Ottomar Anschutz (1846–1907)

Ottomar Anschütz (1846-1907) was a German inventor, photographer and filmmaker, best known for his contributions to the development of early motion picture technology. Born on 16 May 1846 in Lissa, in the Prussian province of Posen (now Poland), Anschütz played a significant role in the history of photography and cinematography in the late 19th century.

Anschütz began his career as a photographer and later became interested in capturing motion through a series of still photographs. One of his notable inventions was the 'electrotachyscope', a device that displayed moving images through a series of still photographs. It was an early form of motion picture projector.

In 1887, Anschütz developed a groundbreaking photographic technique called "chronophotography", which used a high-speed shutter to take a series of rapid-fire pictures. This technique allowed him to create motion studies and capture the movement of subjects in a series of photographs.

One of Anschütz's most famous works is his series of images of a galloping horse. His chronophotographic studies of the horse's movement provided valuable insights into the mechanics of locomotion, which were not well understood at the time.

In addition to his contributions to motion picture technology, Anschütz also made advances in the fields of photography and optics. He invented the focal plane shutter, a type of camera shutter that exposes the film or image sensor by moving across the film or sensor.

Ottomar Anschütz died on 30 May 1907 in Berlin, Germany. While his contributions to early cinematography may not be as widely recognised as some other pioneers in the field, his work laid the foundations for the development of film technology in the