John Brown (c. 1846-1847)
Many famous figures on this list were totally against slavery and wanted to do something about it. John Brown was one of them. Born in 1800, the American abolitionist was on a mission to end slavery by all means in the United States. Brown might be remembered in history for the October 1859 raid on Harper’s Ferry – what we now know as West Virginia. He was the forerunner in that march, but after the raid ended unsuccessfully, Brown was charged and later executed on December 2, 1859. The Daguerreotype pictured here is the earliest and closest to what Brown looked like and was created by Augustus Washington, an African-American photographer. He noted the pose and flag had significant meaning. They could not be left out as the pose (with one hand raised) symbolized his fight against slavery. In contrast, the other handheld his “Subterranean Pass Way” – an alternative Underground Railroad they used.
John Brown
John Herschel (1867)
Sir John Frederick William Herschel was born in 1792 and later became an English polymath and an astronomer. Herschel was also a tower of strength in the photography industry and used the word in just about everything he did – even though he didn’t come up with the word.This portrait of Herschel was taken in 1867 by Julia Margaret Cameron. She left the description noting she had always loved and admired Herschel and had very committed and trusted friends for well over 31 years. She noted the privilege of sharing Herschel’s portrait with the world should be given to no one but her. Cameron made a total of four releases of Herschel’s portraits, and he noted he preferred this one compared to the others.
John Herschel
