George Eastman Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: George Eastman
OCCUPATION: Entrepreneur, Inventor
BIRTH DATE: July 12, 1854
DEATH DATE: March 14, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH: New York, New York

PLACE OF DEATH: Rochester, New York

more about George

Best Known For

George Eastman invented the first Kodak camera, helping make photography accessible to the public. His company remains one of the largest in the industry.

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George Eastman

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Synopsis

George Eastman was born on July 2, 1854 in Waterville, New York. In 1880, he opened the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company. His first camera, the Kodak, was sold in 1888 and consisted of a box camera with 100 exposures. Later he offered the first Brownie camera, which was intended for children. By 1927, Eastman Kodak was the largest U.S. company in the industry. Eastman committed suicide in 1932.

Quotes

You press the button, we do the rest.

– George Eastman

My work is done. Why wait?

– George Eastman

Profile

(born July 12, 1854, Waterville, New York, U.S.—died March 14, 1932, Rochester, New York) American entrepreneur and inventor whose introduction of the first Kodak camera helped to promote amateur photography on a large scale.

After his education in the public schools of Rochester, New York, Eastman worked briefly for an insurance company and a bank. In 1880 he perfected a process of making dry plates for photography and organized the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company for their manufacture. The first Kodak (a name he coined) camera was placed on the market in 1888. It was a simple, hand-held box camera containing a 100-exposure roll of film that used paper negatives. Consumers sent the entire camera back to the manufacturer for developing, printing, and reloading when the film was used up: the company's slogan was “You press the button, we do the rest.” In 1889 Eastman introduced roll film on a transparent base, which has remained the standard for film. In 1892 he reorganized the business as the Eastman Kodak Company. Eight years later he introduced the Brownie camera, which was intended for use by children and sold for one dollar. By 1927 Eastman Kodak had a virtual monopoly of the photographic industry in the United States, and it has continued to be one of the largest American companies in its field.

Eastman gave away half his fortune in 1924. His gifts, which totaled more than $75,000,000, went to such beneficiaries as the University of Rochester (of which the Eastman School of Music is a part) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. He was also one of the first owners to introduce profit sharing as an employee incentive. Eastman took his own life at age 77, leaving a note that said, “My work is done. Why wait?” His home in Rochester, now known as George Eastman House, has become a renowned archive and museum of international photography as well as a popular tourist site.