Of all the more unique themed armour types (Elven, Imperial, Daedra etc.) I've yet to find out who originally developed and wore these types of armour. Any info?

Glass is higher quality elven armor developed by the Altmer. http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Light_Armor_Forging

I don't know about historical use of ebony, or who first forged it.

Actually I seem to remember there being a book that talks about different material types. I think I remember reading it in Oblivion, maybe Morrowind alos. I can't remember the name though.

I am almost certain that ebony was used by the blades, The only evidence is that the blades sword and the ebony sword look alike

Found a bit of lore on the UESP Wiki that hints that the Ebony used in armor may be the blood of the gods, thus the durability. http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Raw_Ebony

It may be implied that the Dwemer were the first to utilize Ebony, probably very late in their existence. Being masters of heavy armor forging, and having access to the very crater of Mount Vvardenfell, it's not unlikely they had discovered the potential of Ebony to forge (nearly) unparalleled weapons and armor. The first actual record of Ebony that I'm aware of, is being used by the Imperial Army under Prince Juilek Cyrodiil to attack the Dunmer fortress of Ald Malak (Or Marak?) in 1E2920. (Daedric and Dwarven Armor mentioned as well).

Never use UESP for backstory and lore.

Ebony and glass were both developed separately by Altmer and Dunmer because both have ebony and glass in their homelands in relative abundance, no clue where the Altmer get it but the Dunmer had a load of mines around Red Mountain. Both ores are made by (or found near) magical volcanoes and other places related to the divine (see also, the true peak of the Throat of the world).

As for historical use, I never looked into it so I'll defer to Criminal_Scum.

Fascinating stuff. So, Glass technology was first invented by the “Asian” type people I’ve been told about recently, the Altmer? And yeah, from the pictures they do look like a cross between “Asian” people and elves. I actually thought the armour looked kind of Elven in design. What’s the difference between the Altmer and elves?

And the Dwemer had two types of armour, the early bulky golden type and the late streamlined ebony type, a type that came too late for them to utilise properly before their seeming extinction?

I suppose you want me to use Imperial Library? I know it is the best TES source, but UESP is very good. It isn't like that repulsive wiki. And can you give a source for what you stated?

I really have no idea, there's no evidence that the Dwemer used Ebony in any capacity, but one of their most prestigious leaders, High Engineer Kagrenac had a laboratory in the very heart of Red Mountain (Dagoth Ur, Mount Vvardenfell), which is the source of the magma that eventually crystallizes to form Ebony. Unless we think the Dwemer particularly dull, they had to have seen it's potential applications.

The Materiel Ebony and Glass are the "Blood of a God"

When Lorkhan tricked the Aedra into creating Mundas, when the Aedra found out, the 8 Divines attacked Lorkhan and tore his body to pieces, and Akatosh and the others tore out Lorkhan's Heart and cast it down to Tameriel (The final resting place of Lorkhan's Heart is Red Mountain.) If you played Morrowind you will know that the Dwemer eventually found Lorkhan's Heart and them messing around with it is why the Dwemer dissappeared. Also, Vicec and the other Tribunal used Lorkhan's Heart to become "sorta" like god's, but doing so tranformed the Chimer into the Dunmer (Yes, the Dunmer were originally the Chimer)

Anyways, when the 8 Divines cast the Heart of Lorkan down to Tameriel....as it fell, The Blood of Lorkhan scattered across the skies and seeped into the earth.

This blood formed Ebony and Malachite/Glass....the Blood of a God...the Blood of Shor...Shor is Lorkhan....

This is why Ebony and Malachite/Glass is so darn strong...because its the Blood of Lorkhan.....that formed it.

The strongest concentration of Malachite/glass and Ebony is around Red mountain because thats where Lorkhan's Heart crashed to the ground, but the blood that seeped into the Earth while Lorkhan's Heart was crashing towards Tameriel allows it to be found in other places in modest quantities.

Off topic but where's the best place to learn about the lore for TES

UESP and The Imperial Library.

Usually how I go about lorebrowsing, is I'll see something interesting in UESP, and then check the references for the Imperial Library, or just extrapolate info myself. The Imperial Library isn't set up to be very easy to navigate though, which is why I tend to start with UESP.

What's wrong with the Wiki then? Doesn't look that bad, but then I'm not an expert.

The UESPwiki for Elder Scrolls is fine. I think it's the IGN one everyone suggests avoiding like the plague.

I've been using two, the UESwiki one and http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls_Wiki one.

The later one is probably the much reviled wiki then. I've always been UESP-Imp.Library.

Regarding Dwemer:

You'll have to take me on my word here but, IIRC there is book that describes Dwemer armour as not actually being armour but rather the exo-skeleton of their machines. It certainly had this look in Morrowind. However the book also mentioned that a complete, matching set would move without effort. This in turn suggests that the Dwemer had some sort of power armour. This look didn't pass onto Oblivion and Skyrim so one might fidget a bit and assume both traditional and power armour were used along side. Or assume that it never was the case. Or what ever. We're working with lore here.

I would love a link to that book : )

After successfully navigating the treacherous path, we found ourselves in a large chamber, open to the sky on one side, disappearing into the darkness on the other. As we stepped forward, our boots crunched on piles of broken metal, as common in Dwarven ruins as potsherds in other ancient sites. This was obviously where the looters brought their finds from deeper levels, stripping off the valuable outer casings of the Dwarven mechanisms and leaving their innards here - easier than lugging the intact mechanisms back up to the top of the cliff. I laughed to myself, thinking of the many warriors unwittingly walking around Tamriel with pieces of Dwarven mechanisms on their backs. For that, of course, is what most "Dwarven armor" really is - just the armored shells of ancient mechanical men. I sobered when I thought of how exceedingly valuable an intact mechanism would be. This place was obviously full of Dwarven devices, judging from the litter covering the floor of this vast chamber - or had been, I reminded myself. Looters had been working over this site for centuries. Just the casing alone would be worth a small fortune, sold as armor. Most Dwarven armor is made of mismatched pieces from various devices, hence its reputation for being bulky and unwieldy. But a matched set from an intact mechanism is worth more than its weight in gold, for the pieces all fit together smoothly and the wearer hardly notices the bulk. - http://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruins-kemel-ze

There you go.