On September 16, 1890, Louis Le Prince vanished. He was never seen or heard from again. While that is the most well-known thing about him, he had a whole life before that which involved some very intriguing things.

Research:

• “Amongst the persons …” The Leeds Mercury. August 2, 1870. https://www.newspapers.com/image/390297596/?match=1&terms=%22Louis%20Le Prince%22
• Atreyee Gupta. “The Disappearance of Louis Le Prince.” Materials Today. Volume 11, Issues 7–8. 2008. Page 56, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1369-7021(08)70160-3.
• Aulas, Jean-Jacques and Jacques Pfend. “Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince, inventeur et artiste, précurseur du cinéma.” 1895. Vol. 32. 2000. https://doi.org/10.4000/1895.110
• Britannica Editors. "Étienne-Jules Marey". Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 May. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Etienne-Jules-Marey
• Casey, Keiron. “The mystery of Louis Le Prince, the father of cinematography.” Science + Media Museum. Aug. 29, 2013. https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/louis-le-prince-created-the-first-ever-moving-pictures/
• “CINEMATOGRAPHY Pioneers of Early Cinema: Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince (1841-1890?).” National Media Museum. https://www.meiermovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/PioneersOfEarlyCinemaLouisLe Prince.pdf
• “First Surviving Film.” Guinness World Records. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-surviving-film
• Fischer, Paul. “The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures: A True Tale of Obsession, Murder, and the Movies.” Simon & Schuster. 2022.
• “Hannibal Goodwin.” National Inventors Hall of Fame. https://www.invent.org/inductees/hannibal-goodwin
• Kelley, Peter. “Louis A. A. Le Prince and the Whitley Family.” Oak Leaves. Oakwood and District Historical Society. Summer 2002. https://www.oakwoodchurch.info/Oak%20Leaves%20Part%203%20-%20Louis%20A%20A%20Le%20Prince%20and%20the%20Whitley%20Family%20by%20Peter%20Kelley.pdf
• Le Prince, A. “METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING ANIMATED PICTURES OF NATURAL SCENERY AND LIFE.” U.S. Patent Office. Jan. 10, 1888. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/26/13/3c/c0bd20490abc9b/US376247.pdf
• Lewis, Maria. “The tragedy of Louis Le Prince.” ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image). https://www.acmi.net.au/stories-and-ideas/tragedy-louis-le-prince/
• “The Life, Mystery and Legacy of Louis Le Prince.” Leeds Museums & Galleries. https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/blog-life-mystery-and-legacy-of-louis-le-prince-fylq
• Marey, Etienne-Jules. “Chronophotographic gun.” Google Arts and Culture. https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/chronophotographic-gun-%C3%89tienne-jules-marey-otto-lund/KAFgqcxSaDadqw?hl=en
• “New research centre honours father of film.” The Reporter. University of Leeds. May 19, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20120205020340/http://reporter.leeds.ac.uk/490/s6.htm
• “PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT NITROBENZENE.” Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp140-c1-b.pdf
• Rawlence, Christopher. “The Missing Reel: the untold story of the lost inventor of moving pictures.” New York : Atheneum : Maxwell Macmillan International. 1990. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/missingreeluntol0000rawl/mode/1up
• “Single-lens Cine Camera by Louis Le Prince.” Science Museum Group. https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co18634/le-prince-single-lens-cine-camera-cine-camera-cinematograph
• Swift, John. "Siege of Paris". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Jan. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Siege-of-Paris-1870-1871
• Britannica Editors. "Franco-German War". Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 May. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/event/Franco-German-War
• Youngs, Ian. “Louis Le Prince, who shot the world's first film in Leeds.” BBC. June 23, 2015. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-33198686