Eastman, George was born in Waterville, New York on July 12, 1854, the youngest of the three children born to Maria Kilbourn and George Washington Eastman.
It was the family house – where Eastman’s father too was born – where he had spent his childhood, and later moved on to the Genesee Country Museum in Mumford, New York outside Rochester.
Eastman was five years old, when his father sold his nursery business and they shifted to Rochester. His father devoted his entire energy in establishing Eastman Commercial College. But, soon Eastman’s father died and due to lack of finance the project was not successful and the college failed to come up. As they had nowhere to go, Eastman discontinued studies by the age of 14 and had to lookout for a job.
His first job was with an insurance firm that paid him $ 3 a week. His work was that of a messenger boy till 1869. Later he joined another insurance firm as an office boy that earned him $ 5 per week. This income of Eastman too was not enough to support his family, and thus he started studying accountancy at home in the evenings to get a better paying job.
After five years in 1874, he worked with another insurance company at Rochester Savings Bank where his salary tripled to more than $ 15 a week.
Santo Domingo was one place where Eastman was heading for his vacations at the age of 24. But it was his co-worker whose suggestion changed the entire life and its mission for Eastman. This co-worker suggested him to have a memorabilia of this trip he was to undertake. Thus, Eastman bought a photographic outfit with all the paraphernalia and requisite equipment for photography in those days.
A camera then, was bigger than the monitor of a personal computer availble these days, and it needed a heavy tripod stand for support. A tent was essential for spreading photographic emulsion on glass plates before exposing them and later developed the plates before they dried. There were chemicals, glass tanks, a heavy plate holder, and a jug of water. To learn the whole process, cost $ 5. All this however did not deter Eastman to go for the trip but instead it made him think as to how could the entire cumbersome process of photography be made simpler.
Going through British magazines, Eastman concluded that photographers were making their own emulsions. Plates coated with this emulsion remained sensitive after they were dry and could be exposed at leisure. Thus, started Eastman’s work on gelatin emulsions. His laboratory was his mother’s kitchen at night, only after he had returned from office from a hard day’s work. There were occasions when he used to get so tired that he did not even undress but sleep on the blanket on the floor beside the kitchen stove.
Finally, it was three years of hard work that paid off and Eastman devised a formula that worked. Eastman had invented and patented not only a dry plate formula but also a machine for preparing large numbers of plates by 1880. Soon he realized that these could be in great demand by other photographers and thus started a company.
In April on State Street in Rochester, Eastman set up his office. Though he needed only one horsepower machine he thought later his business might grow and thus took a chance.
Things were not so rosy for this upcoming company. At one instance these plates went bad, so in order to maintain the company’s reputation, Eastman had to call back all the plates and they were replaced by new ones.
Gradually, things changed and it was not long till Eastman realized that he was turning photography into an everyday affair. He extended the skill of photography beyond the hands of experts to a layman. Now he started concentrating on the use of lighter and more flexible support than glass, so he coated the photographic emulsion on paper and then loaded the paper in a roll holder and this was used in view cameras in place of the holders for glass plates.
Eastman broadened his vision. He thought about ways and means to make his invention known to all. He started advertising his product. In 1885, "Shortly there will be introduced a new sensitive film which it is believed, will prove an economical and convenient substitute for dry glass plates both for outdoor and studio work", was what the first film advertisements stated. This idea of using roll holders for photography clicked. Though the paper was not entirely satisfactory as a carrier for the emulsion because the grain of the paper was likely to be reproduced in the photo, Eastman however had found out a solution to this problem. He concluded that the paper had to be coated with a layer of plain, soluble gelatin, and then with a layer of insoluble light-sensitive gelatin. After having exposed and developed this gelatin bearing the image, it was stripped from the paper and transferred to a sheet of clear gelatin, and varnished with collodion – a cellulose solution that forms a tough, flexible film.
This process of improvisation on roll film continued and Eastman succeeded in changing the entire direction of his work, thus establishing a base on which amateur photography could be built.
