1891–1895Reputable sourceWell documented
The Birth of Cinema
On the timeline · around 1891–1895 ·
What happened
The technology of moving pictures came together in the 1890s. In 1891 Edison's company demonstrated the Kinetoscope, a peephole viewer for a single person. Then, in December 1895, the Lumière brothers projected films to a paying audience in Paris — the first true cinema screenings, showing everyday scenes like workers leaving a factory and a train arriving at a station.
Why it matters
The Lumières' public projections mark the birth of cinema as a shared, communal experience. Within a few years, moving pictures had spread around the world and a new art form and industry was born.
Sources
- National Science and Media Museum. A Very Short History of Cinema · Reputable source
Related timelines
- History of Photography → — Moving pictures grew out of still photography