born March 7, 1765, Chalon-sur-Saône, France
died July 5, 1833, Chalon-sur-Saône
French inventor.
In 1807 Niepce and his brother invented an internal-combustion engine (fueled with lycopodium powder). In 1813 he began experiments with lithography. He is best remembered for his experiments with photography, which he called heliography. In 1826–27, using a camera, he made a view from his workroom window on a pewter plate
the first permanently fixed image from nature. In 1829 he began a partnership with L.-J.-M. Daguerre to perfect and exploit heliography, but he died before they had achieved any further advance.