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1839 United States, Philadelphia Central High School

This is a daguerreotype taken by Joseph Saxton, of Philadelphia Central High School, which is thought to be the oldest surviving photo taken in the United States.

Philadelphia is notable for being a city of firsts, but one “first” distinction it has that may not be known by many is being the first city where someone took a photo.

The photo was taken in 1839 by Joseph Saxton, an engineer and watchmaker with an inventing process with ties to Philadelphia.

Among his inventions include a device for measuring ship velocity, another for measuring water in a steam boiler, a prototype for the foundation pen, and a tide gauge believed to be the first device to register an earthquake.

While working for the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, Saxton took a cigar box and glass lens in his office and created an early version of a camera.

He used the aforementioned camera to produce an image kown as a daguerreotype.

That image is widely considered the oldest surviving photo in the United States.

Saxton later inspired his associate, Robert Cornelius, who would become the first American to take a picture of a human and also opened some of the earliest photo studios in the U.S.