162-515: George Eastman (July 12, 1854 – March 14, 1932) was an American entrepreneur who founded the Eastman Kodak Company and helped to bring the photographic use of roll film into the mainstream. After a decade of experiments in photography, he patented and sold a roll film camera, making amateur photography accessible to the general public for the first time. Working as the treasurer and later president of Kodak, he oversaw
324-628: A Fortune 500 company in its own right. A key component of the incremental strategy was Kodak's line of digital self-service kiosks installed in retail locations, where consumers could upload and edit photos, as a replacement for traditional photo developers. Kodak also began manufacturing digital cameras, such as the Apple QuickTake . Film sales continued to rise during the 1990s, delaying the digital transition from occurring faster. In 2001, film sales began to fall. Under Daniel Carp , Fisher's successor as CEO, Kodak made an aggressive move in
486-406: A photographic film . This was used commercially as "celluloid", a highly flammable plastic that until the mid-20th century formed the basis for lacquers and photographic film. On May 2, 1887, Hannibal Goodwin filed a patent for "a photographic pellicle and process of producing same ... especially in connection with roller cameras", but the patent was not granted until September 13, 1898. In
648-650: A 7% stake, diluted to 4.5% by subsequent share issues, in prominent Unix systems vendor Sun Microsystems . Interactive's role in Kodak's strategy was to deliver Unix-based imaging products and to support Kodak's introduction of Photo CD . Interactive planned to release a distribution of Unix System V Release 4 featuring comprehensive support for imaging peripherals such as scanners and printers, along with facilities for colour management and colourspace conversion. Later in 1991, however, Kodak put Interactive up for sale, attracting interest from various technology companies including
810-832: A 9.6% share, and by 2010, had dropped to a 7% share, in seventh place behind Canon , Sony , Nikon , and others, according to research firm IDC. An ever-smaller share of digital pictures were being taken on dedicated digital cameras, being gradually displaced by cameras on cellphones, smartphones , and tablets . Digital camera sales peaked in 2007 and declined afterwards. Kodak began another strategy shift after Antonio Pérez became CEO in 2005. While Kodak had previously done all development and manufacturing in-house, Pérez shut down factories and outsourced or eliminated manufacturing divisions. Kodak agreed to divest its digital camera manufacturing operations to Flextronics in August 2006, including assembly, production and testing. The company exited
972-596: A broken heating pipe at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio . That tragedy claimed 123 lives during the fire and additional fatalities several days later, when hospitalized victims died due to inhaling excessive amounts of smoke from the burning film, which was laced with toxic gases such as sulfur dioxide and hydrogen cyanide . Related fires in other medical facilities prompted the growing disuse of nitrocellulose stock for X-rays by 1933, nearly two decades before its use
1134-404: A camera simultaneously. That same year, Eastman patented a form of paper film he called "American film". Eastman would continue experimenting with cameras and hired chemist Henry Reichenbach to improve the film. These experiments would culminate in an 1889 patent for nitrocellulose film. As the company continued to grow, it was re-incorporated several more times. In November 1889, it was renamed
1296-571: A camera to use the rolls. In 1888, he patented and released the Kodak camera ("Kodak" being a word Eastman created). It was sold loaded with enough roll film for 100 exposures. When all the exposures had been made, the photographer mailed the camera back to the Eastman company in Rochester, along with $ 10. The company would process the film, make a print of each exposure, load another roll of film into
1458-516: A complete shift to digital photography would occur by 2010. However, company executives were reluctant to make a strong pivot towards digital technology, since it would require heavy investment, make the core business of film unprofitable, and put the company into direct competition with established firms in the computer hardware industry. Under CEOs Colby Chandler and Kay Whitmore, Kodak instead attempted to diversify its chemical operations. Although these new operations were given large budgets, there
1620-458: A cotton apron, and wiped it up. He hung the apron on the stove door to dry, and as soon as it was dry, a flash occurred as the apron ignited. His preparation method was the first to be widely used. The method was to immerse one part of fine cotton in 15 parts of an equal blend of sulfuric acid and nitric acid. After two minutes, the cotton was removed and washed in cold water to set the esterification level and to remove all acid residue. The cotton
1782-538: A deadline of February 15, 2013, to produce a reorganization plan. In January 2013, the Court approved financing for Kodak to emerge from bankruptcy by mid 2013. During bankruptcy proceedings, Kodak sold many of its patents for approximately $ 525 million to a group of companies (including Apple , Google , Facebook , Amazon , Microsoft , Samsung , Adobe Systems , and HTC ) under the names Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corporation . Kodak announced that it would end
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#17327811530171944-537: A dental care clinic for children opened in 1937 in Stockholm , Sweden. Marion Gleason, a close confidante of Eastman, later described his views on African Americans as "typical of his time – paternalistic, but strictly against social fraternization." Although he made generous donations to the Hampton Institute and Tuskegee Institute , becoming their largest donor in his era, he also upheld and reinforced
2106-525: A direct appeal from president Walter White in 1929. From 1925 until his death, Eastman donated $ 10,000 per year to the American Eugenics Society (increasing the donation to $ 15,000 in 1932), a popular cause among many of the upper class when there were concerns about immigration and "race mixing". In his final two years, Eastman was in intense pain due to a disorder affecting his spine . He had trouble standing, and his walk became
2268-407: A flame. For this reason, immersing burning film in water may not extinguish it, and could actually increase the amount of smoke produced. Owing to public safety precautions, London Underground forbade transport of movies on its system until well past the introduction of safety film. Cinema fires caused by the ignition of nitrocellulose film stock commonly occurred as well. In Ireland in 1926, it
2430-420: A future digital shift. Kodak sought to establish a presence in the information systems market, acquiring Unix developer Interactive Systems Corporation in early 1988 to operate as a subsidiary of Kodak's newly established software systems division. Kodak's resources enabled Interactive to expand their business, but this raised issues with regard to Kodak's strategy, since the company had previously acquired
2592-422: A hard finish with a deep lustre. It is normally the first coat applied, then it is sanded and followed by other coatings that bond to it. Nail polish contains nitrocellulose, as it is inexpensive, dries quickly to a hard film, and does not damage skin. The explosive applications are diverse and nitrate content is typically higher for propellant applications than for coatings. For space flight, nitrocellulose
2754-419: A high poverty rate in the city. Between 2007 and 2018, real GDP losses from Kodak canceled out the growth in all other sectors in Rochester. On March 12, 2014, Kodak announced that Jeffrey J. Clarke had been named as chief executive officer and a member of its board of directors. At the end of 2016, Kodak reported its first annual profit since bankruptcy. In recent years, Kodak has licensed its brand to
2916-458: A high-margin printer ink business to replace falling film sales, a move which was widely criticized due to the amount of competition present in the printer market, which would make expansion difficult. Kodak's ink strategy rejected the razor and blades business model used by dominant market leader Hewlett-Packard by selling expensive printers with cheaper ink cartridges. In 2011, these new lines of inkjet printers were said to be on verge of turning
3078-437: A large portion of his stock to company employees below market value. The expansion of benefits continued after Eastman; in 1928, the company began offering life insurance , disability benefits, and retirement annuity plans for employees, at the behest of company statistician Marion Folsom . Many other employers in the Rochester area took cues from Kodak and increased their own wages and benefits in order to remain competitive in
3240-498: A machine for coating dry plates in 1879. In 1881, he founded the Eastman Dry Plate Company with Henry Strong to sell plates, with Strong as company president and Eastman as treasurer, where he handled most executive functions. Around the same time, he began experiments to create a flexible film roll that could replace plates altogether. In 1885, he received a patent for a film roll, and then focused on creating
