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{{short description|American entrepreneur, inventor, and photographer (1854–1932)}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = George Eastman
| image              = File:George Eastman 7.jpg
| caption            = Eastman in 1917
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1854|07|12}}
| birth_place        = [[Waterville, New York]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|1932|03|14|1854|07|12}}
| death_place        = [[Rochester, New York]], U.S.
| resting_place      = Ashes buried at [[Eastman Business Park]] (Kodak Park)
| other_names        = 
| occupation         = Businessman, inventor, philanthropist
| known_for          = {{ubl|Photography pioneer|Founder of [[Eastman Kodak]]}}
| signature          = George Eastman Signature.png
| footnotes          = 
}}

'''George Eastman ''' (July 12, 1854{{spnd}}March 14, 1932) was an American innovator and entrepreneur who founded the [[Kodak|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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tiffany |first=Kaitlyn |date=July 2021 |title=The Rise and Fall of an American Tech Giant |work=[[The Atlantic]] |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/07/kodak-rochester-new-york/619009/ |access-date=January 8, 2023}}</ref> Working as the treasurer and later president of Kodak, he oversaw 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 the second campus of [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT) on the [[Charles River]], and [[Tuskegee University]] and [[Hampton University]], two [[historically black universities]] in [[Southern United States|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 the heart, leaving a note which read, "To my friends: my work is done. Why wait?"<ref name="PBSGeorge">{{Citation |last=Peers |first=Juliette |title=The Lindsay Family (1870–1958) |year=2016 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781135000356-rem1589-1 |access-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106054015/https://www.rem.routledge.com/articles/the-lindsay-family-1870-1958 |archive-date=November 6, 2021 |url-status=live |place=London |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781135000356-rem1589-1 |isbn=978-1-135-00035-6 |author-link=Juliette Peers |encyclopedia=Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Eastman is regarded as one of the most influential and well-known residents of [[Rochester, New York]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lahman |first=Sean |date=May 25, 2021 |title=George Eastman, who changed the world, still the titan of Remarkable Rochesterians |work=[[Democrat and Chronicle]] |url=https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2021/05/25/famous-people-rochester-ny-george-eastman-remarkable-rochesterians/4974804001/ |access-date=January 8, 2023}}</ref> 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]].

==Early life==
[[File:GeorgeEastmanBoyhoodHomeFrontViewOblique.JPG|thumb|Eastman's boyhood home, relocated from Waterville to the [[Genesee Country Village and Museum]]]]
Eastman was born in [[Waterville, New York]],<ref>{{cite book|last=McNellis|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CONJjFMvLZYC&pg=PA147|title=Reflections on Big Spring: A History of Pittsford, NY, and the Genesee River Valley|year=2010|publisher=[[AuthorHouse]]|isbn=978-1-4520-4358-6|page=147|oclc=1124409654|access-date=October 1, 2016|archive-date=May 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513093623/https://books.google.com/books?id=CONJjFMvLZYC&pg=PA147|url-status=live}}</ref> as the youngest child of George Washington Eastman and Maria Eastman (née Kilbourn), at the {{convert|10|acre|adj=on}} farm which his parents had bought in 1849. He had two older sisters, Ellen Maria and Katie.<ref name="Brayer2006">Brayer, Elizabeth (1996). pp. 12–19</ref> He was largely self-educated, although he attended a private school in Rochester after the age of eight.<ref name="Brayer2006"/>

In the early 1840s, his father had started a business school, the Eastman Commercial College in [[Rochester, New York]]. The city became one of the first "boomtowns" in the United States, based on its rapid industrialization.<ref name="Brayer2006"/> As his father's health started deteriorating, the family gave up the farm and moved to Rochester in 1860.<ref name="Brayer2006"/> His father died of a brain disorder on April 27, 1862. To survive and afford George's schooling, his mother took in boarders.<ref name="Brayer2006"/>

