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Library of Congress LC-DIG-ggbain-29290
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George Eastman
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EASTMAN, George
(1854–1932), American inventor and philanthropist,
born in Waterville, N.Y. Eastman, who was self-educated, played
a leading role in transforming photography from an expensive hobby
of only a few devotees into a relatively inexpensive and immensely
widespread popular pastime. In 1884 Eastman patented the first film
in roll form to prove practicable; in 1888 he perfected the Kodak
camera, the first camera designed specifically for roll film. In
1892 he established the Eastman Kodak Co., at Rochester, N.Y., one
of the first companies to mass-produce standardized photography
equipment. This company also manufactured the flexible transparent
film, devised by Eastman in 1889, which proved to be vital to the
subsequent development of the motion picture industry. Eastman was
associated with the company in an administrative and an executive
capacity until his death and contributed much to the development
of its notable research facilities. He was also one of the outstanding
philanthropists of his time, donating more than $75 million
to various projects. Notable among Eastman’s contributions
were a gift to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and endowments
for the establishment of the Eastman School of Music in 1918 and
a school of medicine and dentistry in 1921 at the University of
Rochester.