The original concept of the Kinetograph was patented by Thomas Edison in 1888. He filed an idea that would "do for the eye what the phonograph does for the ear." He called the idea "Kinetograph."
Edison's assistant, William Dickson was given the task of inventing the Kinetograph in 1889. Charles Brown joined him and the two began to experiment and research other film devices such as the Phenakistiscope and the Zoopraxiscope.
After the creation of celluloid film, Edison found that a need existed for a device that could use longer rolls of film than available at the time. In 1890, William Dickson began to develop a system of exposing longer strips of film with the idea that it could be viewed in another device.
The Kinetograph, along with the viewing device called the Kinetoscope, was patented on August 24, 1891. This patent included the concept of using a cylinder-based film sized at 35mm.
The first public showing of the prototype for the Kinetograph was in 1891 at the National Federation of Women's Clubs. This version used 18mm film that ran on two spools placed horizontally.