The second daughter, Katie, had contracted [[polio]] when young and died in late 1870 when George 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.<ref name="PBSMaria">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/key-figures-eastmans-life/|title=Key Figures in Eastman's Life|last=Lindsay|first=David|work=American Experience|publisher=PBS|access-date=August 5, 2012|archive-date=October 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013075739/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/key-figures-eastmans-life//|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Career==
{{See also|Kodak#History}}

=== Founding of Kodak ===
[[File:Kodak ad 1888.GIF|thumb|right|An advertisement from 1888 of the first [[Kodak]] camera]]
While working as a bank clerk in the 1870s, Eastman became interested in photography. After receiving lessons from George Monroe and [[George B. Selden|George Selden]], he developed a machine for coating [[dry plate]]s in 1879.<ref>Brayer, Elizabeth (1996). pp. 27–29</ref> In 1881, he founded the Eastman Dry Plate Company with [[Henry Strong (Kodak)|Henry Strong]] to sell plates, with Strong as company president and Eastman as treasurer, where he handled most executive functions.<ref>Brayer, Elizabeth (1996). p. 37</ref> 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 a camera to use the rolls.<ref>Brayer, Elizabeth (1996). pp. 43–44</ref> In 1888, he patented and released the [[Kodak]] camera ("Kodak" being a word Eastman created).<ref>Brayer, Elizabeth (1996). p. 63</ref> 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 the camera, and send the camera and the prints to the photographer.<ref name=":2">Collins, Douglas (1990). pp. 56–60</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Fred R. |title=You press the button...we do the rest |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1959/11/16/you-press-the-buttonwe-do-the-rest |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513093615/https://vault.si.com/vault/1959/11/16/you-press-the-buttonwe-do-the-rest |archive-date=May 13, 2020 |access-date=April 2, 2020 |website=Sports Illustrated Vault {{!}} SI.com |language=en-us}}</ref>

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.<ref>Brayer, Elizabeth (1996). p. 66</ref> The rapidly-growing Eastman Dry Plate Company was reorganized as the Eastman Company in 1889,<ref name="aipcinema.com2">{{Cite web |title=Kodak Film History {{!}} Chronology of Motion Picture Films – 1889 to 1939 |url=http://www.aipcinema.com/ficheiros/Conteudos/KODAK_FILM_HISTORY.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515033307/http://www.aipcinema.com/ficheiros/Conteudos/KODAK_FILM_HISTORY.pdf |archive-date=May 15, 2013 |access-date=December 7, 2018 |website=aipcinema.com}}</ref> and then incorporated as Eastman Kodak in 1892.<ref name="Brayer, Elizabeth 1996 pp. 89">Brayer, Elizabeth (1996). pp. 89–91</ref><ref name="Gale2">"George Eastman." ''Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History''. Edited by Thomas Carson and Mary Bonk. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 1999. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, January 26, 2018.</ref>

=== Growth of film industry===
[[File:George Eastman founder of Eastman Kodak Company.jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait of Eastman by [[Paul Nadar]], 1890]]
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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Heineman |first=Ted |date=2009 |title=George Eastman |url=http://www.riversidecemeteryjournal.com/People/People/page70.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317202930/http://www.riversidecemeteryjournal.com/People/People/page70.html |archive-date=March 17, 2016 |access-date=March 23, 2018 |website=Riverside Cemetery Journal}}</ref> In 1889 he patented the processes for the first [[nitrocellulose]] film along with chemist Henry Reichenbach.<ref>Brayer, Elizabeth (1996). pp. 69–70</ref> Several [[patent infringement]] lawsuits would preoccupy Eastman and his lawyers in subsequent years, including one from Reichenbach after he was fired in 1892.<ref name="Brayer, Elizabeth 1996 pp. 89"/> The largest lawsuit would come from rival film producer [[Ansco]]. Inventor [[Hannibal Goodwin]] had filed a patent for nitrocellulose film in 1887, before Eastman and Reichenbach's, but it was not granted until 1898.<ref>Brayer, Elizabeth (1996). pp. 55, 191–192</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 27, 1914 |title=Eastman Co. Settles Case  |pages=1 |work=[[New York Times]] |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/03/27/100416785.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |access-date=January 5, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=McKelvey |first=Blake |date=January 1959 |title=The Rochester Area in American History |url=https://www.libraryweb.org/~rochhist/v21_1959/v21i1.pdf |journal=Rochester History |publisher=Rochester Public Library |volume=XXI |issue=1 |page=14}}</ref>

Eastman paid close attention to Kodak's advertisements. He coined the slogan, "[[You Press the Button, We Do the Rest|You press the button, we do the rest]]", which became ubiquitous in the general public.<ref>Brayer, Elizabeth (1996). p. 71</ref>
[[File:Eastman Kodak HQ 1900.jpg|thumb|right|The Kodak factory and main office in [[Rochester, New York|Rochester]], {{circa}} 1900–1910]]
As Kodak pursued a [[monopoly]] on film through patents and acquisitions, the company experienced rapid growth. By 1896, Kodak was the leading supplier of film stock internationally,<ref name="aipcinema.com2" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Barnes |first=Joseph |date=April 1973 |title=The City's Golden Age |url=https://www.libraryweb.org/~rochhist/v35_1973/v35i2.pdf |journal=Rochester History |publisher=Rochester Public Library |volume=XXXV |issue=2 |pages=5–6}}</ref> One of the largest markets for film became the emerging [[Film industry|motion picture industry]]. When [[Thomas Edison]] and other film producers formed the [[Motion Picture Patents Company]] in 1908, Eastman negotiated for Kodak to be the sole supplier of film to the industry.<ref>Collins, Douglas (1990). pp. 139–143</ref> His monopolistic actions attracted the attention of the federal government, which began an [[United States antitrust law|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 judgment in 1921, ordering Kodak to stop fixing prices and sell many of its interests.<ref>Collins, Douglas (1990). pp. 148, 150, 158–159</ref>

Kodak's growth was sustained during the 20th century by innovations in film and cameras, including the [[Kodak Brownie|Brownie]] camera, which was marketed to children.<ref>Brayer, Elizabeth (1996). pp. 204–206</ref> Eastman took interest in [[color photography]] in 1904,<ref>Brayer, Elizabeth (1996). p. 217</ref> 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.<ref>Brayer, Elizabeth (1996). pp. 223–224</ref> Later, in 1935, Kodak would release the more famous second [[Kodachrome]], the first marketed integral tripack film.<ref>Collins, Douglas (1990). pp. 213–214</ref> During [[World War I]], Eastman established a photographic school in Rochester to train pilots for [[aerial reconnaissance]].<ref>Collins, Douglas (1990). pp. 150–151</ref>

In an era of growing trade union activities, Eastman sought to counter the union movement by anticipating worker demands. To this end, he implemented several worker benefit programs, including a welfare fund to provide workmen's compensation in 1910 and a profit-sharing program for all employees in 1912.<ref name="Gale2" /><ref>Brayer, Elizabeth (1996). pp. 354–355</ref><ref>Collins, Douglas (1990). p. 191</ref>

==Personal life==
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 a passion for playing the piano.<ref name=Brayer2006/>

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 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.<ref name=PBSMaria/>

==Later years==
[[File:Will H Hays & George Eastman - Feb 1923 ETR.jpg|thumb|right|Eastman with [[Will H. Hays]] at the gardens of Eastman's home in Rochester, 1922]]
Eastman was a [[United States Electoral College|presidential elector]] in [[1900 United States presidential election in New York|1900]]<ref>{{Cite news|date=January 14, 1901|title=Electors to Cast Vote|volume=LX|page=1|work=[[New-York Tribune]]|issue=19783|location=New York|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1901-01-14/ed-1/seq-1/|via=[[Chronicling America]]}}</ref> and [[1916 United States presidential election in New York|1916]].<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/11/27/301941292.pdf "Electors Forget the Law"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''. November 27, 1916.</ref> In 1915, Eastman founded the Bureau of Municipal Research in Rochester to gather information and make government policy recommendations. The agency was later renamed the [[Center for Governmental Research]] and continues to carry out that mission.<ref>{{cite web |title=About CGR |url=http://www.cgr.org/about.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028095652/http://www.cgr.org/about.aspx |archive-date=October 28, 2007 |access-date=September 1, 2011 |website=[[Center for Governmental Research]]}}</ref> In 1924, Eastman and the Bureau supported a referendum to change Rochester's government to a city manager system, which passed.<ref>Brayer, Elizabeth (1996). pp. 382–385</ref>

