Thaumatrope
Taumátropo
- Date
- 1825 · confidence high
- Place
- London, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- Disputed among Charles Babbage, John Ayrton Paris and William Henry Fitton
- Field
- Communication
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
An optical toy with a disc illustrated on both sides that, when spun quickly on strings, blends the two images into one through the persistence of vision. It is regarded as an early forerunner of animated film.
Authorship is disputed between Babbage (said to have conceived it earlier without publishing it) and physicians Paris and Fitton, who popularised it in 1825.
What it led to
- Popularisation of the persistence-of-vision principle as entertainment
- Later optical toys such as the phenakistiscope and the zoetrope