Nicéphore Niépce produced the first successful photograph from nature in 1826 or 1827, an approximately eight-hour exposure of the courtyard of his estate, Le Gras, made with a camera obscura and a pewter plate.
Notes on verification
Core facts (Niépce, Le Gras, pewter plate, camera obscura, 1826/1827 date) are well-corroborated by multiple independent sources including Wikipedia, conservation science sites, and history-of-photography references. The 'eight-hour exposure' detail is a traditional estimate repeated widely but disputed by some modern researchers who argue it may have taken days; claim's use of 'approximately' mitigates this.
Sources
- History of photography | History, Inventions, Artists, & Facts - Britannica (britannica.com)
- https://cool.culturalheritage.org/byorg/abbey/an/an26/an26-3/an26-307.html (cool.culturalheritage.org)
- https://amateurphotographer.com/iconic-images/view-from-the-window-at-le-gras-by-joseph-nicephore-niepce-iconic-photograph/ (amateurphotographer.com)
- https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=3665 (historyofinformation.com)