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]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Oklobzija |first=Kevin |date=November 12, 2020 |title=ESL's mission remains the same after 100 years: To build a prosperous community |work=Rochester Business Journal |url=https://rbj.net/2020/11/12/esls-mission-remains-the-same-after-100-years-to-build-a-prosperous-community/ |access-date=January 7, 2023}}</ref>

In the 1920s, Eastman was involved in [[calendar reform]] and supported the 13-month per year [[International Fixed Calendar]] developed by [[Moses B. Cotsworth]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/3490|title=University of Rochester Library Bulletin: George Eastman, A Bibliographical Essay of Selected References &#124; RBSCP|access-date=October 20, 2021|archive-date=October 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020225309/https://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/3490|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 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.<ref>Cook, Anna J. (August 1, 2024) A Man Beyond Time: Moses B. Cotsworth's fight for the 13-month calendar, Independent Publishing Network ISBN 978-1-80517-720-3</ref> 

Eastman wrote several articles to promote the 13-month system, including "Problems of Calendar Improvement" in ''[[Scientific American]]''<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/problems-of-calendar-improvement/ |title=Problems of Calendar Improvement - Scientific American |website=[[Scientific American]] |date=June 1931 |access-date=October 25, 2021 |archive-date=November 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106053916/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/problems-of-calendar-improvement/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/24975703|jstor = 24975703|title = Problems of Calendar Improvement|last1 = Eastman|first1 = George|journal = Scientific American|year = 1931|volume = 144|issue = 6|pages = 382–385|doi = 10.1038/scientificamerican0631-382|bibcode = 1931SciAm.144..382E|access-date = October 25, 2021|archive-date = November 6, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211106053911/https://www.jstor.org/stable/24975703|url-status = live|url-access = subscription}}</ref> and "The Importance of Calendar Reform to the Business World" in ''Nation's Business''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Eastman |first=George |date=May 1926 |title=The Importance of Calendar Reform to the Business World |url=https://myweb.ecu.edu/mccartyr/eastman.html |journal=Nation's Business |pages=42, 46}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://qumrancalendar.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/report-of-the-national-committee-on-calendar-simplification-1929.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=October 25, 2021 |archive-date=October 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025170127/https://qumrancalendar.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/report-of-the-national-committee-on-calendar-simplification-1929.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20151222-the-case-for-an-entirely-new-calendar|title=The case for an entirely new calendar|access-date=October 25, 2021|archive-date=October 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025172103/https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20151222-the-case-for-an-entirely-new-calendar|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-12-11/the-death-and-life-of-the-13-month-calendar |title=The Death and Life of the 13-Month Calendar |website=[[Bloomberg News]] |date=December 11, 2014 |access-date=October 25, 2021 |archive-date=October 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025170618/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-12-11/the-death-and-life-of-the-13-month-calendar |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1925, Eastman gave up his daily management of Kodak and officially retired as president. He remained associated with the company in a business executive capacity, as the chairman of the board, until his death.<ref>Brayer, Elizabeth (1996). pp. 484, 498</ref>

