Identity Document - History

History

The version of the passport invented by King Henry V of England is considered by some to be the earliest identity document.

Photographs began to be attached to passports and other "photo IDs" in the early decades of the twentieth century, after photography became widespread.

Before World War I, most people did not have or need an identity document.

The shape and size of identity cards was standardized in 1985 by ISO/IEC 7810.

Some modern identity documents are smart cards—they include a difficult-to-forge embedded integrated circuit—standardized in 1988 by ISO/IEC 7816.

Read more about this topic:  Identity Document

Famous quotes containing the word history:

    “Three million of such stones would be needed before the work was done. Three million stones of an average weight of 5,000 pounds, every stone cut precisely to fit into its destined place in the great pyramid. From the quarries they pulled the stones across the desert to the banks of the Nile. Never in the history of the world had so great a task been performed. Their faith gave them strength, and their joy gave them song.”
    —William Faulkner (1897–1962)

    “The only thing worse than a liar is a liar that’s also a hypocrite!
    There are only two great currents in the history of mankind: the baseness which makes conservatives and the envy which makes revolutionaries.”
    —Edmond De Goncourt (1822–1896)

    “Jesus Christ belonged to the true race of the prophets. He saw with an open eye the mystery of the soul. Drawn by its severe harmony, ravished with its beauty, he lived in it, and had his being there. Alone in all history he estimated the greatness of man.”
    —Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)