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Louis Leprens (1841-1890) was incredibly talented and vibrant personality of the late 19th century. Cinema historians consider quite surprising and unfair the fact that the name of this Frenchman is little known to modern man. But this particular the inventor is, in fact, the pioneer of cinema, although this title is almost always attributed to Thomas Edison or the brothers Lumiere. However, in the capitalist world, where all the fame goes to to the one who first patented something, this is not surprising.
What Louis Leprens is known for
It was Louis Leprens who was the first to create a single-lens movie camera, capable of capturing moving scenes on paper film. He is became both the operator and director of the first films in history: “Roundhead Garden Scene”, “Accordionist” and “Traffic on Leeds Bridge. “Of course, these were extremely primitive works cinematic art, which can only be called films with a stretch. We are talking about scenes from everyday life in length few seconds. However, the aforementioned Thomas Edison and the Lumiere brothers achieved the same results only in 1895, then how the “Roundhead Garden Scene” dates from 1888 (see excerpt from it below).
A photo from open sources
The biography of an outstanding Frenchman has been studied extremely poorly – before our only a few facts from it have reached. Reportedly louis Leprens was an introverted man who devoted all his free time for inventions. Probably be this genius just as ambitious, like some of his competitors, he could become a real celebrity, however, he did not care about fame. Moreover, our hero passed away too quickly. At least so It is considered to be. At the age of 49, Louis Leprense disappeared without a trace, and the circumstances of his sudden disappearance are still shrouded a secret.
The mysterious loss of an inventor
It is known that in 1890 Louis Leprens returned to his homeland from America, where he publicly presented his movie. Inventor planned to capture in France all the necessary drawings and papers, to return to the States and patent your camera there. Once caught in France, our hero stayed with his brother in Dijon, then sat on the nearest train station and poisoned in Paris. No one else saw. When the cast arrived in the capital, the filmmaker’s compartment turned out to be empty and did not contain any signs of presence there the passenger. The investigators had the impression that the man was just evaporated from the train with luggage.
A photo from open sources
There was not a single witness who could see Leprens leaving the train at any intermediate station or at least leaving their compartment. Together with the Frenchman, they disappeared from the train incredibly important drawings and documents for him. Traces of violence in the compartment was not found, and the window was closed from the inside, i.e. the man could not leave the car through him. Two months later in Paris found the body of a drowned man (pictured below), very reminiscent of a missing, however thorough examination testified that it was still not Leprens. Although law enforcement and marveled at such a mysterious coincidence.
A photo from open sources
Frenchman’s disappearance versions
Of course, many versions of the disappearance of the great inventor: from plausible to absolutely fantastic. Someone said that Louis Leprence committed suicide suicide. It is noteworthy that the inventor once reported to his great-nephew, as if he knows the perfect way to suicide, in which the body will never be found. However, the relatives of the Frenchman were sure that he would not have laid hands on himself. how minimum, because I considered my camera to be very promising invention and could not wait until the whole world sees a miracle capturing motion on film.
A photo from open sources
Another theory says that the unsociable Louis was just tired of his life and fled somewhere in a quiet place where he enjoyed to death peace and obscurity. Although this is unlikely, since the brother of Dijon said that Louis at that moment was full of hope for opening prospects for his cinematic invention. Finally, it is very popular in the assumption that Leprens eliminated one of his American competitors. Some go further and they say that it was Thomas Edison himself. Famous American inventor and entrepreneur, they say, introduced their movie camera and picture tube only after the disappearance of Leprens, and they were suspiciously similar, or even indistinguishable from offspring French genius. Finally, hypotheses about the abduction of Louis are put forward aliens moving it in a parallel dimension and even travel to the future. Be that as it may, in life it often happens amazing things and manifest injustices, for example, why the mainland that Columbus discovered is called America in honor of Amerigo Vespucci? ..
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