=== Philanthropy ===
During his lifetime, Eastman donated $100&nbsp;million to various organizations, becoming one of the major philanthropists in the United States during his lifetime.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zinsmeister |first=Karl |title=George Eastman |url=https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/almanac/people/hall-of-fame/detail/george-eastman |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108184838/https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/almanac/people/hall-of-fame/detail/george-eastman |archive-date=November 8, 2018 |access-date=March 9, 2020 |website=[[Philanthropy Roundtable]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Ford">{{cite book |last=Ford |first=Carin T. |title=George Eastman: The Kodak Camera Man |publisher=[[Enslow Publishing]] |year=2004 |isbn=0-7660-2247-1 |location=Berkeley Heights, NJ |oclc=52091133}}</ref> 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 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 (musician)|Albert Coates]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |date=June 12, 1923 |title=Eastman Engages Conductor Coates; Famous British Musician to Direct the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. His First Concert Jan. 16 Guest Conductor of Symphony Society, Who Made a Deep Impression Here, Sails for London Today |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/06/12/archives/eastman-engages-conductor-coates-famous-british-musician-to-direct.html |url-status=live |access-date=January 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029172858/https://www.nytimes.com/1923/06/12/archives/eastman-engages-conductor-coates-famous-british-musician-to-direct.html |archive-date=October 29, 2021}}</ref> Figured for its value in 1932, the year of Eastman's death, $100 million is equivalent to more than $2 billion in 2022.<ref>"$100,000 in 1932 is Worth $2,133,047.45 Today", 
https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1932?amount=100000</ref>
[[File:Eastmanistitutet 2008g.jpg|thumb|right|[[Eastmaninstitutet]] (''The Eastman Institute'') in Stockholm, Sweden]]
In 1915, Eastman provided funds for the establishment of the [[Eastman Dental Dispensary]] in Rochester.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Eastman Institute for Oral Health |url=https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/dentistry/about/history.aspx |access-date=January 7, 2023 |website=UR Medicine}}</ref> 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 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]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Black|first=Nick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YKlUuwX8xCEC&pg=PA83|title=Walking London's Medical History|publisher=[[Royal Society of Medicine Press]]|year=2006|isbn=978-1-85315-619-9|location=London|oclc=76817853|access-date=October 1, 2016|archive-date=March 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327105436/https://books.google.com/books?id=YKlUuwX8xCEC&pg=PA83|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=January 2023}} In 1929 he founded the George Eastman Visiting Professorship at [[Oxford University|Oxford]], to be held each year by a different American scholar of the highest distinction. Eastman also funded [[Eastmaninstitutet]], a dental care clinic for children opened in 1937 in Stockholm, Sweden.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X20uAQAAIAAJ&q=Eastmaninstitutet |title=Sociallagstiftning och socialt arbete i Sverige |date=1937 |publisher=[[National Board of Health and Welfare (Sweden)]] |pages=162 |language=sv |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

=== Views on race ===
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."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gleason |first=Marion |date=1971 |title=The George Eastman I Knew |url=https://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/3593 |journal=University of Rochester Library Bulletin |volume=XXVI |issue=3}}</ref> Although he made generous donations to the [[Hampton University|Hampton Institute]] and [[Tuskegee University|Tuskegee Institute]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Ackerman |first=Carl W. |title=George Eastman : Founder of Kodak and the photography business |date=2000 |publisher=BeardBooks |isbn=1-893122-99-9 |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=466 |oclc=58845378 |orig-year=1930}}</ref> becoming their largest donor in his era,<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Justin |date=June 7, 2021 |title=George Eastman created Rochester's middle class. Why was the Black community left behind? |pages=1, 18A |work=[[Democrat and Chronicle]] |url=https://www.democratandchronicle.com/in-depth/news/2021/06/07/george-eastman-kodak-rochester-ny-legacy-black-race-relations-philanthropy/4755198001/ |access-date=January 5, 2023}}</ref> he also upheld and reinforced the de facto [[Racial segregation|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.<ref>New York (State). Temporary commission on the condition of the colored urban population. (1939). ''Second report of the New York state Temporary commission on the condition of the colored urban population to the legislature of the state of New York, February 1939,'' p. 41. Albany: J. B. Lyon Company.</ref> 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 a direct appeal from president [[Walter Francis White|Walter White]] in 1929.<ref name=":1" />

