William Henry Fox Talbot

1 8.6

An English inventor who helped make early photography and published the first book with photographs

proper noun

: William Henry Fox Talbot

The first book illustrated with photographs was published by William Henry Fox Talbot.

Examples

William Henry Fox Talbot is credited with inventing the calotype process in photography.
The works of William Henry Fox Talbot revolutionized photography.
Historians often mention William Henry Fox Talbot as a central figure in the development of early photography.
William Henry Fox Talbot was born in 1800.
William Henry Fox Talbot is credited with inventing the calotype process in photography.
Historians often mention William Henry Fox Talbot as a central figure in the development of early photography.
The first book illustrated with photographs was published by William Henry Fox Talbot.

Synonyms

Fox Talbot

vsWilliam Henry Fox Talbot

1 8.8

An English inventor and early photographer who published the first book with photographs

is identical in meaning but uses the longer full personal name

Surface Forms

William Henry Fox Talbot main

Morphology

William + Henry + Fox + Talbot

This item is a full personal name; knowing the constituent given and family names ('William', 'Henry', 'Fox', 'Talbot') does not let a learner infer that it refers to an English inventor or pioneer in photography. Proper names are referential and arbitrary rather than compositionally meaningful, so a B1 learner would not be able to derive the biographical sense from the parts.

Etymology

William Henry Fox Talbot was an English inventor who found a way to make pictures on paper. He published the first book with photographs, so his name is remembered as one of the pioneers of 'photography'.