Henry Fox Talbot Biography

William Henry Fox Talbot was a British scientist and photography pioneer best known for inventing the salted paper and calotype processes. He was a true polymath with interests in myriad subjects like chemistry, mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, classics, and art history, though he ultimately achieved fame as a pioneer in the field of photography which was still in its infancy in the mid-19th century. His invention, the photographic process of calotype was an improvement over the daguerreotype of the French inventor L.J.M. Daguerre. Talbot was the first to have developed the photographic negative, from which multiple prints could be made. During the 1840s he worked extensively on photomechanical reproduction which led to the development of the photoglyphic engraving process. Intelligent and curious from a young age, he developed interests in a variety of subjects as a boy. After completing his education from the prestigious Trinity College, Cambridge, he wrote several papers which he submitted to the Royal Society. Artistically inclined with a passion for chemistry he embarked on a series of experiments in photography. Over the next few years he made several important contributions to the field of photography, of which the most significant ones were the invention of the salted paper and photographic negative. He was awarded by the Royal Society for his photographic discoveries