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".<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Spiro |first=Jonathan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H7lRrCIcsncC&pg=PA353 |title=Defending the Master Race: Conservation, Eugenics, and the Legacy of Madison Grant |publisher=[[UPNE]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-58465-810-8 |pages=182, 353 |access-date=October 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413210831/https://books.google.com/books?id=H7lRrCIcsncC&pg=PA353 |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Infirmity and suicide==
[[File:GeorgeEastmanMonumentEastSide.JPG|thumb|Memorial at [[Eastman Business Park|Kodak Park]] in Rochester. Eastman's ashes lie beneath the [[Creole marble|Georgia marble]] monument]]
In his final two years, Eastman was in intense pain due to a disorder affecting his [[Spine (anatomy)|spine]]. He had trouble standing, and his walk became a slow shuffle. Today, it might be diagnosed as a form of [[degenerative disease]] such as [[disc herniation]]s 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 during the final two years of her life in a wheelchair,<ref name=PBSMaria/> she also may have had a spine condition, but that is uncertain. Only her [[uterine cancer]] and successful surgery are documented in her health history.<ref name=Brayer2006/>

As a result of his pain, Eastman suffered from [[Major depressive disorder|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."<ref name="PBSGeorge"/>

Raymond Granger, an insurance salesman in Rochester, 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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sandburg|first=Carl|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEw4BgAAQBAJ&pg=PT229|title=The people, yes|publisher=[[Harcourt, Brace and Company]]|year=1990|isbn=978-0-544-41692-5|edition=First Harvest|location=Boston|chapter=Chapter 7|oclc=900606927|orig-year=1936|access-date=June 30, 2016|archive-date=August 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801231101/https://books.google.com/books?id=uEw4BgAAQBAJ&pg=PT229|url-status=live}}</ref>

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 was buried in the grounds of the company he founded, at what is now known as [[Eastman Business Park]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Quigley|first=Kathleen|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/18/travel/splendor-restored-at-eastman-house.html?pagewanted=all|title=Splendor Restored At Eastman House|date=March 18, 1990|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 9, 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115205646/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/18/travel/splendor-restored-at-eastman-house.html?pagewanted=all|archive-date=November 15, 2017}}</ref>

The [[Security Trust Company of Rochester]] was the [[executor]] of Eastman's estate.<ref>{{cite news |last=Morrell |first=Alan |date=January 7, 2017 |title=Whatever Happened To&nbsp;... Security Trust? |work=[[Democrat and Chronicle]] |url=http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2017/01/07/whatever-happened-security-trust/96276842/ |url-status=live |access-date=November 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924012603/https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2017/01/07/whatever-happened-security-trust/96276842/ |archive-date=September 24, 2020}}</ref> His entire estate was bequeathed to the University of Rochester.<ref>{{cite web |date=January 31, 2017 |title=After 40 years, two collections of George Eastman's papers reunite at the George Eastman Museum |url=https://eastman.org/after-40-years-two-collections-george-eastman%E2%80%99s-papers-reunite-george-eastman-museum |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809133637/https://www.eastman.org/after-40-years-two-collections-george-eastman%E2%80%99s-papers-reunite-george-eastman-museum |archive-date=August 9, 2017 |access-date=July 11, 2017 |publisher=[[George Eastman Museum]]}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:Statue of George Eastman at the University of Rochester.jpg|thumb|right|Statue of Eastman at 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 was finally published in 1996.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Brayer, Elizabeth (1996). pp. 397–398</ref>

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 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 25, 2019 |title=Hollywood Walk of Fame – George Eastman, cited on April 5, 2021 |url=https://walkoffame.com/george-eastman/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413202802/https://walkoffame.com/george-eastman/ |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |access-date=April 5, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hollywood Star Walk – George Eastman |url=http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/george-eastman/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413201138/http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/george-eastman/ |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |access-date=April 5, 2021 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>

