On 22nd of March 1895, the Lumière brothers, Auguste and Louis, put on show their first film at the  Société d’Encouragement à l’Industrie Nationale.

Several different inventors were experimenting with moving pictures but the Lumière brothers used the Cinématographe to film. It could be taken anywhere and used to film and as a projector. Working with  Jules Carpentier, an engineer, they refined the machine and its production.

Initially there was not much interest but it soon caught on and moving pictures never looked back.

You can read more about them here: THE LUMIÈRE BROTHERS: PIONEERS OF CINEMA AND COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHY