George Eastman (1854 - 1932) Kodak film and camera inventor

Today in every corner of the world, if people can see topical images in newspapers, in magazines, if every textbook contains a lot of specific evidence, if doctors can Consider patients with X-rays and if people are entertained by cinemas. . . then all these inventions were developed thanks to the dedication of a super talented genius in Photography, Mr. George Eastman.

Thanks to Mr. Eastman's creative genius, the previous way of taking photos was a complicated and difficult job, which was easy and just a simple gesture of pressing a button on the handheld camera, The device will maneuver for one percent of a second and people will get very realistic images.

Geoge Eastman's invention has improved the Photography industry , making it easy to articulate the image of the present world to pass on to the future world. George Eastman's invention also helped in scientific research, from studying microscopic objects such as microbes, atoms, to massive celestial bodies such as giant nebulae. The Photography industry is also applied to Medicine, Industry, Science, Education, Arts and also in the Entertainment industry.

1. Adolescence.

George Eastman is the son of Mr. George Washington Eastman and Maria Kilbourn, born July 12, 1854 in the village of Waterville, New York state. George's father worked as a nurseryman, resold his business when the boy George was 6 years old, left his family to Rochester and opened a business school. Two years later, Mr. George died, leaving a wife and three children including two big girls and the youngest boy, all living in poverty. During this hard time, Eastman had to cook meals to get a foster child to feed her children.

At that time, Mr. George was a very hardworking student but he was not very good at any subject. He was a player who played the ball into the ranks quite well. He invented very elaborate toys with old knitting rods. Many classmates asked for toys but he refused to give them. He told you: "If you like it, why not buy it? It's only 10 cents!" . And George has sold his "product". He recorded the money he earned in the notebook, which proved that he had a tendency to trade and throughout his life, George was only thinking about the expenses of the business.

When George was 14 years old, the Eastman family fell into extreme poverty . Knowing his mother's misery, he asked to quit school, returned to help his family. He would voluntarily bring his family out of the poverty. He campaigned and won the discretion of an insurance office with a salary of $ 3 a week. He works very carefully and thoughtfully. After finishing work at the office, Mr. George had to walk kilometers to return to help the house do odd jobs in 6 or 7 hours. This factional work lasted for one year, until George got a job in another insurance firm's office. Thanks to creativity, George was given more important jobs and his salary increased to $ 5 a week.

Edison and George Eastman

In 1874, after five years at the insurance company, George Eastman was accepted by the Rochester Savings Bank as a secretary with a salary of $ 800 a year. At this point, because life became more pleasant, George thought about entertainment. He studied German and French, joined the sports club and sometimes borrowed a horse cart to invite some girls to go sightseeing.

At the age of 24 after a long period of hard work, George decided to take a summer vacation to get a workout. By reading the books about Santo Domingo, George intended to come to this place. This is the first time to go on vacation, so George must carefully discuss the program of excursions with his colleagues. When he heard George talk about places to visit, a friend revealed to George the following coveted words: "I wish I could go with you! But even if it doesn't work, if I can see the pictures you have shooting and taking it is fun enough. " It was this unexpected words that led George Eastman into Photography. Eastman did not intend to bring a camera on the excursion, but he said that his words were a good idea. So he spent 94.36 dollars to buy a camera with full equipment.

At that time, the photographic work was very complicated. The photographer must use a glass coated with a drug and this glasses must be taken when the drug is still wet and then washed immediately. So when selling cameras, people also sell bottles of chemical glass, trays, ore (hopper), chemical balance and a cloth tent used as a dark room. When recalling old memories, George Eastman also said: "Amateur photographers need not only a camera, but also a kit in which the camera is only a small part. I think being a photographer needs to be healthy and have to be brave, too, because wearing a photography kit is like wearing a harness. "

For his own reasons, Eastman could not go to Santo Domingo, he used leisure time to learn Photography. When he had a good enough technical knowledge, Mr. Eastman went to Mackimac Island to take a picture of the creation bridge. Eastman chose a sunny day and brought the camera to use. The group of tourists saw that there was a photographer in the shop and lined up on the bridge to be taken. They considered Eastman putting the device, watching, turning the object and watching the photographer run from the tent to the machine with wet glass. That day, the sun was hot, but the group of people who liked to take pictures were still standing still to make Eastman do all the complicated moves. When Eastman washed out his glasses, one of the guys asked to buy, Eastman replied: "These glasses are not sold because I am just an amateur photographer." At this point, the client got angry: "Are you crazy? Why do you make us stand in the sun for half an hour while you run and run around, you should have hung a board stating you are a person? Amateur photographer? ".

2. Manufacturing photo glasses.

When the holidays were over, Eastman returned to the bank, thoroughly understanding the techniques of Photography at that time. Due to his passion for photography, Eastman found it necessary to simplify the old methods of trouble. He sought to read books about Photography published in England, then a news that encouraged Eastman more than finding dry glasses. Thanks to this method, it is not necessary to capture and wash the film on the spot and the previous recording speed from 3 to 4 seconds, now shortened to 1 part 25 seconds.

