NETWORK OF TIME
You could be connected to 1842 in four photos
Just one generation has passed since the creation of the camera
To illustrate how little time has passed since the advent of photography, consider how anyone appearing in a photo with Queen Elizabeth II today is only three degrees of separation away from a photo taken four years after the first known photo of people.
The Royal Collection Trust says this March 1842 portrait of Albert, Prince Consort is the first known photograph to have survived of a member of the British royal family. In 1842, 105 years will pass until the end of British direct rule in India, and 23 years will pass until slavery is abolished in the United States.
Fifty-two years later, this 1894 photo depicts the christening of Prince Edward Albert of York (later King Edward VIII). Albert, Queen Victoria and their nine children appear – including George, Duke of York (later King George V, fourth from left) and Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (second from left).
Thirty-two years later, in May 1926, George V and Prince Arthur were present at another christening – that of one-month-old Princess Elizabeth of York, 27 years before her coronation as Queen Elizabeth II. Elizabeth is held here by her mother Elizabeth, Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother), while Arthur and George V respectively appear first and second from left in the back row.
Having celebrated her 93rd birthday in April, the Queen still makes regular public appearances where large crowds are captured along with her likeness, ensuring thousands of people every year are made three degrees away from a photo in 1842. (Here, she waves to the crowds at day one of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 18, 2019 in Ascot, England.)
How far back can you go?
Try matching people on the front page to see how many degrees of separation you can find between yourself and historical figures.