page_title: 1861 in science
section_title: Technology
hierarchical_section_title: 1861 in science / Technology
caption_attribution_description: English: Tartan Ribbon, photograph taken by James Clerk Maxwell in 1861. Considered the first colour photograph. Maxwell had the photographer Thomas Sutton photograph a tartan ribbon three times, each time with a different colour filter over the lens. The three images were developed and then projected onto a screen with three different projectors, each equipped with the same colour filter used to take its image. When brought into focus, the three images formed a full colour image. The three photographic plates now reside in a small museum at 14 India Street, Edinburgh, the house where Maxwell was born. Español: Cinta de tartán (Tartan Ribbon). Es una fotografía tomada por el físico británico James Clerk Maxwell en 1861. Considerada la primera fotografía en color, fue realizada con tres negativos obtenidos con filtros de color azul, rojo y verde.
context_page_description: The year 1861 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.
context_section_description: January 1 – First steam-powered carousel recorded, in Bolton, England.
  July 23 – The term 'drive shaft' is used in the description of the mechanism in a patent reissue for the Watkins and Bryson horse-drawn mowing machine.
  William Froude publishes the first results of his research into ship hull design.
  Dr. Richard J. Gatling invents the Gatling gun.
  James Clerk Maxwell demonstrates the principle of permanent three-colour photography.
  German scientist Philipp Reis succeeds in creating a device that captures sound and converts it to electrical impulses which are transmitted via electrical wires to another device that transforms these pulses into recognizable sounds similar to the original acoustical source. Reis coins the term telephone to describe his device, the Reis telephone.
caption: The first colour photograph by James Clerk Maxwell
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