The Eastman Quadrangle of the River Campus of the University of Rochester is named for Eastman.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rochester.edu/aboutus/campus.html | title=University of Rochester: Campuses and Landmarks | publisher=[[University of Rochester]] | access-date=November 15, 2017 | archive-date=November 14, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114010712/http://www.rochester.edu/aboutus/campus.html | url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Rochester Institute of Technology]] has a building dedicated to him, in recognition of his support and substantial donations. MIT installed a [[:File:George Eastman plaque.jpg|plaque of Eastman]] on one of the buildings he funded. (Students rub the nose of Eastman's image on the plaque for good luck.)<ref name=":0" />

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 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]],<ref>{{NRISref|2007a|name=George Eastman House|refnum=66000529}}</ref> 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 is displayed at the [[Genesee Country Village and Museum]].<ref>{{Cite web| title=Genesee Country Village and Museum| url=https://www.gcv.org/| publisher=Genesee Country Village| access-date=November 9, 2015| archive-date=December 19, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151219005203/https://www.gcv.org/| url-status=live}}</ref>

==Patents==
*{{US patent|226503}} "Method and Apparatus for Coating Plates", filed September 1879, issued April 1880.
*{{US patent|306470}} "Photographic Film", filed May 10, 1884, issued October 14, 1884.
*{{US patent|306594}} "Photographic Film", filed March 7, 1884, issued October 14, 1884.
*{{US patent|317049}} (with William H. Walker) "Roll Holder for Photographic Films", filed August 1884, issued May 1885.
*{{US patent|388850}} "Camera", filed March 1888, issued September 1888.
*Eastman licensed, then purchased {{US patent|248179}} "Photographic Apparatus" ([[roll film]] holder), filed June 21, 1881, issued October 11, 1881, to David H. Houston.

==Honors and commemorations==
*In 1930 he was awarded the [[American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal]].
*In 1934, the George Eastman Monument at Kodak Park (now Eastman Business Park) was unveiled.<ref>{{cite news | date = April 2, 2014 | title = Eastman monument a reminder of what was, what could be | url = http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/local/columnists/memmott/2014/04/01/eastman-monument-reminder/7177703/ | work = [[Democrat and Chronicle]] | location = [[Rochester, New York]] | page = 1B | access-date = July 4, 2017 | archive-date = September 24, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200924031907/https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/local/columnists/memmott/2014/04/01/eastman-monument-reminder/7177703/ | url-status = live }}</ref>
*On July 12, 1954, the U.S. Post Office issued a three-cent [[commemorative stamp]] marking the 100th anniversary of Eastman's birth, which was first issued in Rochester, New York.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=1&cmd=1&tid=2029246|title=George Eastman Issue|date=1954|publisher=[[Smithsonian National Postal Museum]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202194231/http://arago.si.edu/category_2029246.html|archive-date=February 2, 2016|access-date=July 3, 2014}}</ref>
*Also in 1954, to commemorate Eastman's 100th birthday, the University of Rochester erected a [[Meridian arc|meridian marker]] near the center of Eastman Quadrangle on the campus of the [[University of Rochester]] using a gift from Eastman's former associate and University alumnus Charles F. Hutchison.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/1689|title=Hutchison (Charles F.) Collection|website=rbscp.lib.rochester.edu|publisher=[[University of Rochester]]|location=[[Rochester, New York]]|access-date=July 4, 2017|archive-date=November 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171129074553/https://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/1689|url-status=live}}</ref>
*In the fall of 2009, a statue of Eastman was erected approximately {{convert|60|ft|m|0}} north by northeast of the meridian marker on the Eastman Quadrangle of the University of Rochester.
*In 1966, the [[George Eastman House]] was designated a National Historic Landmark.
*The auditorium at the Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering at [[Mississippi State University]] is named for Eastman, in recognition of his inspiration to Swalm.
*In 1968, Eastman was inducted into the [[International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=George Eastman |url=https://iphf.org/inductees/george-eastman/ |access-date=July 22, 2022 |website=International Photography Hall of Fame |language=en-US}}</ref>
{|style="margin:1em auto;"
|[[File:Eastmanistitutet 2008f.jpg|thumb|{{center|Medallion depicting Eastman hanging in the entrance hall of Eastmaninstitutet}}|alt=|left]]
|[[File:George Eastman stamp 3c 1954 issue.JPG|thumb|{{center|George Eastman<br />commemorative issue, 1954}}|alt=|left]]
|[[File:USPOD George Eastman 1954 First Day Cover.jpg|thumb|300px|{{center|A [[First day of issue|first day cover]] honoring Eastman, 1954}}|alt=|center]]
|[[File:UniversityOfRochesterMeridianMarker.jpg|thumb|{{center|Meridian marker and Eastman memorial}}|alt=]]
|}