Mr. Eastman followed the formulas available in the British magazine to make his own glasses. At first, he was only planning to make his own glass to use, but soon he came up with the idea of ​​making many kinds of glasses to sell out. He consulted a lot of books to learn experimental and production methods. In the daytime he worked at the bank, and at night he was busy mixing and cooking medicine in the kitchen. He often worked until he was exhausted. There were many nights, he left all his clothes on and leaned back in his chair and slept until morning. The fear of poverty had haunted him, especially when his family included an old mother and a sister who was half-paralyzed.Mr. Eastman has worked relentlessly for two reasons: his love for his mother and his will to make money .

In April 1880, Eastman hired every third floor of a building on State Street in Rochester, which was used to produce photo glasses after applying for a patent to secure his manufacturing method. Eastman quit his job at the bank when Henry Strong, the mother's guest house guest and producer of the whip, struck a chariot, willing to give up five thousand dollars as a capital and the two founded Eastman Dry Glass Company. At first, the sale of photography products was not difficult and although there were 6 employees, Eastman Company still had to hire additional assistants. But soon, the photographers complained that the dry glass produced by Eastman was not very sensitive and the dealers returned the company some damaged glasses due to manufacturing technical errors. Before this situation, a few people withdrew. Eastman and Strong decided to go to England as the most advanced place in the industry of photographic equipment manufacturing in the hope of asking the experts at this place to find out the shortcomings. After returning to Rochester, Eastman has improved the old method and from now on, he has made absolutely good glasses that no one has to complain about the product anymore.

In 1884, the production of dry glass prospered, Mr. Eastman had to expand the factory. He moved to a four-story building, which today is where the Kodak tower stood. With the aim of simplifying the Photography industry, Mr. Eastman always thinks about how to make a material that replaces glass that is broken and heavy. He used replacement paper in the hope of mounting the film reel into the camera for mass shooting. At the same time, Mr. Eastman also promoted the company. He canceled the old deal and established Eastman Glass and Film Company (the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company) with 12 collaborators. Eastman advertised in 1885 its product as follows: "Soon, there will be a new type of photographic film used for outdoor as well as indoor recording, this film is both cheap and convenient to replace dry glass panels ".

Eastman Glasses and Film Company

With the help of William Walker, Eastman found a negative paper . While this product is successful in the market, Eastman's invention remains flawed. Because the wrong paper is the perfect substrate, when printing the image, the paper fibers are still visible. Eastman embarked on a search for a new substance to replace paper. He used collodion but it did not take drugs. So he coated a glue that could be dissolved on the paper surface and in turn the photo glue was insoluble in water. After the shooting is complete, the glue layer of the photo is peeled off the paper and glued to another glue sheet and then a new layer of collodion is applied. In 1886, because of the busy organization of the company, Eastman had to hire additional chemists to help with the research.

At any time, Mr. Eastman's mind is busy with how to build new machines to reduce labor and lower product prices. After replacing film glasses with glasses, he found that the number of people using movies was not much. He wanted to pursue a great business and wanted that, he had to find a way to appeal to the masses. He decided to provide a full range of photography materials at very low prices so everyone could take pictures. He advertised heavily for his products and sought to exploit the commercial market.

To popularize the photography industry, Eastman launched the first Kodak camera in June 1888. This is a small, lightweight, strap-on camera with a roll of paper film inside. Long, enough to take 100 shots. Photographers just spend $ 25 to buy a built-in "US Movie" and when they finish shooting, send cameras to Rochester and in this place, Eastman will remove the film, wash and print pictures, all for an additional $ 10.

In advertising, Eastman said: "You just need to press the button and we will take care of all the remaining work." This is a new reform, completely changing trade policy and Mr. Eastman has applied modern methods to large-scale production to reduce prices. Due to the special way of advertising, Eastman's Kodak camera was famous all over the world and the popular Photography industry was born.

Not only commercially successful, Mr. George Eastman also achieved a brilliant result in terms of technology, which is the finding of flexible and transparent film. This type of film is the result of mixing a lot of different substances with nitrocellulose until the solution is thick enough to form a thin, transparent and grainless film, tough enough, as a base to apply the layers. photo drug on top. In August 1889, the first transparent Kodak film was marketed and was warmly welcomed by photographers. Also thanks to this type of film, the scientist Thomas Edison used to make the first film film roll, birth of the film industry.

With the intention of simplifying the Photography industry, Mr. Eastman always researches and explores. He made various consecutive improvements. In 1891, Kodak produced a roll of film that made it possible for photographers to put film in the air outdoors and from there, people didn't need to send the camera back to Rochester to install the film.

Since the roll of film came into being, another situation must have happened. In the past, the photographers had to be a photographer, they had to know how to film and illuminate images, these two jobs required them to learn more techniques of dark rooms. Today, with new films, photographers just need to shoot beautifully, in accordance with the lighting conditions, and the film and imaging process has thousands of big and small photo shops taking over them.