"When we started out with our scheme of film photography, we expected that everybody who used glass plates would take up films. But we found that the number which did so was relatively small. In order to make large businesses we would have to reach the general public," stated Eastman.
Eastman however, believed much in advertising. He had realized the importance of advertising. He believed that advertising was very important for the company and to the public that remained out of bounds.
Eastman also spared a thought for his employees. He was a blend of human and democratic qualities, and had a wonderful foresight to make his business more effective. He believed that the employees should have more than just good wages – a way of thinking that was far ahead of management of people of his era.
The world of photography got a new meaning with George Eastman appearing in the scene. The cumbersome and the most primitive form of photography underwent a revolution. He opened up new avenues for even the common man to record the most memorable of his life’s events for posterity’s sake.
Born in a poor family, it took a great effort on part of this great visionary who elevated the status of photography to the level of Art. It only took a keen eye of George to bring out a KODAK, a product, an innovation, and a world class company offering quality products at reasonable prices, all over the world.
Name begets fame and wealth of inestimable proportions with such inventions, to be amassed for oneself and family. With Eastman it was a different story. This inventor turned philanthropist is a persona nonpareil. His philanthropy that was extended to practically every prestigious organization – educational, research, industry, health among others promoted research in every aspect of human development. His was the fair belief that the wealth handed to an individual would be squandered into wasteful, unproductive and criminal pursuits. Read about the man who was not only a persevering inventor but also a model donor - the world has ever seen.
1854
Birth of George Eastman at Waterville, New York.
1862
His father died, leaving the family with no estate.
1868
Attended a private school
1874
Got employed at Rochester Savings Bank as a bookkeeper
1878
Became the first to demonstrate convenience of gelatin dry plates, which could be exposed and developed to the photographer’s convenience.
1880
Developed a dry photographic plate of which he began the manufacturing.
January 1881
Eastman and Henry A. Strong under partnership, form Eastman Dry Plate Company.
1883
Their company is shifted to a four-storey building – 343 State Street, Rochester, New York, the then worldwide headquarters of the company.
1884
Change in business from partnership to $ 200,000 corporation with 14 shareholders. Eastman Negative Paper introduced.Eastman & William H Walker invented a roll holder for negative paper.
1885
Invention of roll film and American film
1886
First American industrialist to employ full-time research scientist for commercialization
1888
s Introduced the KODAK Camera.
1889
Invention of ‘Roll Film’ that led to invention of Motion Picture by Edison.
Early 1900s
Eastman KODAK Company became the latest film and camera producer in the world.
1891
Launch of the first daylight preloaded camera.
1892
Company renamed as Eastman Kodak Company of New York.
1895
Pocket Kodak camera introduced.
1898
Announcement of the folding pocket camera that was considered as the predecessor of modern cameras.
1900
Brownie camera introduced.
1908
World’s first commercially practical safe film using cellulose acetate replacing the highly inflammable cellulose nitrate base announced.
1917
Helped in the World War I by making aerial cameras that could take picture for the U.S. Corps.
1921
Eastman School of Music founded.The Eastman Savings and Loan Association was established to help employees save and finansce home purchases.
1923
The 16mm KODACOLOR film was introduce which made cinematography possible.
1932
Death of Eastman
From the letters to the Trustees of the Rochester Dental Dispensary (June 25, 1920) :
"The main object in mind when the Dispensary was founded was the care of teeth of children in Rochester and its vicinity… When the Dispensary was founded I did not foresee that it might have an opportunity to become a part of a great project for a higher grade of dental education than had before be attempted…"
"My work is done. Why wait ?"
"What we do during our working hours determines what we have; what we do in our leisure hours determines what we are."
"If a man has wealth, he has to make a choice, because there is the money heaping up. He can keep it together in a bunch, and then leave it for others to administer after he is dead. Or he can get it into action and have fun, while he is still alive. I prefer getting into action and adapting it to human needs, and making the plan work"
