George Eastman was born in Waterville, New York, on July 12th, 1854. He was the youngest of 3. He had his parents and two older sisters. His father died when George was 5 years old. George was a drop out in school, because when he was 14 he was forced to drop out of school and find employment. He also never met the academic standards. As a young man he was poor, but he supported his mother and his two sisters. One of his sisters was very handicapped. He started out making $3 a week working as an office boy at a local insurance company. Some of his job duties increased and he then started making $5 a week. He then moved up into a local bank as a clerk. When he moved over to the bank, he started making $15 a week. By his mid-twenties he was becoming very successful. He was able to open his own business called "Eastman Kodak Company."
Eastman's interest in photography all started when he was going to take a trip and wanted to take pictures. The camera back then was as big as a microwave oven and needed a heavy tripod. You also needed all the solution, glass plates, and paper. So he would also have to carry around a tent to make his prints. He called the complete outfit, "a pack-horse load." He wanted to make it easier to take pictures. George began making gelatin emulsions. He would work all day at the bank and mess with experimenting at night in his mother’s kitchen. There were many nights he would sleep on the floor next to the kitchen stove. It was in 1880 George leased a 3rd floor of a building in Rochester, NY. There he made dry plates and sold them. When a dry plate went bad, George would replace it. George wanted and kept trying to make the camera convenient as the pencil.
When George introduced the camera in 1888 his slogan was, "you press the button, we do the rest." He made signs for himself for advertising his camera. The word "Kodak" was registered as a trademark in 1888.
George became very wealthy. He would sometimes split is profit with his employee’s to keep them loyal to his company. He donated tons of money to many other places as well.
George Eastman committed suicide on March 14th, 1932. He was 77 years old when he passed. George was frustrated with his inability to maintain an active life. He felt he had done all he needed to do.
I think George Eastman is talented. I thought it was very interesting to research him. I can remember back to when I was using the Kodak disposable cameras. I enjoyed researching how Kodak came about. George liked the letter K and he wanted a word that started with K and ended with K.. that’s how he came up with the word Kodak. He also liked the color yellow, so that’s why Kodak has been known for the color yellow.
George Eastman was a genius!!!
Eastman's interest in photography all started when he was going to take a trip and wanted to take pictures. The camera back then was as big as a microwave oven and needed a heavy tripod. You also needed all the solution, glass plates, and paper. So he would also have to carry around a tent to make his prints. He called the complete outfit, "a pack-horse load." He wanted to make it easier to take pictures. George began making gelatin emulsions. He would work all day at the bank and mess with experimenting at night in his mother’s kitchen. There were many nights he would sleep on the floor next to the kitchen stove. It was in 1880 George leased a 3rd floor of a building in Rochester, NY. There he made dry plates and sold them. When a dry plate went bad, George would replace it. George wanted and kept trying to make the camera convenient as the pencil.
When George introduced the camera in 1888 his slogan was, "you press the button, we do the rest." He made signs for himself for advertising his camera. The word "Kodak" was registered as a trademark in 1888.
George became very wealthy. He would sometimes split is profit with his employee’s to keep them loyal to his company. He donated tons of money to many other places as well.
George Eastman committed suicide on March 14th, 1932. He was 77 years old when he passed. George was frustrated with his inability to maintain an active life. He felt he had done all he needed to do.
I think George Eastman is talented. I thought it was very interesting to research him. I can remember back to when I was using the Kodak disposable cameras. I enjoyed researching how Kodak came about. George liked the letter K and he wanted a word that started with K and ended with K.. that’s how he came up with the word Kodak. He also liked the color yellow, so that’s why Kodak has been known for the color yellow.
George Eastman was a genius!!!
http://download.kodak.com/corp/mediabroll/preview.html?tgt=/corp/historyOfKodak/LSOAM.mpg
Great overview of Eastman's life.
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