In honor of last night’s total lunar eclipse, we’re highlighting the JOHN W. DRAPER HOUSE, a National Historic Landmark in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. Draper, a well-known mid-19th century doctor, chemist, historian, and professor was the first person to take detailed magnified photographs of the moon!!! Draper was born near Liverpool, England in 1811. After the death of his father in 1831, he and his mother emigrated to the United States to join relatives living in Virginia. Draper graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1836 and soon began teaching. Draper made contributions to many areas which later become individual physical and biological sciences. He is best remembered for his pioneering work in photochemistry, especially for discoveries that contributed to the study of light diffraction and spectrum analysis. Draper improved the Dagurre process by speeding up exposure time. He became the first person to photograph the solar spectrum, the first person to take photomicrographs, and, incidentally, the first person to take true portrait photographs. John W. Draper moved to Hastings-on-Hudson in 1840 and lived there until his death in 1882. At one time, an observatory that was used by both Draper and his son Henry, was located on the property, but it is no longer extant. Draper is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery, another National Historic Landmark in Brooklyn, NY. The structure is now home to the Hastings Historical Society.
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 12:15:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015