Joseph Nicéphore Niépce

Niépce, Joseph Nicéphore (1765–1833), French physicist and inventor who produced the first successful permanent photograph (1826). The image, recorded in asphalt on a pewter plate, required an 8-hr exposure in a camera obscura. In 1829 Niepce went into partnership with Louis Daguerre, who later perfected his process, which became widely known as daguerrotype.