The precursors: Jean Sénebier
Jean Sénebier, theologian and physics enthusiast, living in Geneva in the XVIIIth century, undertook a lot of research into very different areas; amongst other things, he was interested in the sensitivity of natural substances to light.
In 1782, he wrote an important paper on spectral sensitivity – in other words about the colours – of silver chloride. He noticed then that it was blue light, which blackened this silver salt most quickly.
