# 1894 in film

The following is an overview of the events of 1894 in film, including a list of films released and notable births.

## Events

* January 7
** William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film.
** Dickson and William Heise film their colleague, Fred Ott sneezing with the Kinetograph at Edison's Black Maria studio.
* April 14 – The first commercial presentation of the Kinetoscope took place in the Holland Brothers' Kinetoscope Parlor at 1155 Broadway, New York City.
* June 6 - Charles Francis Jenkins projects a filmed motion picture before an audience in Richmond, Indiana. Earliest documented projection of a motion picture.
* Thomas Edison experiments with synchronizing audio with film; the Kinetophone is invented which loosely synchronizes a Kinetoscope image with a cylinder phonograph.
* Kinetoscope viewing parlors begin to open in major cities. Each parlor contains several machines.
* Birt Acres creates a 70 mm format, which he first uses to shoot the Henley Royal Regatta.

## Notable films released in 1894
### Birt Acres

* Crows on Saffron Hill
* Haycart Crossing Hadley Green, Middlesex

### Charles-Émile Reynaud

* Autour d'une cabine
* Rêve au coin du feu

### Étienne-Jules Marey

* Falling Cat
* Chat en Chute Libre

### William K. L. Dickson

* Alleni's Boxing Monkeys
* Amateur Gymnast, No. 2
* Annabelle Butterfly Dance, starring Annabelle Moore
* Annabelle Sun Dance, starring Annabelle Moore
* Annie Oakley, starring Annie Oakley
* Armand D'Ary, starring Armand D'Ary
* Athlete with Wand
* Babies in High Chairs
* Band Drill
* A Bar Room Scene
* The Barbershop
* Bertoldi (Mouth Support), starring Ena Bertoldi
* Bertoldi (Table Contortion), starring Ena Bertoldi
* Boxing, starring Jack McAuliffe
* The Boxing Cats (Prof. Welton's)
* Bucking Broncho, starring Lee Martin
* Buffalo Bill (lost), starring William F. Cody
* Buffalo Dance, starring Hair Coat, Parts His Hair and Last Horse
* Caicedo (with Pole), starring Juan A. Caicedo
* Caicedo (with Spurs), starring Juan A. Caicedo
* Carmencita, starring Carmencita
* The Carnival Dance, starring Madge Crossland, May Lucas and Lucy Murray
* Chinese Laundry Scene, directed by William Heise and William K. L. Dickson and starring Phil Doreto and Robetta
* Chinese Opium Den (lost)
* The Cock Fight
* Cock Fight, No. 2
* Corbett and Courtney Before the Kinetograph, starring James J. Corbett and Peter Courtney
* Cupid's Dance, starring Florence Ewer, Lenora Ewer and Mildred Ewer
* Dance, starring Rosa France, Frank Lawton and Etta Williamson
* Dance du Ventre
* The Dickson Experimental Sound Film
* Dogs Fighting
* Edison Employee Picnic
* Fancy Club Swinger, starring John R. Abell
* Finale of 1st Act, Hoyt's 'Milk White Flag'
* Fire Rescue Scene
* Fred Ott Holding a Bird, starring Fred Ott
* Fred Ott's Sneeze, starring Fred Ott
* French Dancers
* Glenroy Bros., (no. 2)
* Hadj Cheriff, starring Hadji Cheriff
* Highland Dance
* The Hornbacker-Murphy Fight, starring Eugene Hornbacker and Murphy
* Human Pyramid, starring Saleem Nassar
* Imperial Japanese Dance, starring the Sarashe Sisters
* Lady Fencers (With Broadswords), starring Louise Blanchard and Helen Englehart
* Lady Fencers (With Foils)
* Lasso Exhibition, starring Frank Hammitt and Lee Martin
* Lasso Thrower (lost), starring Vicente Oropeza
* Leonard–Cushing Fight, starring Jack Cushing and Mike Leonard
* Luis Martinetti, Contortionist, starring Luis Martinetti
* Man of a Thousand Faces, starring George Layman
* May Lucas, starring May Lucas
* Men on Parallel Bars
* Mexican Knife Duel (lost), starring Pedro Esquivel and Dionecio Gonzales
* Miss Lucy Murray, starring Lucy Murray
* Mlle. Capitaine, starring Alciede Capitaine
* Organ Grinder, No. 1
* Organ Grinder, No. 2
* Oriental Dance, starring Rosa
* The Pickaninny Dance, from the 'Passing Show', starring Joe Rastus, Denny Tolliver and Walter Wilkins
* Rat Killing
* Rats and Terrier No. 2
* Rats and Terrier No. 3
* Rats and Weasel
* Ruth Dennis, starring Ruth St. Denis
* Sandow, starring Eugen Sandow
* Sheik Hadji Tahar, starring Sheik Hadji Tahar
* Sioux Ghost Dance
* Summersault Dog, starring Lucy the Dog and Ivan Tschernoff
* Sword Combat, starring Najid and Saleem Nassar
* Topack and Steele, starring George W. Steele and George Topack
* Toyou Kichi, starring Toyou Kichi
* Trained Bears
* Trapeze
* Unsuccessful Somersault
* Walton and Slavin, starring John Slavin and Charles F. Walton
* Whirlwind Gunspinning, starring Hadj Lessik
* The Widder, starring Isabelle Coe
* Wonderful Performing Dog, starring Lucy the Dog and Ivan Tschernoff
* The Wrestling Dog, starring Henry Welton
* Wrestling Match

### Films directed by other filmmakers

* Miss Jerry, directed by Alexander Black, starring by Blanche Bayliss, William Courtenay and Chauncey Depew.

## Births

| Month | Date | Name | Country | Profession | Died |
| January | 3 | ZaSu Pitts | US | Actress | 1963 |
| January | 6 | William Newell | US | Actor | 1967 |
| January | 22 | Matt McHugh | US | Actor | 1971 |
| February | 8 | King Vidor | US | Actor, director | 1982 |
| February | 14 | Jack Benny | US | Comedian | 1974 |
| March | 26 | Will Wright | US | Actor | 1962 |
| May | 2 | Norma Talmadge | US | Actress | 1957 |
| May | 20 | Estelle Taylor | US | Actress | 1958 |
| May | 26 | Paul Lukas | Hungary | Actor | 1971 |
| June | 16 | Norman Kerry | US | Actor | 1956 |
| July | 23 | Arthur Treacher | UK | Actor | 1975 |
| July | 25 | Walter Brennan | US | Actor | 1974 |
| July | 27 | Mientje Kling | Netherlands | Actress | 1966 |
| July | 29 | Charles C. Wilson | US | Actor | 1948 |
| August | 9 | Kathleen Lockhart | US | Actress | 1978 |
| August | 10 | Alan Crosland | US | Director | 1936 |
| September | 15 | Jean Renoir | France | Director | 1979 |
| September | 26 | Gladys Brockwell | US | Actress | 1929 |
| September | 27 | Olive Tell | US | Actress | 1951 |
| October | 7 | Del Lord | Canada | Director | 1970 |
| October | 20 | Olive Thomas | US | Actress | 1920 |
| October | 27 | Agda Helin | Sweden | Actress | 1984 |
| November | 9 | Mae Marsh | US | Actress | 1968 |
| November | 13 | Nita Naldi | US | Actress | 1961 |
| December | 8 | Marthe Vinot | France | Actress | 1974 |

## Debut

* Annabelle Whitford (Annabelle Sun Dance)
* William Courtenay (Miss Jerry)