==Representation in other media==
*[[PBS]] [[American Experience]] produced an episode entitled ''The Wizard of Photography: The Story of George Eastman and How He Transformed Photography''. It first aired on May 22, 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Wizard of Photography |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/eastman/ |access-date=January 6, 2023 |website=PBS}}</ref>
*Several short documentary films about his life have been made and shown at the George Eastman Museum in Rochester.

==See also==
*[[Stanley Motor Carriage Company]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book |first=Carl W. |last=Ackerman |title=George Eastman: Founder of Kodak and the Photography Business |year=1930 |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Company]] |location=Boston and New York |url=https://archive.org/details/georgeeastman00acke_0 |url-access=registration |isbn=1-893-12299-9}}
*{{cite book |last1=Brayer |first1=Elizabeth |title=George Eastman: A Biography |date=1996 |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |location=Baltimore |url-access=registration |isbn=0801852633 |url=https://archive.org/details/georgeeastmanbio00bray}}
*{{Cite book |last=Collins |first=Douglas |url=https://archive.org/details/storyofkodak0000coll |title=The Story of Kodak |publisher=[[Abrams Books|Harry N. Abrams, Inc.]] |year=1990 |isbn=9780810912229 |edition=1st |location=[[New York City|New York]] |url-access=registration}}
*{{Cite book | first=Anna J | last=Cook | title=A Man Beyond Time: Moses Cotsworth's fight for the 13-month calendar | year=2024 | publisher=Independent Publishing Network | isbn=9781805177203}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|nm0247645|George Eastman}}
{{Commons category}} <!-- for current and future use if material is uploaded -->
{{EB1922 Poster|Eastman, George|George Eastman}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090216054701/https://www.library.rochester.edu/index.cfm?PAGE=864 George Eastman archive] at the University of Rochester
*[https://www.eastman.org George Eastman House] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202221955/https://www.eastman.org/ |date=December 2, 2021 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110714002908/http://legacy.eastmanhouse.org/ George Eastman: His Life, Legacy, and Estate], George Eastman House
*[http://www.ucl.ac.uk/eastman UCL Eastman Dental Institute], London
*[http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/dentistry Eastman Institute for Oral Health], University of Rochester, NY
* {{PM20|FID=pe/004424}}

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{{s-ttl|title=Treasurer of [[Eastman Kodak]]|years=1884–1921}}
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{{s-vac|last=[[Henry A. Strong]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of [[Eastman Kodak]]|years=1921 – April 7, 1925}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[List of covers of Time magazine (1920s)|Cover of ''Time'' magazine]]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eastman, George}}
[[Category:George Eastman| ]]
[[Category:1854 births]]
[[Category:1932 suicides]]
[[Category:1932 deaths]]
[[Category:Kodak people|*]]
[[Category:19th-century American inventors]]
[[Category:Pioneers of photography]]
[[Category:American company founders]]
[[Category:American media executives]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Rochester, New York]]
[[Category:Male suicides]]
[[Category:People from Waterville, New York]]
[[Category:Philanthropists from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Suicides by firearm in New York (state)]]
[[Category:19th-century American photographers]]<!--roll film inventor-->
[[Category:19th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:19th-century American scientists]]
[[Category:1900 United States presidential electors]]
[[Category:1916 United States presidential electors]]
[[Category:Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra]]
[[Category:Eastman School of Music]]
[[Category:American Eugenics Society members]]