3402-716: A major role in planning and financing the campaign for a new global calendar, and also headed the National Committee on Calendar Simplification, in the United States, which was created at the behest of the League of Nations . Eastman supported Cotsworth's campaign until his death. Eastman wrote several articles to promote the 13-month system, including "Problems of Calendar Improvement" in Scientific American and "The Importance of Calendar Reform to
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#17327811530173564-416: A mass market for the first time. Kodak began as a partnership between George Eastman and Henry A. Strong to develop a film roll camera. After the release of the Kodak camera, Eastman Kodak was incorporated on May 23, 1892. Under Eastman's direction, the company became one of the world's largest film and camera manufacturers, and also developed a model of welfare capitalism and a close relationship with
3726-421: A new roll of film. Additional rolls were also sold for $ 2 to professional photographers who wished to develop their own photographs. By unburdening the photographer from the complicated and expensive process of film development, photography became more accessible than ever before. The camera was an immediate success with the public and launched a fad of amateur photography. Eastman's advertising slogan, " You Press
3888-524: A nitrate base in the west, but rumors exist of 16 mm nitrate film having been produced in the former Soviet Union and China. Nitrate dominated the market for professional-use 35 mm motion picture film from the industry's origins to the early 1950s. While cellulose acetate-based safety film, notably cellulose diacetate and cellulose acetate propionate, was produced in the gauge for small-scale use in niche applications (such as printing advertisements and other short films to enable them to be sent through
4050-461: A number of other companies. The California-based company JK Imaging has manufactured Micro Four-Thirds cameras under the Kodak brand since 2013. The Kodak Ektra , a smartphone , was designed by the Bullitt Group and launched in 2016. Digital tablets were announced with Archos in 2017. In 2018, Kodak announced two failed cryptocurrency products; the cryptocurrency KodakCoin , which
4212-653: A number of reasons including environmental regulation and the cost of application vs. "poly" finishes. However, Gibson still use nitrocellulose lacquers on all of their guitars, as well as Fender when reproducing historically accurate guitars. The nitrocellulose lacquer yellows and cracks over time, and custom shops will reproduce this aging to make instruments appear vintage. Guitars made by smaller shops (luthiers) also often use "nitro" as it has an almost mythical status among guitarists. Because of its explosive nature, not all applications of nitrocellulose were successful. In 1869, with elephants having been poached to near extinction,
4374-663: A partnership with Edwin Land to supply polarized lenses, after briefly considering an offer to purchase Land's patents. Land would later launch the Polaroid Corporation and invented the first instant camera using emulsions supplied by Kodak. Frank Lovejoy succeeded William Stuber as company president in 1934, and Thomas J. Hargrave became president in 1941. After the American entry into World War II , Kodak ceased its production of amateur film and began supplying
4536-540: A passion for playing the piano. The loss of his mother, Maria, was particularly crushing to George. Almost pathologically concerned with decorum, he found himself, for the first time, unable to control his emotions in the presence of his friends. "When my mother died I cried all day", he said later. "I could not have stopped to save my life." Due to his mother's reluctance to accept his gifts, Eastman could never do enough for his mother during her lifetime. He continued to honor her after her death. On September 4, 1922, he opened
4698-785: A petition with the US Commerce Department under section 301 of the Commerce Act arguing that its poor performance in the Japanese market was a direct result of unfair practices adopted by Fuji. The complaint was lodged by the United States with the World Trade Organization . On January 30, 1998, the WTO announced a "sweeping rejection of Kodak's complaints" about the film market in Japan. A price war between
4860-498: A profit, although some analysts were skeptical as printouts had been replaced gradually by electronic copies on computers, tablets, and smartphones. Inkjet printers continued to be viewed as one of the company's anchors after it entered bankruptcy proceedings. However, in September 2012 declining sales forced Kodak to announce an exit from the consumer inkjet market. Kodak's finances and stock value continued to decline, and in 2009
5022-447: A profit-sharing program for all employees in 1912. Eastman never married. He was close to his mother and to his sister Ellen Maria and her family. He had a long platonic relationship with Josephine Dickman, a trained singer and the wife of business associate George Dickman. He became especially close to Dickman after the death of his mother, Maria Eastman, in 1907. He was also an avid traveler, enjoyed music and social gatherings, and had
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5184-531: A projectile driver, it had around six times the gas generation of an equal volume of black powder and produced less smoke and less heating. Artillery shells filled with gun cotton were widely used during the American Civil War , and its use was one of the reasons the conflict was seen as the "first modern war." In combination with breech-loading artillery , such high explosive shells could cause greater damage than previous solid cannonballs. During
5346-490: A rotating bar to operate the shutter. When the user pressed the button to take a photograph, an inner rope was tightened and the exposure began. Once the photograph had been taken, the user had to rotate the upper key to change the selected frame within the celluloid tape. The $ 25 camera came pre-loaded with a film roll of 100 exposures, and could be mailed to Eastman's headquarters in Rochester with $ 10 for processing . The camera would be returned with prints, negatives , and
5508-600: A separate class from other workers in Rochester, and "From the cradle infants are impressed with the fact that 'daddy is a Kodak man'; inferentially this compares with 'our father is a 33rd degree mason '". A 1989 New York Times article compared Rochester to a company town . Kodak's business model changed little from the 1930s to the 1970s, as the company's dominant position made change unnecessary and it made no mergers or acquisitions which might bring new perspectives. Research and development remained focused on products related to film production and development, which caused
5670-400: A slow shuffle. Today, it might be diagnosed as a form of degenerative disease such as disc herniations from trauma or age causing either painful nerve root compressions, or perhaps a type of lumbar spinal stenosis , a narrowing of the spinal canal caused by calcification in the vertebrae . Since his mother suffered the final two years of her life in a wheelchair, she also may have had
5832-401: A spine condition but that is uncertain. Only her uterine cancer and successful surgery are documented in her health history. As a result of his pain, Eastman suffered from depression . On March 14, 1932, Eastman died by suicide with a single gunshot through the heart. His suicide note read, "To my friends, my work is done – Why wait? GE." Raymond Granger, an insurance salesman in Rochester,
5994-842: A turnaround strategy in the 2000s, Kodak instead made an aggressive turn to digital photography and digital printing . These strategies failed to improve the company's finances, and in January 2012, Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York . In September 2013, the company emerged from bankruptcy, having shed its large legacy liabilities, restructured, and exited several businesses. Since emerging from bankruptcy, Kodak has continued to provide commercial digital printing products and services, motion picture film , and still film,
6156-431: Is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and sulfuric acid . One of its first major uses was as guncotton, a replacement for gunpowder as propellant in firearms. It was also used to replace gunpowder as a low-order explosive in mining and other applications. In the form of collodion it was also a critical component in an early photographic emulsion,
6318-630: Is displayed at the Genesee Country Village and Museum . Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company , referred to simply as Kodak ( / ˈ k oʊ d æ k / ), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York , and is incorporated in New Jersey . It is best known for photographic film products, which it brought to
