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== Biography==
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Eastman was born in [[Waterville, New York|Waterville]], Oneida County, [[New York]]. He was the fourth and youngest child of George Washington Eastman and Maria Kilbourn, both from the bordering town of [[Marshall, New York|Marshall]]. His third sister died shortly after her birth. In [[1854]], his father established the Eastman Commercial College in [[Rochester, New York|Rochester]]. The Eastman family moved to Rochester in [[1865]]. Two years later after his father's death, George Eastman left [[high school]] to support his mother and sisters. At age 14 he began working as an office boy.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/kodakHistory/eastmanTheMan.shtml| title=George Eastman - The Man: About His Life| work=Kodak: History of Kodak| accessdate=December 7| accessyear=2006}}</ref>

In 1874, Eastman became intrigued with photography but found the process awkward. It required coating a glass plate with a liquid emulsion, that had to be quickly used before it dried. After three years of experimentation with British [[gelatin]] emulsions, Eastman developed a dry photographic plate and patented it in both England and the US. In 1880 he began a photographic business.

In 1884, Eastman patented a photographic medium that replaced fragile glass plates with a photo-emulsion coated on paper rolls. The invention of roll film greatly sped up the process of recording multiple images.<ref> [http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/speeches/01-44.htm Kodak film patented] on [[October 14]], [[1884]]</ref>

[[Image:Kodak ad 1888.GIF|thumb|right|334px|Ad for the [[Eastman Kodak|Kodak]] camera.]]
Eastman then received a patent in 1888 for a [[camera]] designed to use roll film. He coined the marketing phrase, "You press the button, we do the rest."<ref> [http://inventors.about.com/od/estartinventors/ss/George_Eastman.htm George Eastman - The History of Kodak and Rolled Photographic Film] (2006). About.com.</ref> The phrase entered the public consciousness. It was even incorporated into a [[Gilbert & Sullivan]] operetta (''[[Utopia, Limited]]'').

The camera owner could send in the camera with a processing fee of $10. The company would develop the film, print 100 pictures, and also send along a new roll of 100-[[exposure (photography)|exposures]] film.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/kodakHistory/buildingTheFoundation.shtml| title=Building the Foundation| work=Kodak: History of Kodak| accessdate=December 7| accessyear=2006}}</ref>

On [[September 4]], [[1888]] Eastman registered the trademark '''Kodak'''. The letter "K" had been a favorite of Eastman's. He said, "[I]t seems a strong, incisive sort of letter".<ref>{{cite web
| title = Kodak Origins
| url = http://www.cinematography.net/Pages%20DW/KodakOrigins.htm
| accessdate=2007-02-02 }}</ref> Eastman and his mother devised the name Kodak with an anagram set. He used three principal concepts to create the name: it must be short, it could not be mispronounced, and it could not resemble anything else or be associated with anything but Kodak.<ref>{{cite web
| title=Rochester's History
| url=http://www.vintageviews.org/vv-tl/biographies/biography.html#georgeeastman
| work=George Eastman
| accessdate=2007-02-02}}</ref>

By 1896, 100 Kodak cameras had been sold. The first Kodak cost [[USD]] $15. In an effort to bring photography to the masses, Eastman introduced the [[Brownie (camera)|Brownie]] in 1900 at a price of just $1. It became a great success.

In 1925, Eastman gave up his daily management of Kodak, to become chairman of the board. He thereafter concentrated on philanthropic activities, to which he had already donated substantial sums. He was one of the major philanthropists of his time, ranking only slightly behind Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and a few others, but did not seek publicity for his activities. He concentrated on institution-building and causes which could help people's health. He donated to the [[University of Rochester]], establishing the [[Eastman School of Music]] and [[School of Dentistry]]; to [[Tuskegee Institute]]; and to the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT), donations which provided capital to build several of their first buildings at their second campus along the Charles River.

In his final two years, Eastman was in intense pain, caused by a degenerative disorder affecting his spine. He had trouble standing and his walking became a slow shuffle. Today it might be diagnosed as [[spinal stenosis]], a narrowing of the spinal canal caused by [[calcification]] in the vertebrae. Eastman grew depressed, as he had seen his mother spend the last two years of her life in a wheelchair from the same condition. On [[March 14]], [[1932]], Eastman committed [[suicide]].<ref> [http://www.nndb.com/people/980/000086722/ - George Eastman Biography] (2006) nnbd.com.</ref> He left a [[suicide note]] that read, "To my Friends, My work is done. Why wait?"<ref> [http://www.corsinet.com/braincandy/dying3.html - Famous Suicide Notes] (2006) corsinet.com.</ref> His funeral was held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Rochester. Eastman, who never married, was buried on the grounds of the company he founded at [[Kodak Park]] in Rochester, New York.


== Legacy ==
== Legacy ==

Revision as of 16:49, 11 March 2008

This article is about the Kodak creator. For the Italian actor, see George Eastman (actor).
File:George Eastman stamp.JPG
A 1954 U.S. stamp featuring George Eastman.

George Eastman (July 12, 1854 – March 14, 1932) founded the Eastman Kodak Company and invented the roll of film, helping to bring photography to the mainstream. The roll film was also the basis for the invention of the motion picture film in 1888 by world's first filmmaker, Louis Le Prince, and a decade later by his followers Léon Bouly, Thomas Edison, the Lumière Brothers and Georges Méliès.

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Legacy

During his lifetime, he donated $100 million, mostly to the University of Rochester and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (under the alias "Mr. Smith").[1] The Rochester Institute of Technology has a building dedicated to Mr. Eastman, in recognition of his support and substantial donations. He endowed the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester.

MIT has a plaque of Eastman (the rubbing of which is traditionally considered by students to bring good luck) in recognition of his donation. Eastman also made substantial gifts to the Tuskegee Institute and the Hampton Institute. Upon his death, his entire estate went to the University of Rochester, where his name can be found on the Eastman Quadrangle of the River Campus. His former home at 900 East Avenue in Rochester, New York was opened as the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in 1949. On the 100th anniversary of his birth in 1954, Eastman was honored with a postage stamp from the United States Post Office.

A First Day Cover Honoring George Eastman 1954.

Eastman had a very astute business sense. He focused his company on making film when competition heated up in the camera industry. By providing quality and affordable film to every camera manufacturer, Kodak managed to turn its competitors into de facto business partners.

See also

References

  1. ^ Ford, Carin T. (2004). George Eastman: The Kodak Camera Man. Enslow Publishers, INC.

Books

  • Carl W. Ackerman, George Eastman: Founder of Kodak and the Photography Business (1930), Beard Books, ISBN 1-89312299-9
  • Elizabeth Brayer, George Eastman: A Biography (1996), John's Hopkins University Press, ISBN 0-8018-5263-3, University of Rochester Press 2006 reprint: ISBN 1-58046247-2

Patents

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