Short answers, pulled from the story.
John Herschel independently coined the English word photography in 1839. The earliest public print appearance occurred on the 25th of February 1839 within a German newspaper article signed J.M. Johann von Maedler.
Nicéphore Niépce created View from the Window at Le Gras in 1825 which stands as the earliest surviving photograph taken directly from nature. This process required exposure times lasting at least eight hours or potentially several days due to bitumen sensitivity limitations.
France publicly announced this invention without details on the 7th of January 1839 triggering international sensation. Complete working instructions were unveiled on the 19th of August 1839 allowing France to present the invention globally as a national gift.
Sony unveiled the first consumer camera using charge-coupled devices eliminating film requirements in 1981 called the Mavica displaying images on television screens. More than 99% of photographs taken globally now originate from digital cameras increasingly captured via smartphones.
Sotheby's London sold 99 Cent II Diptychon photograph for $3,346,456 on the 7th of February 2007 making it most expensive artwork at that time.