The History of Animation: Athanasius Kircher

I have few goals (I prefer systems - more on that later), but one of the few goals I have is to become an animator one day.  As art forms go, animation has a particularly rich history, and one can not discuss such a history without mentioning Athansius Kircher.  Born by the early 1600s, Kircher was entering a world of rapid change, ripe for new inventions and inventors.

In his case, he invented the first recorded slide projector.

It was first explained in his book, Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae ("The Great Art of Light and Darkness"), Kircher showed a variety of inventions that manipulated light for artistic purposes, including his slide projection.

  The intent behind his new invention was to use images to tell the story of Jesus Christ, but the church took up some issue with the book it was originally published in due to the seemingly miraculous and magical nature of its content.  Thus, he ranks along with Galileo as one of the many geniuses who had to suppress his intellect in the face of Church pressure.