6480-453: Is for the production of lacquers and coatings, explosives, and celluloid . In terms of lacquers and coatings, nitrocellulose dissolves readily in organic solvents, which upon evaporation leave a colorless, transparent, flexible film. Nitrocellulose lacquers have been used as a finish on furniture and musical instruments. Guncotton, dissolved at about 25% in acetone , forms a lacquer used in preliminary stages of wood finishing to develop
6642-409: Is in Rochester. In 1888, the Kodak camera was patented by Eastman. It was a box camera with a fixed-focus lens on the front and no viewfinder ; two V shape silhouettes at the top aided in aiming in the direction of the subject. At the top it had a rotating key to advance the film, a pull-string to set the shutter , and a button on the side to release it, exposing the celluloid film. Inside, it had
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6804-431: Is less prone to stretching than other available plastics. By the late 1990s, polyester had almost entirely superseded triacetate for the production of intermediate elements and release prints. Triacetate remains in use for most camera negative stocks because it can be "invisibly" spliced using solvents during negative assembly, while polyester film is usually spliced using adhesive tape patches, which leave visible marks in
6966-435: Is much more resistant to polymer degradation than either nitrate or triacetate. Although triacetate does not decompose in as dangerous a way as nitrate does, it is still subject to a process known as deacetylation, often nicknamed "vinegar syndrome" (due to the acetic acid smell of decomposing film) by archivists, which causes the film to shrink, deform, become brittle and eventually unusable. PET, like cellulose mononitrate,
7128-434: Is not a nitro compound , but a nitrate ester . The glucose repeat unit (anhydroglucose) within the cellulose chain has three OH groups, each of which can form a nitrate ester. Thus, nitrocellulose can denote mononitrocellulose , dinitrocellulose , and trinitrocellulose , or a mixture thereof. With fewer OH groups than the parent cellulose, nitrocelluloses do not aggregate by hydrogen bonding . The overarching consequence
7290-494: Is soluble in a mixture of ethanol and ether until nitrogen concentration exceeds 12%. Soluble nitrocellulose, or a solution thereof, is sometimes called collodion . Guncotton containing more than 13% nitrogen (sometimes called insoluble nitrocellulose) was prepared by prolonged exposure to hot, concentrated acids for limited use as a blasting explosive or for warheads of underwater weapons such as naval mines and torpedoes . Safe and sustained production of guncotton began at
7452-459: Is that the nitrocellulose is soluble in organic solvents such as acetone and esters; e.g., ethyl acetate , methyl acetate , ethyl carbonate . Most lacquers are prepared from the dinitrate, whereas explosives are mainly the trinitrate. The chemical equation for the formation of the trinitrate is The yields are about 85%, with losses attributed to complete oxidation of the cellulose to oxalic acid . The principal uses of cellulose nitrate
7614-490: The Eastman Chemical Company . Henry Strong died in 1919, after which Eastman became the company president. Eastman began to wind down his involvement in the daily management of the company in the mid-1920s, and formally retired in 1925, although he remained on the board of directors. William Stuber succeeded him as president, and managed the company along with Frank Lovejoy. In 1912, Kodak established
7776-602: The Eastman Theatre in Rochester, which included a chamber-music hall, Kilbourn Theater, dedicated to his mother's memory. At the Eastman House he maintained a rose bush, using a cutting from her childhood home. Eastman was a presidential elector in 1900 and 1916 . In 1915, Eastman founded the Bureau of Municipal Research in Rochester to gather information and make government policy recommendations. The agency
7938-731: The Edison Company at another location on December 9, at its film-processing complex in West Orange, New Jersey . That catastrophic fire started inside a film-inspection building and caused over $ 7,000,000 in property damages ($ 213,000,000 today). Even after film technology changed, archives of older films remained vulnerable; the 1965 MGM vault fire burned many films that were decades old. The use of volatile nitrocellulose film for motion pictures led many cinemas to fireproof their projection rooms with wall coverings made of asbestos . Those additions intended to prevent or at least delay
8100-578: The Motion Picture Patents Company in 1908, Eastman negotiated for Kodak to be sole supplier of film to the industry. His monopolistic actions attracted the attention of the federal government, which began an anti-trust investigation into Kodak in 1911 for exclusive contracts, acquisitions of competitors, and price-fixing. This resulted in a lawsuit against Kodak in 1913 and a final judgement in 1921, ordering Kodak to stop fixing prices and sell many of its interests. Kodak's growth
8262-677: The National Reconnaissance Office to produce cameras for surveillance satellites such as the KH-7 Gambit and KH-9 Hexagon . Between 1963 and 1970, Kodak engineers worked on the cancelled Manned Orbiting Laboratory program, designing optical sensors for a crewed reconnaissance satellite. The company later performed a study for NASA on the astronomical uses of the equipment developed for MOL. Kodak doubled its number of employees worldwide between 1936 and 1966. The majority remained employed in Rochester, where it
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#17327811530178424-598: The Paris Exhibition of 1889 . Commercial production started in 1891, but the result was flammable and more expensive than cellulose acetate or cuprammonium rayon. Because of this predicament, production ceased early in the 1900s. Nitrocellulose was briefly known as "mother-in-law silk". Frank Hastings Griffin invented the double-godet, a special stretch-spinning process that changed artificial silk to rayon, rendering it usable in many industrial products such as tire cords and clothing. Nathan Rosenstein invented
8586-551: The Trinity test site. After this discovery, Kodak officials became concerned that fallout would contaminate more of their film, and began monitoring atmospheric radiation levels with rainwater collection at Kodak Park. In 1951, the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) began providing Kodak with a schedule of nuclear tests in exchange for its silence after the company threatened to sue
8748-574: The Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills in the 1860s, and the material rapidly became the dominant explosive, becoming the standard for military warheads, although it remained too potent to be used as a propellant. More-stable and slower-burning collodion mixtures were eventually prepared using less concentrated acids at lower temperatures for smokeless powder in firearms . The first practical smokeless powder made from nitrocellulose, for firearms and artillery ammunition,
8910-482: The billiards industry offered a US$ 10,000 prize to whoever came up with the best replacement for ivory billiard balls . John Wesley Hyatt created the winning replacement, which he created with a new material he invented, called camphored nitrocellulose—the first thermoplastic , better known as celluloid . The invention enjoyed a brief popularity, but the Hyatt balls were extremely flammable, and sometimes portions of
9072-461: The "spunize process" by which he turned rayon from a hard fiber to a fabric. This allowed rayon to become a popular raw material in textiles. Nitrocellulose lacquer manufactured by (among others) DuPont , was the primary material for painting automobiles for many years. Durability of finish, complexities of "multiple stage" modern finishes, and other factors including environmental regulation led manufacturers to choose newer technologies. It remained
9234-420: The 1920s, Eastman was involved in calendar reform and supported the 13-month per year International Fixed Calendar developed by Moses B. Cotsworth . On January 17, 1925, Eastman invited Cotsworth to his home; he had been introduced to Cotsworth's calendar by a mutual friend and was interested in the system. He secretly funded Cotsworth for a year and then openly supported him and the 13-month plan. Eastman took
9396-699: The 1970s, Kodak published important research in dye lasers , and patented the Bayer Filter method of RGB arrangement on photosensors. During the Cold War , Kodak participated in a number of clandestine government projects. Beginning in 1955 they were contracted by the CIA to design cameras and develop film for the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft under the Bridgehead Program. Kodak was also contracted by
9558-712: The American Ambassador to the UK. The clinic was incorporated into the Royal Free Hospital and was committed to providing dental care for disadvantaged children from central London. It is now a part of University College London . In 1929 he founded the George Eastman Visiting Professorship at Oxford , to be held each year by a different American scholar of the highest distinction. Eastman also funded Eastmaninstitutet ,
