John Arthur Roebuck Rudge
John Arthur Roebuck Rudge (26 July 1837 – 3 January 1903) was a British scientific instrument maker and inventor, who lived in Bath, noted for his contributions to the development of moving pictures. He collaborated with William Friese-Greene and, around 1880, he invented a device known as the Biophantic Lantern. This rotated seven square slides around a circular lamp housing, using a movement similar to the Maltese Cross, later found in many film projectors.
John Arthur Roebuck Rudge
Neil Owen · New Bond Street Place by Neil Owen · Geograph Britain and Ireland · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Born
- 1837. · Bath.
- Died
- 1903. · Bath.
- Nationality
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
- Occupation
- scientific instrument maker, inventor and photographer.
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John Arthur Roebuck Rudge (26 July 1837 – 3 January 1903) was a British scientific instrument maker and inventor, who lived in Bath, noted for his contributions to the development of moving pictures. He collaborated with William Friese-Greene and, around 1880, he invented a device known as the Biophantic Lantern. This rotated seven square slides around a circular lamp housing, using a movement similar to the Maltese Cross, later found in many film projectors.
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The light was obscured between images via a pair of ground glass shutters. The only surviving sequence – likely the only one ever made – shows Rudge taking off his own head and putting it under his arm. The trick was carried out by Friese-Greene playing the body. Over the following decade Rudge came up with a series of magic lantern experiments to try to recreate movement, calling all of these 'Biophantoscopes'. All employed individually posed photographs, rather than images taken with a moving picture camera, and featured changing faces.
John Arthur Roebuck Rudge is recorded as a citizen of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Recorded with the occupation scientific instrument maker.
John Arthur Roebuck Rudge plaque New Bond Street Place, Bath BA1 "Here lived, worked and died Rudge inventor of the biophantascope the precursor of the kinematograph B.1837 D.1903"
Spudgun67
Bath, Somerset
Simon Cobb
Life and career
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The full dated record · 2 entries
1837
John Arthur Roebuck Rudge was born on 1 January 1837.
1903
John Arthur Roebuck Rudge died on 3 January 1903.
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- “John Arthur Roebuck Rudge”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
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- Wikidata, structured authority record Q6219506: John Arthur Roebuck Rudge
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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