One day in October 1839, Robert Cornelius made history.
He took what is believed to be the first selfie, a self-portrait he snapped (or whatever you'd call it with 1839 technology) in the yard behind his family's store.
Like the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania played host to the inaugural selfie, another defining moment in history:
Exposures were long in those days. Really long.
The Library of Congress estimates that Cornelius had to hold this position for somewhere between three and 15 minutes, depending on the amount of light.
While many details are obviously unclear, Robert knew he was onto something. A note on back of the photo reads, "The first light picture ever taken."
After taking it, Cornelius opened a photography shop, one of the first in the U.S., before ultimately closing it in favor of helping the family lamp business.
Prior to the discovery of this photo, Business Insider ran a series of two selfies from the early 1900s, which the outlet speculated could be the oldest ever.
Robert will see that and raise you 60 years.
Ellen DeGeneres posts the best selfie ever. Literally the best, in terms of re-Tweets.
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