1888
Birth of Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff, born to an upper-class British family as William Henry Pratt
Cinema history · permanent subject timeline
Early Cinema, 1888–1914
The transition from photographic experiments to projected motion pictures and an international film industry. This page combines historical context with 48 matching records drawn directly from the World History Database cinema archive.
Historical context
Early Cinema, 1888–1914: overview and significance
What happened?
The earliest records in the archive cover pioneers, inventors, performers and filmmakers active before the First World War, including the transition from experimental motion studies and projector demonstrations to permanent film production and exhibition.
Why was it important?
This period established the technical and commercial foundations of cinema. Cameras, projectors, editing, studios, narrative form and star performance all developed rapidly before 1914.
World History Database records
Early Cinema, 1888–1914 timeline
The records below are selected from the 2,036-record Cinema History archive and rendered as static HTML in chronological order.
1888
1889
1889 16th April
Birth of Charlie Chaplin
Birth of Charlie Chaplin
1890
1890 5th December
Birth of Friedrich Christian Anton Fritz Lang
Birth of Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang.
1892
1892 14th January
Birth of Harold Eugene Hal Roach
Birth of Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr
1894
1894 25th July
Birth of Walter Brennan
Birth of Walter Brennan
1894
Birth of Albert Lewin
Birth of Albert Lewin
1895
1895 1st February
Birth of John Ford
Birth of John Ford
1895 1st November
Bioskop Projector
Emil and Max Skladanowsky demonstrate the Bioskop projector at the Wintergarten music hall.
1895 1st November
Bioskop Projector
Max and Emil Skladanowsky demonstrate the Bioskop projector at the Wintergarten music hall.
1896
1896
Early Film Production
Begins making and exhibiting films in Berlin during the first years of German cinema.
1900
1900 9th October
Birth of Alastair Sim
Birth of Alastair Sim
1901
1901 7th January
Birth of Frank James Gary Cooper
Birth of Frank James "Gary" Cooper
1901 1st February
Birth of Clark Gable
Birth of Clark Gable
1901 1st July
Birth of William Wyler
Birth of William Wyler
1901 5th December
Birth of Walt Disney
Birth of Walt Disney
1902
1902 19th December
Birth of Ralph David Richardson
Birth of Ralph David Richardson
1906
1906 28th January
Birth of Frank Launder
Birth of Frank Launder
1906 5th February
Birth of John Carradine
Birth of John Carradine
1906 3rd July
Birth of George Henry Sanders
Birth of George Henry Sanders
1906
Glasgow Britannia Theatre
Laurel began his career in the Glasgow Britannia Theatre of Varieties and Alhambra Theatre Glasgow at the age of 16
1907
1907 3rd January
Birth of Ray Milland
Birth of Ray Milland, born Reginald Alfred John Truscott-Jones in Neath, Wales
1907
Birth of John Wayne
Birth of John Wayne, Marion Michael Morrison
1908
1908 22nd February
Birth of John Mills
Birth of John Mills, born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills
1908 20th May
Birth of James Maitland Stewart
Birth of James Maitland Stewart
1908 26th May
Birth of Robert Morley
Birth of Robert Morley
1909
1909 11th February
Birth of Joseph Leo Mankiewicz
Birth of Joseph Leo Mankiewicz
1909 15th May
Birth of James Mason
Birth of James Mason
1909
Birth of Elia Kazan
Birth of Elia Kazan
1910
1910 1st March
Birth of David Niven
David Niven is born in London.
1910 1st March
British Actor Born
The future British film actor and soldier is born.
1910 8th March
Birth of Claire Trevor
Birth of Claire Trevor
1910 23rd March
Birth of Akira Kurosawa
Birth of Akira Kurosawa
1910 6th August
Birth of Charles Crichton
Birth of Charles Crichton
1910 14th September
Birth of Jack Hawkins
Jack Hawkins is born in London.
1910 14th September
British Actor Born
The future British stage and film actor is born.
1910
Fred Karno School
Joins Fred Karnos troupe of actors, which also included a young Charlie Chaplin
1911
1911 14th July
Birth of Thomas Terry Hoar-Stevens
Birth of Thomas Terry Hoar-Stevens
1913
1913 8th May
Birth of Sid James
Birth of Sid James, born Solomon Joel Cohen
1913 26th May
Birth of Peter Cushing
Peter Cushing is born in Kenley, Surrey.
1913 26th May
British Actor Born
The future British film and television actor is born.
1913 22nd August
The Student of Prague
Directs The Student of Prague, a landmark German silent fantasy film.
1913 5th November
Birth of Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh is born as Vivian Mary Hartley in Darjeeling.
1913 5th November
British Actress Born
The future British stage and film actress is born in India.
1913 16th December
Film
Chaplin reports to work at Keystone Studios to launch a legendary film career
1913
Emigration
Emigrates to the United States with his parents
1913
The Other
Directs Der Andere, an early German Autorenfilm.
1914
1914 2nd April
Birth of Alec Guinness
Alec Guinness is born as Alec Guinness de Cuffe
1914
The Golem
Co-directs the first Golem film with Paul Wegener.
Editorial provenance
Sources and editorial review
Compiled and edited by World History Database.
Historical context is editorial material; the chronology is generated from World History Database cinema records.
Last reviewed: September 2026.
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