9720-591: The American war effort at the direction of the War Production Board . The company produced film, cameras, microfilm , pontoons , synthetic fibers , RDX , variable-time fuses , and hand grenades for the government. Kodak's European subsidiaries continued to operate during the war. Kodak AG, the German subsidiary, was transferred to two trustees in 1941 to allow the company to continue operating in
9882-664: The Bronx. On May 13, a fire at Universal Pictures ' Colonial Hall "film factory" in Manhattan consumed another extensive collection. Yet again, on June 13 in Philadelphia, a fire and a series of explosions ignited inside the 186-square-meter (2,000-square-foot) film vault of the Lubin Manufacturing Company and quickly wiped out virtually all of that studio's pre-1914 catalogue. Then a second fire hit
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#173278115301710044-753: The Business World" in Nation's Business . By 1928, the Kodak Company implemented the calendar in its business bookkeeping, and continued to use it until 1989. He was chairman of the National Committee on Calendar Simplification. Although a conference was held at the League of Nations in 1931, with his death and the looming tensions of World War II , this calendar was dropped from consideration. In 1925 Eastman gave up his daily management of Kodak and officially retired as president. He remained associated with
10206-554: The Button, We Do the Rest ", soon entered the public lexicon, and was referenced by Chauncey Depew in a speech and Gilbert and Sullivan in their opera Utopia, Limited . In the 1890s and early 1900s, Kodak grew rapidly and outmaneuvered competitors through a combination of innovation, acquisitions, and exclusive contracts. Eastman recognized that film would return more profit than the cameras that used them, and focused on control of
10368-717: The Eastman Company and 10,000 shares of stock were issued for $ 100. On May 23, 1892, another round of capitalization occurred and it was renamed Eastman Kodak. An Eastman Kodak of New Jersey was established in 1901 and existed simultaneously with the Eastman Kodak of New York until 1936, when the New York corporation was dissolved and its assets were transferred to the New Jersey corporation. Kodak remains incorporated in New Jersey today, although its headquarters
10530-581: The Eastman Dry Plate Company was founded on January 1, 1881, with Strong as president and Eastman as treasurer. Initially, the company sold dry plates for cameras, but Eastman's interest turned to replacing glass plates altogether with a new roll film process. On October 1, 1884, the company was re-incorporated as the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company. In 1885, Eastman patented the first practical film roll holder with William Walker, which would allow dry plate cameras to store multiple exposures in
10692-561: The Kodak Research Laboratories at Building 3 in Kodak Park, with Kenneth Mees as director. Research primarily focused on film emulsions for color photography and radiography . In 1915, Kodak began selling Kodachrome, a two-color film developed by John Capstaff at the research lab. Another two-color film duplitized film was marketed for photography of X-rays as it had a short exposure time and could reduce
10854-629: The River Campus of the University of Rochester is named for Eastman. The Rochester Institute of Technology has a building dedicated to him, in recognition of his support and substantial donations. MIT installed a plaque of Eastman on one of the buildings he funded. (Students rub the nose of Eastman's image on the plaque for good luck.) Eastman had built a mansion at 900 East Avenue in Rochester. Here he entertained friends to dinner and held private music concerts. The University of Rochester used
11016-673: The SunSoft subsidiary of Sun Microsystems, on whose Solaris operating system Interactive had undertaken development work. SunSoft eventually acquired the systems products division of Interactive in early 1992, leaving the services and technologies division with Kodak, until its eventual sale to SHL Systemhouse in 1993. Kodak would continue its relationship with Sun as a notable customer, integrating various Sun technologies in its document management products. Kodak would later sue Sun for infringing three software patents acquired by Kodak in 1997 from Wang Laboratories . In 1993, Whitmore announced
11178-596: The alias "Mr. Smith". In 1918, he endowed the establishment of the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, and in 1921 a school of medicine and dentistry there. In 1922, he founded the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra , hiring its first music director Albert Coates . Figured for its value in 1932, the year of Eastman's death, $ 100 million is equivalent to more than $ 2 billion in 2022. In 1915, Eastman provided funds for
11340-415: The budgets of many smaller theaters. In practice, though, this has not proved to be as much of a problem as was feared. Rather, with the increased use of automated long-play systems in cinemas, the greater strength of polyester has been a significant advantage in lessening the risk of a film performance being interrupted by a film break. Despite its self-oxidizing hazards, nitrate is still regarded highly as
11502-453: The camera, and send the camera and the prints to the photographer. The separation of photo-taking from the difficult process of film development was novel and made photography more accessible to amateurs than ever before, and the camera was immediately popular with the public. By August 1888, Eastman was struggling to meet orders, and he and his employees soon had several other cameras in development. The rapidly-growing Eastman Dry Plate Company
11664-406: The chambering of the feed and takeup reels in thick metal covers with small slits to allow the film to run through them. The projector is additionally modified to accommodate several fire extinguishers with nozzles aimed at the film gate. The extinguishers automatically trigger if a piece of film near the gate starts to burn. While this triggering would likely damage or destroy a significant portion of
11826-496: The city of Rochester. During most of the 20th century, Kodak held a dominant position in photographic film, and produced a number of technological innovations through heavy investment in research and development at Kodak Research Laboratories. Kodak produced some of the most popular camera models of the 20th century, including the Brownie and Instamatic . The company's ubiquity was such that its " Kodak moment " tagline entered
11988-421: The common lexicon to describe a personal event that deserved to be recorded for posterity. Kodak began to struggle financially in the late 1990s as a result of increasing competition from Fujifilm . The company also struggled with the transition from film to digital photography , although Kodak had developed the first self-contained digital camera . Attempts to diversify its chemical operations failed, and as
12150-402: The company began cutting benefits and making large layoffs to save money. Despite the competition, Kodak's revenues and profits continued to increase during the 1990s, due to the strategy changes and an overall expansion of the global market. Under CEO George M. C. Fisher , Kodak's annual revenue peaked at $ 16 billion in 1996 and profits peaked at $ 2.5 billion in 1999. In May 1995, Kodak filed
12312-443: The company could enter bankruptcy followed by an auction of its patents, as it was reported to be in talks with Citigroup to provide debtor-in-possession financing . This was confirmed on January 19, 2012, when the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and obtained a $ 950 million, 18-month credit facility from Citigroup to enable it to continue operations. Under the terms of its bankruptcy protection, Kodak had
12474-435: The company experienced rapid growth. By 1896, Kodak was the leading supplier of film stock internationally, and by 1915, the company was the largest employer in Rochester, with over 8,000 employees and annual earnings of $ 15.7 Million. In 1934, shortly after Eastman's death, Kodak employed 23,000. One of the largest markets for film became the emerging motion picture industry . When Thomas Edison and other film producers formed
12636-599: The company in a business executive capacity, as the chairman of the board, until his death. During his lifetime, Eastman donated $ 100 million to various organizations, becoming one of the major philanthropists in the United States during his lifetime. His largest donations went to the University of Rochester and to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to build their programs and facilities. Preferring to remain anonymous, he made donations under
12798-475: The company negotiated a $ 300 million loan from KKR . A number of divisions were sold off to repay debts from previous investments, most notably the Kodak Health Group, one of the company's profitable units. Kodak used the $ 2.35 billion from the sale to fully repay its approximately $ 1.15 billion of secured term debt. Around 8,100 employees from the Kodak Health Group transferred to Onex, which
