George Eastman

Eastman, George (1854–1932), U.S. inventor. Eastman invented the dry-plate photographic process in 1880 and shortly thereafter established one of the first factories for the production of photographic supplies. In 1884 he perfected a flexible paperbacked roll film, and 4 years later he brought out the small Kodak camera. In 1892 he founded the Eastman Kodak Co., a pioneer in mass production. He amassed an enormous fortune, most of which he gave away. He committed suicide in 1932.

See also: Photography.