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:
“Boys forget what their country means by just reading “the land of the free” in history books. Then they get to be men, they forget even more. Liberty’s too precious a thing to be buried in books.”
—Sidney Buchman (1902–1975)
“All objects, all phases of culture are alive. They have voices. They speak of their history and interrelatedness. And they are all talking at once!”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)
“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)