On This Day In History: The Lumière Brothers Presented Their First Film In Paris – On Dec 28, 1895

On 28 Dec 1895, Auguste and Louis Lumière brothers presented their first film in Paris.

The Lumière brothers, Auguste (1862 -1954) and Louis Jean (1864 – 1948) were among the first filmmakers in history.

They made pioneering motion-picture equipment and patented the cinematograph, which allowed simultaneous viewing by multiple parties.

On 28 Dec 1895, the brothers presented their motion-picture films in their first public performance, at the Salon Indien du Grand Café in Paris.

It was the first paid public screening presented by the Lumières brothers.

The event was the “birth” of the cinema.

Louis Jean Lumiere was a French inventor, who worked with his brother. August and Louis brothers were both technical-minded people interested in science and photography. While Auguste started manufacturing and supplying photographic equipment, his brother Louis experimented with these pieces of equipment.

Louis invented the 25-lb “Cinématographe” twin-function projector and camera, which improved on Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope by adding an intermittent film motion mechanism (based on the sewing machine).

Their goal was to overcome the limitation of the so-called Peephole Kinetoscope, which was limited to studio use and that only one person could view it at a time.

They succeeded!