George Eastman

Trivia

• The Eastman Dental Clinic was opened in 20 November 1931 by the American Ambassador in the presence of Neville Chamberlain.
• In 1926 George Eastman was approached by Lord Riddell, the Chairman of Royal Free Hospital, to fund a dental clinic in London.
• Eastman had a very astute business sense. He focused his company on making film when competition heated up in the camera industry.
• During his lifetime, he donated $100 million, mostly to the University of Rochester and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (under the alias "Mr. Smith").
• He was one of the major philanthropists of his time, ranking only slightly behind Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and a few others, but did not seek publicity for his activities. He concentrated on institution-building and causes which could help people's health.
• By 1896, 100 Kodak cameras had been sold. The first Kodak cost USD $25. In an effort to bring photography to the masses, Eastman introduced the Brownie in 1900 at a price of just $1. It became a great success.
• In 1884, Eastman patented a photographic medium that replaced fragile glass plates with a photo-emulsion coated on paper rolls.
• In 1874, Eastman became intrigued with photography, but found the process awkward.
• At age 14 he began working as an office boy.
• Roll film was also the basis for the invention of motion picture film in 1888 by the world's first filmmaker and precedent inventor to the digital camera, Louis Le Prince, and a decade later by his followers Léon Bouly, Thomas Edison, the Lumière Brothers and Georges Méliès.