12960-409: The company to fall behind rivals Polaroid and Xerox in the development of instant cameras and photocopiers . Kodak would begin selling its own versions of each in the mid-1970s, but neither became popular. Both product lines would be abandoned in the 1990s. Japanese competitor Fujifilm entered the U.S. market with lower-priced film and supplies in the 1980s. Fuji defeated Kodak in a bid to become
13122-416: The company would restructure, and he was succeeded by George M. C. Fisher, a former Motorola CEO, later that year. Under Fisher, the company abandoned diversification in chemicals and focused on an incremental shift to digital technology. Tennessee Eastman was spun off as Eastman Chemical on January 1, 1994, and Sterling Drug's remaining operations were sold in August 1994. Eastman Chemical later became
13284-439: The concentration of unreacted acid. In 1855, the first human-made plastic , nitrocellulose (branded Parkesine , patented in 1862), was created by Alexander Parkes from cellulose treated with nitric acid and a solvent. In 1868, American inventor John Wesley Hyatt developed a plastic material he named Celluloid , improving on Parkes' invention by plasticizing the nitrocellulose with camphor so that it could be processed into
13446-507: The concept of an industrial community that Eastman sought to create. These practices were not seriously challenged until after World War II . As a consequence of this shared background and the robust company benefits, Kodak employees formed a close community that viewed unions as outsiders, and no attempt to organize workers at Kodak succeeded during the 20th century. Kodak was hard-hit by the Great Depression , although Rochester
13608-626: The de facto segregation which existed in Rochester. Kodak hired virtually no black employees during Eastman's lifetime, and a 1939 commission of the New York State Legislature on living conditions of African Americans found that Kodak had only a single black employee. The Eastman Dental Dispensary also rejected black applicants, and the Eastman Theater restricted black patrons to its balcony. Eastman rejected several requests to meet with NAACP representatives, including
13770-506: The digital camera market with its EasyShare family of digital cameras. By 2005, Kodak ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in digital camera sales, which surged 40% to $ 5.7 billion. The company also began selling digital medical image systems after acquiring the Israel-based companies Algotec Systems and OREX Computed Radiography. Despite the initial high growth in sales, digital cameras had low profit margins due to strong competition, and
13932-403: The dosage of radiation needed to take a photo. Kodak became closely tied to Rochester, where most of its employees resided, and was at the vanguard of welfare capitalism during the 1910s and 1920s. Eastman implemented a number of worker benefit programs, including a welfare fund to provide workmen's compensation in 1910 and a profit-sharing program for all employees in 1912. In 1919, he sold
14094-428: The early 20th century were lost through this accelerating, self-catalyzed disintegration or through studio warehouse fires, and many others were deliberately destroyed specifically to avoid the fire risk. Salvaging old films is a major problem for film archivists (see film preservation ). Nitrocellulose film base manufactured by Kodak can be identified by the presence of the word "nitrate" in dark letters along one edge;
14256-523: The early to mid 20th century for destroying or heavily damaging cinemas, inflicting many serious injuries and deaths, and for reducing to ashes the master negatives and original prints of tens of thousands of screen titles, turning many of them into lost films . Even when nitrate stock did not start the blaze, flames from other sources spread to large nearby film collections, producing intense and highly destructive fires. In 1914—the same year that Goodwin Film
14418-430: The emerging motion picture industry . When Thomas Edison and other film producers formed the Motion Picture Patents Company in 1908, Eastman negotiated for Kodak to be sole supplier of film to the industry. In 1914, Kodak built its current headquarters on State Street. By 1922, the company was the second-largest purchaser of silver in the United States, behind the U.S. Treasury . Beginning on July 18, 1930, Kodak
14580-813: The establishment of the Eastman Dental Dispensary in Rochester. He donated £200,000 in 1926 to fund a dental clinic in London after being approached by the chairman of the Royal Free Hospital , George Riddell, 1st Baron Riddell . Donations of £50,000 each had been made by Lord Riddell and the Royal Free honorary treasurer. On November 20, 1931, the UCL Eastman Dental Institute opened in a ceremony attended by Neville Chamberlain , then Minister of Health, and
14742-546: The event of war between Germany and the United States. The company produced film, fuses, triggers , detonators , and other material. Slave labor was employed at Kodak AG's Stuttgart and Berlin-Kopenick plants. During the German occupation of France, Kodak-Pathé facilities in Severan and Vincennes were also used to support the German war effort. Kodak continued to import goods to the United States purchased from Nazi Germany through neutral nations such as Switzerland. This practice
14904-494: The expansion of the company and the film industry. Eastman was a major philanthropist, establishing the Eastman School of Music , Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra , and schools of dentistry and medicine at the University of Rochester and Eastman Dental Hospital at University College London , and making large contributions to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), the construction of several buildings at
15066-433: The favorite of hobbyists for both historical reasons and for the ease with which a professional finish can be obtained. Most automobile "touch up" paints are still made from lacquer because of its fast drying, easy application, and superior adhesion properties – regardless of the material used for the original finish. Guitars sometimes shared color codes with current automobiles. It fell out of favor for mass production use for
15228-423: The federal government for damage caused to film products. Kodak was later contracted to create emulsions for radiation tests of fallout from nuclear tests. Kodak reached its zenith in the post-war era , as the usage of film for amateur, commercial, and government purposes all increased. In 1948, Tennessee Eastman created a working acetate film , which quickly replaced nitrate film in the movie industry because it
15390-556: The film camera market altogether, and began to end the production of film products. In total, 13 film plants and 130 photo finishing facilities were closed, and 50,000 employees laid off between 2004 and 2007. In 2009, Kodak announced that it would cease selling Kodachrome color film, ending 74 years of production, after a dramatic decline in sales. Pérez invested heavily in digital technologies and new services that capitalized on its technology innovation to boost profit margins. He also spent hundreds of millions of dollars to build up
15552-655: The film market. This razor and blades model of sales would change little for several decades. Larger facilities were soon needed in Rochester, and the construction of Kodak Park began in 1890. Kodak purchased and opened several shops and factories in Europe , particularly in the United Kingdom . The British holdings were initially organized under the Eastman Photographic Materials Company. Beginning in 1898, they were placed under
15714-411: The first "boomtowns" in the United States, based on its rapid industrialization. As his father's health started deteriorating, the family gave up the farm and moved to Rochester in 1860. His father died of a brain disorder on April 27, 1862. To survive and afford George's schooling, his mother took in boarders. The second daughter, Katie, had contracted polio when young and died in late 1870 when George
15876-417: The first World War , British authorities were slow to introduce grenades, with soldiers at the front improvising by filling ration tin cans with gun cotton , scrap and a basic fuse. Further research indicated the importance of washing the acidified cotton. Unwashed nitrocellulose (sometimes called pyrocellulose) may spontaneously ignite and explode at room temperature , as the evaporation of water results in
16038-423: The first marketed integral tripack film. During World War I , Eastman established a photographic school in Rochester to train pilots for aerial reconnaissance . In an era of growing trade union activities, Eastman sought to counter the union movement by anticipating worker demands. To this end, he implemented a number of worker benefit programs, including a welfare fund to provide workmen's compensation in 1910 and
16200-462: The frame area. However, ultrasonic splicing in the frame line area can be invisible. Also, polyester film is so strong, it will not break under tension and may cause serious damage to expensive camera or projector mechanisms in the event of a film jam, whereas triacetate film breaks easily, reducing the risk of damage. Many were opposed to the use of polyester for release prints for this reason, and because ultrasonic splicers are very expensive, beyond
