Warren de la Rue
(1815-1889), Chemist and astronomerSitter in 5 portraits
Warren de la Rue was a pioneer in astronomical photography, the method by which nearly all modern astronomical observations are made. Educated in Paris, he returned to London and entered his father's stationary business. He devoted his leisure hours to chemical and electrical researches, and between 1836 and 1848 published several papers on these subjects. From 1852 de la Rue began to be interested in the application of photography to astronomy. His stereoscopic pictures (formed by combining two photographs taken in succession) of the sun and the moon, when seen through a stereo viewer, give an illusion of depth, created a sensation at the International Exhibition of 1862 in London. He took some of the very first photographs of the moon; the moon crater ‘De la Rue’ is named after him. De la Rue was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1862.
by Maull & Polyblank
albumen print, arched top, 1855
NPG P120(38)
by Henry Joseph Whitlock
albumen carte-de-visite, 1860s
NPG Ax18257
by Ernest Edwards, published by Alfred William Bennett
albumen print, published 1865
NPG Ax14763
by Lock & Whitfield, published by Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington
woodburytype, published 1882
NPG Ax17682
by Lock & Whitfield, published by Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington
woodburytype, published 1882
NPG x134534
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