IN THESE GROUPS
FAMOUS PEOPLE NAMED EASTMAN
FAMOUS PEOPLE BORN IN WATERVILLE
FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO STARTED BUSINESSES
FAMOUS PEOPLE NAMED GEORGE
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QUOTES
“What we do during our working hours determines what we have; what we do in our leisure hours determines what we are.”
—George Eastman
Synopsis
George Eastman was born on July 12, 1854, in Waterville, New York. In 1880, he opened the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company. His first camera, the Kodak, was sold in 1888 and consisted of a box camera with 100 exposures. Later he offered the first Brownie camera, which was intended for children. By 1927, Eastman Kodak was the largest U.S. company in the industry. Eastman committed suicide in 1932.
Early Life
Named after his father, George Eastman was born on July 12, 1854, in Waterville, New York. George Sr. had started a small business school, Eastman Commercial College, in Rochester, where he moved the family in 1860. But he died suddenly when George Jr. was 8. One of young George's two older sisters was wheelchair-bound from polio and died when George was 16.
George's mother, Mary, took in boarders to support the family, and George dropped out of high school at age 14 to add to the family income. He began as a messenger and office boy for insurance companies and studied accounting at home to qualify for a higher salary. He eventually landed a job as bookkeeper at the Rochester Savings Bank.