shapes of objects against a lighter background. His work inspired other scientists and helped start the development of modern photography.

Patron to Coleridge

Thomas Wedgwood was a friend of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In 1798, Wedgwood helped Coleridge by giving him money so he could spend more time on philosophy and poetry. Later, in an 1803 letter, Coleridge mentioned trying to get cannabis for Wedgwood to help with his ongoing stomach pain.