England, William (c.1824-1896), British photographer, who began his photographic career in the 1840s as manager of a London daguerreotype portrait studio. He joined the London Stereoscopic Company in 1854, taking thousands of stereoscopic views all over the world. His views of the Niagara Falls, his Paris street views shown at the 1862 International Exhibition, and his Alpine views were greatly admired by contemporaries. He established a family printing and processing business in Notting Hill, London, in the 1860s. His most notable technical innovation was a slitted drop shutter, usually regarded as the precursor of the modern focal-plane shutter.

— John P. Ward