1815-1889

English astronomer who pioneered the use of photography in astronomy. He also advanced the science of electricity, inventing the silver chloride cell battery and experimenting with platinum filament light bulbs and electrical discharges in gases. De la Rue's initial application of photography in astronomy was a series of stereoscopic photographs of the sun and moon, shown at the International Exposition of 1862. His photography of the solar eclipse of 1860 is regarded as photography's first major contribution to astronomy.