16362-598: The heart, leaving a note which read, "To my friends: my work is done. Why wait?" Eastman is regarded as one of the most influential and well-known residents of Rochester, New York . He has been commemorated on several college campuses and the Hollywood Walk of Fame , and the George Eastman Museum has been designated a National Historic Landmark . Eastman was born in Waterville, New York , as
16524-514: The holding company Kodak Limited. An Australian subsidiary, Australia Kodak Limited, was established in 1908. In 1931, Kodak-Pathé was established in France and Kodak AG was formed in Germany following the acquisition of Nagel . The Brownie camera, marketed to children, was first released in 1900, and further expanded the amateur photography market. One of the largest markets for film became
16686-453: The labor market. Eastman believed that offering these benefits served the interests of the company. He feared labor unions and believed that offering better compensation than that received by union workers would deter union organizing and avoid the potential costs of a company strike . Selling his stock to employees would simultaneously make it more appealing to investors, who were wary to purchase shares because of his large stake, and lower
16848-625: The landing. Collodion, a solution of nitrocellulose, is used today in topical skin applications, such as liquid skin and in the application of salicylic acid , the active ingredient in Compound W wart remover. In 1832 Henri Braconnot discovered that nitric acid, when combined with starch or wood fibers, would produce a lightweight combustible explosive material, which he named xyloïdine . A few years later in 1838, another French chemist, Théophile-Jules Pelouze (teacher of Ascanio Sobrero and Alfred Nobel ), treated paper and cardboard in
17010-507: The last of which is distributed through the spinoff company Kodak Alaris . The company has licensed the Kodak brand to several products produced by other companies, such as the PIXPRO line of digital cameras manufactured by JK Imaging. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Kodak announced in late July that year it would begin production of pharmaceutical materials. The letter k
17172-419: The launch of cellulose triacetate base film by Eastman Kodak in 1948. Cellulose triacetate superseded nitrate as the film industry's mainstay base very quickly. While Kodak had discontinued some nitrate film stocks earlier, it stopped producing various nitrate roll films in 1950 and ceased production of nitrate 35 mm motion picture film in 1951. The crucial advantage cellulose triacetate had over nitrate
17334-454: The mails without the need for fire safety precautions), the early generations of safety film base had two major disadvantages relative to nitrate: it was much more expensive to manufacture, and considerably less durable in repeated projection. The cost of the safety precautions associated with the use of nitrate was significantly lower than the cost of using any of the safety bases available before 1948. These drawbacks were eventually overcome with
17496-502: The mansion for various purposes for decades after his death. In 1949, it re-opened after having been adapted for use as the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film. It has been designated a National Historic Landmark , and is now known as the George Eastman Museum . Eastman's boyhood home was saved from destruction. It was restored to its state during his childhood and
17658-511: The manufacture of guncotton were obtained by John Hall & Son in 1846, and industrial manufacture of the explosive began at a purpose-built factory at Marsh Works in Faversham, Kent , a year later. The manufacturing process was not properly understood and few safety measures were put in place. A serious explosion in July that killed almost two dozen workers resulted in the immediate closure of
17820-409: The market rapidly matured. Its digital cameras soon were undercut by Asian competitors that could produce and sell cheaper products. Many digital cameras were sold at a loss as a result. The film business, where Kodak enjoyed high profit margins, also continued to fall. The combination of these two factors caused a decline in profits. By 2007, Kodak had dropped to No. 4 in U.S. digital camera sales with
17982-399: The meantime, George Eastman had already started production of roll-film using his own process. Nitrocellulose was used as the first flexible film base , beginning with Eastman Kodak products in August 1889. Camphor is used as a plasticizer for nitrocellulose film, often called nitrate film. Goodwin's patent was sold to Ansco , which successfully sued Eastman Kodak for infringement of
18144-455: The migration of flames beyond the projection areas. A training film for projectionists included footage of a controlled ignition of a reel of nitrate film, which continued to burn even when fully submerged in water. Once burning, it is extremely difficult to extinguish. Unlike most other flammable materials, nitrocellulose does not need a source of air to continue burning, since it contains sufficient oxygen within its molecular structure to sustain
18306-846: The motion picture industry after signing new agreements with major studios in 2015 and 2020. In 2022, Kodak announced it would hire new film technicians after film photography experienced a revival among hobbyists. Kodak is currently arranged in four business reporting segments: Traditional Print, Digital Print, Advanced Material & Chemicals (including Motion Picture) and Brand (Brand licensing of consumer products produced by third parties). Nitrocellulose ( C 6 H 8 (NO 2 ) 2 O 5 ) n (dinitrocellulose) ( C 6 H 7 (NO 2 ) 3 O 5 ) n (trinitrocellulose, pictured in structures above) Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate , flash paper , flash cotton , guncotton , pyroxylin and flash string , depending on form)
18468-409: The name "was simply invented – made up from letters of the alphabet to meet our trade-mark requirements. It was short and euphonious and likely to stick in the public mind." The Kodak name was trademarked by Eastman in 1888. There was also a rumor that the name Kodak came from the sound made by the Kodak camera's shutter. Eastman entered a partnership with Henry Strong in 1880 and
18630-507: The official film of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics , which gave it a permanent foothold in the market. Fuji opened a film plant in the U.S. and its aggressive marketing and price cutting began taking market share from Kodak, rising from a 10% share in the early 1990s to 17% in 1997. Fuji also made headway into the professional market with specialty transparency films such as Velvia and Provia , which competed with Kodak's signature professional product, Kodachrome . Encouraged by shareholders,
18792-470: The outer shell would explode upon impact. An owner of a billiard saloon in Colorado wrote to Hyatt about the explosive tendencies, saying that he did not mind very much personally but for the fact that every man in his saloon immediately pulled a gun at the sound. The process used by Hyatt to manufacture the billiard balls, patented in 1881, involved placing the mass of nitrocellulose in a rubber bag, which
18954-399: The patent and was awarded $ 5,000,000 in 1914 to Goodwin Film. Disastrous fires related to celluloid or "nitrate film" became regular occurrences in the motion picture industry throughout the silent era and for many years after the arrival of sound film . Projector fires and spontaneous combustion of nitrate footage stored in studio vaults and in other structures were often blamed during
19116-530: The plant. Guncotton manufacture ceased for over 15 years until a safer procedure could be developed. The British chemist Frederick Augustus Abel developed the first safe process for guncotton manufacture, which he patented in 1865. The washing and drying times of the nitrocellulose were both extended to 48 hours and repeated eight times over. The acid mixture was changed to two parts sulfuric acid to one part nitric. Nitration can be controlled by adjusting acid concentrations and reaction temperature. Nitrocellulose
19278-660: The price of the stock, which would keep anti-trust lawyers from investigating the company. Because Kodak was a capital-intensive industry with a low labor-cost ratio , employee benefits contributed less to the company's expenses than they would in other industries. Employment opportunities were not extended to all Rochesterians. The company almost exclusively hired workers of an Anglo-Saxon background under Eastman, and excluded Catholic immigrants, African-Americans , and Jews . Approximately one-third of employees were female. A system of family hiring, where children of employees would be hired to follow their parents, reinforced
19440-438: The processes for the first nitrocellulose film along with chemist Henry Reichenbach. A number of patent infringement lawsuits would preoccupy Eastman and his lawyers in subsequent years, including one from Reichenbach after he was fired in 1892. The largest lawsuit would come from rival film producer Ansco . Inventor Hannibal Goodwin had filed a patent for nitrocellulose film in 1887, prior to Eastman and Reichenbach's, but it
