Anna Atkins

Anna Atkins was a pioneering British scientist and artist known for creating the first book illustrated with photographs, called "Photographs of British Algae." Using a photographic process called cyanotype, she carefully captured images of algae and plants in their natural form. Her work combined scientific accuracy with artistic beauty, making her a trailblazer in both photography and botanical documentation. Atkins’s contributions helped establish photography as a valuable tool for scientific study and recording, and she is celebrated today as a pioneer in scientific photography and botanical illustration.