Auguste and Louis Lumière, engineers and industrials (1862-1954 and 1864-1948)

The Lumière Brothers were born in Besançon and played an essential role in the history of the cinema and of photography. Auguste, a biologist, and Louis, a chemist, were the sons of Antoine Lumière, a photographer who practiced a successful trade in Besançon and opened branches in Montbéliard and Baume les Dames. Following in their father's footsteps, the two brothers went on to invent the cinematograph in 1895 and thence the processes of color photography. With the production of L’arroseur arrosé, among other films, they quickly realized the power of the cinema and its commercial possibilities.