19602-489: The production of several products, including digital cameras, pocket video cameras, digital picture frames, and inkjet printers. As part of a settlement with the UK-based Kodak Pension Plan, Kodak agreed to sell its photographic film , commercial scanners, and photo kiosk operations, which were reorganized as a spinoff company, Kodak Alaris . The Image Sensor Solutions (ISS) division of Kodak
19764-459: The program. Research projects led to a number of new Kodak products in the 1930s. At Kodak Research Laboratories, Leopold Godowsky Jr. and Leopold Mannes invented a three-color film which would be commercially viable. In 1935, the product was launched as Kodachrome . The company also produced industrial high-speed cameras and began to diversify its chemical operations by producing vitamin concentrates and plastics . In 1934, Kodak entered
19926-472: The projector's components, it would contain a fire and prevent far greater damage. Projection rooms may also be required to have automatic metal covers for the projection windows, preventing the spread of fire to the auditorium . Today, the Dryden Theatre at the George Eastman Museum is one of a few theaters in the world that is capable of safely projecting nitrate films and regularly screens them to
20088-608: The public. The BFI Southbank in London is the only cinema in the United Kingdom licensed to show Nitrate Film. The use of nitrate film and its fiery potential were certainly not issues limited to the realm of motion pictures or to commercial still photography. The film was also used for many years in medicine, where its hazardous nature was most acute, especially in its application to X-ray photography. In 1929, several tons of stored X-ray film were ignited by steam from
20250-459: The same way. Jean-Baptiste Dumas obtained a similar material, which he called nitramidine . Around 1846 Christian Friedrich Schönbein , a German-Swiss chemist, discovered a more practical formulation. As he was working in the kitchen of his home in Basel , he spilled a mixture of nitric acid (HNO 3 ) and sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ) on the kitchen table. He reached for the nearest cloth,
20412-579: The second campus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on the Charles River , and Tuskegee University and Hampton University , two historically black universities in the South . With interests in improving health, he provided funds for clinics in London and other European cities to serve low-income residents. In his final two years, Eastman was in intense pain caused by a disorder affecting his spine. On March 14, 1932, he shot himself in
20574-446: The stock is more transparent than replacement stocks, and older films used denser silver in the emulsion. The combination results in a notably more luminous image with a high contrast ratio. The solubility of nitrocellulose was the basis for the first " artificial silk " by Georges Audemars in 1855, which he called " Rayon ". . However, Hilaire de Chardonnet was the first to patent a nitrocellulose fiber marketed as "artificial silk" at
20736-465: The two companies began in 1997, eating into Kodak's profits. Kodak's financial results for 1997 showed that the company's revenues dropped from $ 15.97 billion in 1996 to $ 14.36 billion in 1997, a fall of more than 10%; its net earnings went from $ 1.29 billion to just $ 5 million for the same period. Kodak's market share declined from 80.1% to 74.7% in the United States, a one-year drop of five percentage points. Fuji and Kodak recognized
20898-408: The upcoming threat of digital photography, and although both sought to diversify as a mitigation strategy, Fuji was more successful at diversification. Fuji stopped production of motion picture film in 2013, leaving Kodak as the last major producer. Kodak employee Steven Sasson developed the first handheld digital camera in 1975. Larry Matteson, another employee, wrote a report in 1979 predicting
21060-416: The use of which revolutionized photography in the 1860s. In the 20th century it was adapted to automobile lacquer and adhesives . The process uses a mixture of nitric acid and sulfuric acid to convert cellulose into nitrocellulose. The quality of the cellulose is important. Hemicellulose , lignin , pentosans , and mineral salts give inferior nitrocelluloses. In precise chemical terms, nitrocellulose
21222-414: The war. In 1945, a batch of X-ray film that the company processed mysteriously became fogged. Julian Webb, who had worked at Oak Ridge, proposed that the film had been exposed to radiation released by nuclear weapons tests . The source of the radiation was eventually traced to strawboard packaging from Vincennes, Indiana, which had been irradiated by fallout that had traveled thousands of miles northeast from
21384-489: The word only in clear letters on a dark background indicates derivation from a nitrate base original negative or projection print, but the film in hand itself may be a later print or copy negative, made on safety film. Acetate film manufactured during the era when nitrate films were still in use was marked "Safety" or "Safety Film" along one edge in dark letters. 8 , 9.5 , and 16 mm film stocks, intended for amateur and other nontheatrical use, were never manufactured with
21546-530: The youngest child of George Washington Eastman and Maria Eastman (née Kilbourn), at the 10-acre (4.0 ha) farm which his parents had bought in 1849. He had two older sisters, Ellen Maria and Katie. He was largely self-educated, although he attended a private school in Rochester after the age of eight. In the early 1840s his father had started a business school, the Eastman Commercial College in Rochester, New York . The city became one of
21708-408: Was 15 years old. The young George left school early and started working to help support the family. As Eastman began to have success with his photography business, he vowed to repay his mother for the hardships she had endured in raising him. While working as a bank clerk in the 1870s, Eastman became interested in photography. After receiving lessons from George Monroe and George Selden , he developed
21870-402: Was a favorite of George Eastman 's; he is quoted as saying, "it seems a strong, incisive sort of letter ." He and his mother, Maria, devised the name Kodak using an Anagrams set. Eastman said that there were three principal concepts he used in creating the name: it should be short, easy to pronounce, and not resemble any other name or be associated with anything else. According to a 1920 ad,
22032-708: Was awarded $ 5,000,000 from Kodak for patent infringement—nitrate film fires incinerated a significant portion of the United States' early cinematic history. In that year alone, five very destructive fires occurred at four major studios and a film-processing plant. Millions of feet of film burned on March 19 at the Eclair Moving Picture Company in Fort Lee, New Jersey . Later that same month, many more reels and film cans of negatives and prints also burned at Edison Studios in New York City, in
22194-683: Was blamed for the Dromcolliher cinema tragedy in County Limerick in which 48 people died. Then in 1929 at the Glen Cinema in Paisley, Scotland , a film-related fire killed 69 children. Today, nitrate film projection is rare and normally highly regulated and requires extensive precautions, including extra health-and-safety training for projectionists. A special projector certified to run nitrate films has many modifications, among them
22356-506: Was buried in the grounds of the company he founded, at what is now known as Eastman Business Park . The Security Trust Company of Rochester was the executor of Eastman's estate. His entire estate was bequeathed to the University of Rochester. Eastman disdained public notoriety and sought to tightly control his image. He was reluctant to share information in interviews, and on multiple occasions both Eastman and Kodak blocked biographers from full access to his records. A definitive biography
22518-404: Was created by Marion Folsom, who gained national recognition for his work and would later serve as a company director and cabinet secretary for Dwight D. Eisenhower . Payments were made between 1933 and 1936, when layoffs ended at Kodak. The program led to many statistical improvements at Kodak, but overall had an insignificant effect on the Rochester community, as few companies were willing to join
22680-491: Was criticized by many American diplomats, but defended by others as more beneficial to the American war effort than detrimental. Kodak received no penalties during or after the war for collaboration. After a 1943 meeting between Kenneth Mees and Leslie Groves , a team of Kodak scientists joined the Manhattan Project and enriched Uranium-235 at Oak Ridge . Kodak's experiments with radiation would continue after
22842-525: Was developed by RYDE Holding, Inc., and the Kodak Kashminer , a Bitcoin -mining computer which was developed by Spotlite. In 2016, the Kodak spinoff company eApeiron was founded with assets acquired from Kodak and an investment by Alibaba . The company's mission is to eliminate “knock offs” and promote authenticity. Despite the pivot to digital technology, film remains a major component of Kodak's business. The company continues to supply film to
