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William Nicholson Jennings

Illustration — William N. Jennings, First Photograph of Lightning, taken September 2, 1882, Philadelphia William Nicholson Jennings (1860–1946) was a photographer active in Philadelphia from the 1890s. He conducted experiments with color photography and artificial lightning, helping in the development of photographic flash. • Illustration — Kromogram color photograph of Ida Saxton McKinley, first lady of the United States from 1897 to 1901, taken by Jennings and Frederic E. In 1890 together with Arthur W. Goodspeed he was photographing electric sparks and brush discharges at the University of Pennsylvania, and tried to use a Crookes tube. On February 22nd he noticed disks of unknown origin on one of his plates but nobody could explain them, and the image was forgotten.

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William Nicholson Jennings

Early color photograph (Kromogram, digital reconstruction) of First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley in the White House Conservatory. Made by Frederic E. Ives and W. N. Jennings between 1897 and 1901. This is half of a 3D stereo image. Another photograph of Ida McKinley, possibly made during the same session, is dated 1900: https: www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/first-lady-ida-mckinley-in-the-white-hous

Frederic Eugene Ives / William Nicholson Jennings · Sipley, Lous Walton. (1951) A Half Century of Color p. 21 · Public domain

Born
1860 · Yorkshire.
Died
1946
Nationality
United States
Occupation
photographer
Honours
John Price Wetherill Medal

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Illustration — William N. Jennings, First Photograph of Lightning, taken September 2, 1882, Philadelphia William Nicholson Jennings (1860–1946) was a photographer active in Philadelphia from the 1890s. He conducted experiments with color photography and artificial lightning, helping in the development of photographic flash. • Illustration — Kromogram color photograph of Ida Saxton McKinley, first lady of the United States from 1897 to 1901, taken by Jennings and Frederic E. In 1890 together with Arthur W. Goodspeed he was photographing electric sparks and brush discharges at the University of Pennsylvania, and tried to use a Crookes tube. On February 22nd he noticed disks of unknown origin on one of his plates but nobody could explain them, and the image was forgotten.

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wikidata · Q8016139 · wikipedia · William Nicholson Jennings

In this article

  1. 01Biography
  2. 02Reception, influence and legacy
  3. 03Notes, references and evidence

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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