Origins & Early Life

William Kennedy Laurie Dickson (3 August 1860 – 28 September 1935) was a British-American inventor who devised an early motion picture camera under the employment of Thomas Edison. William Kennedy Laurie Dickson was born on 3 August 1860 in Le Minihic-sur-Rance, Brittany, France. His mother, Elizabeth Kennedy-Laurie (1823–1879) was American, born in Virginia. His father was James Waite Dickson, a Scottish artist, astronomer and linguist.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

James Dickson claimed direct lineage from the painter William Hogarth, and from Judge John Waite, the man who sentenced King Charles I to death. At age 19 in 1879, William Dickson wrote a letter to American inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Edison seeking employment. He was turned down. That same year Dickson, his mother, and two sisters moved from Britain to Virginia. In 1883 he was finally hired to work at Edison's laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

In 1888, Edison conceived of a device that would do "for the Eye what the phonograph does for the Ear". In October, Edison filed a preliminary claim, known as a caveat, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office; outlining his plans for the...

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

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• Althea Gibson — Shared historical date (09-28 · Died) (2003): Pioneering American tennis and golf star who broke racial barriers in sports.
• 1860 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1860
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