23004-408: Was discontinued for motion-picture films in favour of cellulose acetate film , more commonly known as "safety film". Nitrocellulose was found to gradually decompose, releasing nitric acid and further catalyzing the decomposition (eventually into a flammable powder). Decades later, storage at low temperatures was discovered as a means of delaying these reactions indefinitely. Many films produced during
23166-420: Was finally published in 1996. Eastman is the only person represented by two stars in the Film category in the Hollywood Walk of Fame , one on the north side of the 6800 block of Hollywood Boulevard and the other one on the west side of the 1700 block of Vine Street . Both recognize the same achievement, that he developed bromide paper , which became a standard of the film industry. The Eastman Quadrangle of
23328-602: Was included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average . During World War I , Kodak established a photographic school in Rochester to train pilots for aerial reconnaissance . The war strained supply chains, and Eastman sought out new chemical sources the company could have direct control over. At the war's end in 1920, Kodak purchased a hardwood distillation plant in Tennessee from the federal government and established Eastman Tennessee, which later became
23490-615: Was invented by French chemist Paul Vieille in 1884. Jules Verne viewed the development of guncotton with optimism. He referred to the substance several times in his novels. His adventurers carried firearms employing this substance. In his From the Earth to the Moon , guncotton was used to launch a projectile into space. Because of their fluffy and nearly white appearance, nitrocellulose products are often referred to as cottons, e.g. lacquer cotton, celluloid cotton, and gun cotton. Guncotton
23652-526: Was later renamed the Center for Governmental Research and continues to carry out that mission. In 1924, Eastman and the Bureau supported a referendum to change Rochester's government to a city manager system, which passed. In 1920, Eastman established the Eastman Savings and Loan to provide financial services to Kodak employees. The institution was later rechartered as ESL Federal Credit Union . In
23814-407: Was little long-term planning or assistance from outside experts, and most of them resulted in large losses. Another effort to diversify failed when Kodak purchased Sterling Drug in 1988 at a cost of $ 5.1 billion. The drug company was overvalued and soon lost money. Research and development at Kodak Research Laboratories was directed into digital technology during the 1980s, laying the groundwork for
23976-506: Was non-flammable. In 1958, Kodak began marketing a line of super glue, Eastman 910 . Its cameras were used by NASA for space exploration. In 1963, the first Instamatic cameras were sold, which were the company's lowest-cost cameras to date. Annual sales passed $ 1 billion in 1962 and $ 2 billion in 1966. Albert K. Chapman succeeded Thomas Hargrave as president in 1952, and was succeeded by William S. Vaughn in 1960. Louis K. Eilers would serve as president and CEO between 1969 and 1972. In
24138-430: Was not granted until 1898. Ansco purchased the patent in 1900 and sued Kodak for infringement. Kodak ultimately lost the suit, which lasted over a decade and cost the company $ 5 Million. Eastman paid close attention to Kodak's advertisements. He coined the slogan, “ You press the button, we do the rest ”, which became ubiquitous in the general public. As Kodak pursued a monopoly on film through patents and acquisitions,
24300-441: Was originally made from cotton (as the source of cellulose) but contemporary methods use highly processed cellulose from wood pulp . While guncotton is dangerous to store, the hazards it presents can be minimized by storing it dampened with various liquids, such as alcohol. For this reason, accounts of guncotton usage dating from the early 20th century refer to "wet guncotton." The power of guncotton made it suitable for blasting. As
24462-454: Was rapidly using up its cash reserves, stoking fears of bankruptcy; it had $ 957 million in cash in June 2011, down from $ 1.6 billion in January 2001. Later that year, Kodak reportedly explored selling off or licensing its vast portfolio of patents to stave off bankruptcy. In December 2011, two board members who had been appointed by KKR resigned. By January 2012, analysts suggested that
24624-469: Was renamed Carestream Health . In 2010, Kodak was removed from the S&;P 500 . In the face of growing debts and falling revenues, Kodak also turned to patent litigation to generate revenue. In 2010, it received $ 838 million from patent licensing that included a settlement with LG . Between 2010 and 2012, Kodak and Apple sued each other in multiple patent infringement lawsuits. By 2011, Kodak
24786-479: Was reorganized as the Eastman Company In 1889, and then incorporated as Eastman Kodak in 1892. Eastman recognized that most of his revenue would come from the sale of additional film rolls, rather than camera sales, and focused on film production. By providing quality and affordable film to every camera manufacturer, Kodak managed to turn competitors into de facto business partners. In 1889 he patented
24948-429: Was sold to Truesense Imaging Inc. On September 3, 2013, Kodak announced that it emerged from bankruptcy as a technology company focused on imaging for business. Its main business segments would be Digital Printing & Enterprise and Graphics, Entertainment & Commercial Films. Kodak's decline and bankruptcy were damaging to the Rochester area. Its jobs were largely replaced with lower-paying ones, contributing to
25110-505: Was spared from its worst effects as banks were able to remain solvent. Seventeen percent of the company's employees were laid off between 1929 and 1933. Company founder George Eastman committed suicide at his home on March 14, 1932, due to his declining health. From 1931 to 1936, Kodak participated in the Rochester Plan, a privately funded unemployment insurance program to assist the jobless and boost consumer spending. The program
25272-428: Was sustained during the 20th century by new innovations in film and cameras, including the Brownie camera, which was marketed to children. Eastman took interest in color photography in 1904, and funded experiments in color film production for the next decade. The resulting product, created by John Capstaff, was a two-color process named Kodachrome. Later, in 1935, Kodak would release the more famous second Kodachrome ,
25434-425: Was that it was no more of a fire risk than paper (the stock is often referred to as "non-flam": this is true—but it is combustible, just not in as volatile or as dangerous a way as nitrate), while it almost matched the cost and durability of nitrate. It remained in almost exclusive use in all film gauges until the 1980s, when polyester / PET film began to supersede it for intermediate and release printing. Polyester
25596-458: Was the employer of choice for most. The company continued offering higher wages and more benefits than labor market competitors, including the annual wage dividend, a bonus for all employees which typically amounted to 15% of base salary. Employee loyalty was strong, and the company experienced a turnover rate of only 13% in the 1950s, compared to 50% for American manufacturers as a whole. Journalist Curt Gerling noted that Kodak employees behaved like
25758-438: Was then placed in a cylinder of liquid and heated. Pressure was applied to the liquid in the cylinder, which resulted in a uniform compression on the nitrocellulose mass, compressing it into a uniform sphere as the heat vaporized the solvents. The ball was then cooled and turned to make a uniform sphere. In light of the explosive results, this process was called the "Hyatt gun method". An overheated container of dry nitrocellulose
25920-555: Was then slowly dried at a temperature below 40 °C (104 °F). Schönbein collaborated with the Frankfurt professor Rudolf Christian Böttger , who had discovered the process independently in the same year. By coincidence, a third chemist, the Brunswick professor F. J. Otto had also produced guncotton in 1846 and was the first to publish the process, much to the disappointment of Schönbein and Böttger. The patent rights for
26082-484: Was used by Copenhagen Suborbitals on several missions as a means of jettisoning components of the rocket/space capsule and deploying recovery systems. However, after several missions and flights, it proved not to have the desired explosive properties in a near vacuum environment. In 2014, the Philae comet lander failed to deploy its harpoons because its 0.3 grams of nitrocellulose propulsion charges failed to fire during
26244-432: Was visiting to collect insurance payments from several members of the staff. He arrived at the scene to find the workforce shocked and upset. At least one chronicler said that Eastman's fear of senility or other debilitating diseases of old age was a contributing factor to his action. Eastman's funeral was held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Rochester; his coffin was carried out to Charles Gounod 's "Marche Romaine". It
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