25/08/2026
One of the earliest photographs of the Taj Mahal— captured by Dr. John Murray in the 1850s.
Dr. John Murray (1809-1898) served in Agra during the 1840s and 1850s while working for the Bengal Medical Service. He began experimenting with photography in the 1840s and became one of the earliest practitioners of the wet-collodion process in India by the early 1850s. His time in Agra, where he was stationed as a surgeon, provided him with the opportunity to document iconic Mughal monuments like the Taj Mahal and other historical sites in the region.
Murray remained active as a photographer during his service in Agra until the late 1850s or early 1860s, after which his photographic output diminished. He retired from the Bengal Medical Service in 1861 and returned to Scotland, where he lived until his death in 1898.