In 1895, a foldable and pocketable camera, launched on the market, and five years later, children's Brownie cameras were sold for a dollar. The production of films, paper and cameras has become an industry and Eastman Kodak Company has become the world's largest photography product maker.

3. Contribute to the community.

Since ancient times, Mr. George Eastman still hopes to find ways to simplify Photography so that the public can benefit, today it comes true. Eastman's contributions to Photography are enormous. Charles Greeley Abbot had to say: "It was a revolution in the photography industry, made possible by the dedication of a talented banker".

Due to the creative genius, the bank secretary became a wealthy hand. But despite his great success, Mr. George Eastman kept his humble humility , rarely appearing in public or having pictures posted in newspapers. Because he always remembers the days when he was still living, struggling to survive, he devised projects to set up superannuation funds, insurance and subsidies for the company's workers. Mr. Eastman was ahead of contemporary employers about democratic and humanitarian qualities in building industry by supporting workers in a way that gives them a proportional share of wages, because he knows that people work. If people get rewarded, new products are better. Mr. Eastman said that the prosperity of an organization is not only due to inventions and patents but also the willingness and loyalty of workers. As he got older, Mr. Eastman had to hire professionals to replace himself in many research jobs, so he had spare time to go hunting, fishing, traveling or enjoying music.

At a young age, Mr. Eastman did not learn about Music while he was very fond of beauty and pleasant sounds. He often recounted in ancient times, he bought a flute and practiced singing Annie Laurie songs for two years. Although there was no musical talent but due to his love for sound art, Eastman drafted many plans in the 1920s to establish a music school, a theater and a band in Rochester. and the Rochester people have supported his initiative. Mr. George Eastman also assisted hospitals and medical schools in Rochester, but his attention was paid to dental care. He supported financially to establish in his city a $ 2.5 million dental hospital. Someone asked why he favored dental treatment, Mr. Eastman replied: "The money for this industry brings more results than any other industry. In medicine, we find that children will be good. more beautiful, more abundant health and stronger mental capacity if their teeth, nose, throat and mouth are well cared for during their childhood ". From this strong reason, Mr. Eastman has donated a lot of money to dental hospitals in the cities of London, Paris, Rome, Brussels and Stockholm, and hundreds of thousands of European children have thanked Mr. George Eastman for so much. past, present and future.

In addition to helping the fight against disease, Mr. Eastman also paid attention to education. When the Mechanics Institute of Rochester was founded in 1887 and is struggling, Mr. Eastman donated money to the Institute and then offered himself to be one of the 10 sponsors of the Institute. Today the Institute is renamed the Rochester Institute of Technology (the Rochester Institute of Technology).

Due to the hiring of a number of engineers graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Eastman saw the capabilities of these specialists and he admired the Institute of Technology even more. Then, thanks to his esteem, Mr. Eastman gave the Institute a large amount of US $ 20 million with anonymity as "Mr. Smith". People talked a lot about Mr. Smith and in the Institute's popular song, today's preparatory students also praised their secret benefactor as follows: "Hooray, cheering, and giving birth The Boston School of Technology and the school, cheering, applauding Mr. Smith, the anonymous benefactor. "

In 1924, Eastman donated more than US $ 75 million to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Rochester, including Eastman Music School, Medical School, Dental School, Hampton Institute and Tuskegee Institute as the basis. support the education of black people. He explained the reason for this generous donation as follows: "First of all, the progress of the world depends on Education so I chose Education Institutions. I just want to support only a few and I "With these Institutes, I can find results more quickly and directly, rather than letting the money dissipate too much."

Mr. George Eastman is a self-deprecating character . It is contrary to the fact that a great photographer is less photographic than any other celebrity in his time. Due to the lack of familiarity, Mr. Eastman could walk on the main avenue in the city, but not many people recognized him. Mr. Eastman is very interested and knowledgeable about Art, he often visits European galleries and he has a remarkable collection of paintings.

If in the business, Mr. Eastman is a fierce competitor and in fact, he is also an active participant in excursions. He often conducts large safaris in Africa, draws on each kind of camping gear and always improves things to be softer, more compact, and each item is used for two or three task. He is a good cook again, always accepting special dishes as well as desserts.

Mr. Eastman is a courageous and trustworthy person . During an animal hunt in Africa, he calmly filmed a rhino who rushed to attack him and the hunter who shot down the animal only 5 steps away from him. Some people worry that if he just missed a bit, he could die, Eastman answered calmly, "Of course I have to believe in my organization!".

Mr. George Eastman died in Rochester on March 14, 1932, unmarried. He is a pioneer in exploiting foreign markets. He also spent a lot of money on industrial research, in aggressive advertising as well as research in marketing (marketing). Mr. George Eastman deserves to be a genius inventor, an exceptional industrialist, a wise organizer, a patriotic citizen and a man of philanthropy.