7 historical events that happened on Valentine’s Day
4. First presidential photograph taken — 1849
Valentine’s Day marks the anniversary of when James K. Polk reportedly became the first sitting president of the United States to be photographed, doing so shortly before he left office.
Taken by famed 19th century professional photographer Matthew Brady, the Daguerreotype of Polk was taken in New York. His only term ended in March and he died later that year.
According to the site On This Day, it is believed that President William Henry Harrison might have been photographed years earlier, however the purported image has been lost to history.
“A photo was recently unearthed of John Quincy Adams in 1843, but Adams had by this point been out of office for almost twenty years. This would count as the earliest photograph of an American president,” explained the website.
