John Arthur Roebuck Rudge facts for kids
John Arthur Roebuck Rudge (born July 26, 1837 – died January 3, 1903) was a clever British inventor. He lived in Bath and made scientific tools. Rudge is famous for helping to create early moving pictures.
He worked with another inventor named William Friese-Greene. Together, they made important steps toward the movies we watch today.
A Pioneer of Moving Pictures
John Rudge was a true pioneer in the world of moving images. He spent many years trying to make pictures seem to move. His inventions helped other people later create cinema.
The Biophantic Lantern
Around 1880, Rudge invented a special machine called the Biophantic Lantern. This device was designed to show moving images. It used seven square slides that spun around a lamp.
The lantern used a clever spinning motion. This motion was like a "Maltese Cross" or Geneva drive. This same type of movement is still used in many film projectors today. It helps move the film smoothly.
The Biophantic Lantern also had special shutters. These shutters blocked the light between each image. This made the pictures appear to move when shown quickly.
One famous sequence made with this lantern showed Rudge taking off his own head! It was a trick, of course. William Friese-Greene helped by playing the body. This unique lantern and its slides are now kept in a museum in France. You can find them at the Cinémathèque Française.
More Experiments with Movement
For the next ten years, Rudge kept experimenting. He used a type of projector called a magic lantern. He wanted to make pictures look like they were moving. He called all these new inventions "Biophantoscopes."
These machines used many separate photographs. Each photo showed a slightly different pose. When shown fast, they created the illusion of movement. Many of his experiments showed faces that seemed to change expression.
