George Albert Smith (film pioneer)

George Albert Smith was an English stage hypnotist, psychic, magic lantern lecturer, Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, inventor, and a key member of the loose association of early film pioneers dubbed the Brighton School by French film historian Georges Sadoul. He is best known for his controversial work with Edmund Gurney at the Society for Psychical Research, his short films from 1897 to 1903, which pioneered film editing and closeups, and his development of the first successful colour film process, Kinemacolor.

Smith was born in Cripplegate, London in 1864. His father Charles Smith was a ticketwriter and artist. He moved with his family to Brighton, where his mother ran a boarding house on Grand Parade, following the death of his father.

Source: Wikipedia