Thomas Martin Easterly

Thomas Martin Easterly
Easterly's Daguerreotype Gallery, St. Louis, 1851
Born(1809-10-03)October 3, 1809
Guilford, Vermont, United States
DiedMarch 12, 1882(1882-03-12) (aged 72)
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Daguerreotypist and photographer
Known forLeading American daguerreotypist during the mid-19th century; founded one of the first permanent art galleries in Missouri and took the first known photograph of a lightning bolt.
Spouse
Anna Miriam Bailey
(m. 1850⁠–⁠1882)
Parent(s)Tunis Easterly and Philomena Richardson
Portrait of Thomas Easterly with an unidentified man.

Thomas Martin Easterly (October 3, 1809 – March 12, 1882) was a 19th-century American daguerreotypist and photographer. One of the more prominent and well-known daguerreotypists in the Midwest United States during the 1850s, his studio became one of the first permanent art galleries in Missouri.

Although his reputation was limited to the Midwest during his lifetime, he is considered to have been one of the foremost experts in the field of daguerreotype photography in the United States during the mid-to-late 19th century. He took the very first known photograph of a lightning bolt in history.[1]

  1. ^ "The First Photographs of Lightning Crackle with Electric Chaos". Hyperallergic. 2016-05-25. Retrieved 2019-05-12.