U.S. History

"The Inventor and the Tycoon: A Gilded Age Murder and the Birth of Moving Pictures"

Edward Ball

About the Program

National Book Award-winning author Edward Ball recounts the relationship between Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904) inventor of stop-motion photography that was integral in the development of motion pictures and his patron, Leland Stanford, former governor of California and railroad tycoon.  The author reports on Muybridge's technological breakthroughs and his personal life, notably his admission of murder and his court trial that became a national curiosity.  Edward Ball speaks at R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, Connecticut.

About the Authors

Edward Ball

Edward Ball is the author of several books, including Slaves in the Family winner of the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 1998.


Buy the author's book from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound

Program Information

"The Inventor and the Tycoon: A Gilded Age Murder and the Birth of Moving Pictures"

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Past Airings

  • Saturday, March 16th at 2:30pm (ET)
American History TV on C-SPAN3