Daguerre's Moon photograph and the French Academy announcement of the daguerreotype

Background. Daguerre developed the daguerreotype, a process for fixing camera obscura images. By April 1837 he told Isidore Niépce his equipment was ready and he needed only good weather. The process had been kept secret until 1839, when public announcements occurred, and early commentators chose 1839 as the year photography was born or made public, though Niépce's earlier experiments existed.

Academy Announcements. On 7 January 1839 the French Academy of Sciences announced the daguerreotype at a joint meeting. A contemporary description held that images projected by an ordinary camera obscura left an imprint in light and shade, and that a preparation over the image preserved it for an indefinite time. In August 1839 Arago reported the invention to stunned listeners of a joint meeting of the academies of Arts and Sciences, and these announcements led commentators to choose 1839 as photography's birth year.

Government Acquisition. Arrangements were made for Daguerre's rights to be acquired by the French Government in exchange for lifetime pensions. On 19 August 1839, the government presented the invention as a gift from France "free to the world," publishing complete working instructions.