George eastman facts for kids

George 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. When Thomas Edison and other film producers formed the Motion Picture Patents Company in , George Eastman negotiated for Kodak to be sole supplier of film to the industry. George Eastman took interest in color photography in , and funded experiments in color film production for the next decade.

George Eastman had a long platonic relationship with Josephine Dickman, a trained singer and the wife of business associate George Dickman. George Eastman became especially close to Dickman after the death of his mother, Maria Eastman, in George Eastman was an avid traveler, enjoyed music and social gatherings, and had a passion for playing the piano.

In , George Eastman founded the Bureau of Municipal Research in Rochester to gather information and make government policy recommendations. George Eastman was chairman of the National Committee on Calendar Simplification and his calendar was one of two finalists from more than to be presented to the League of Nations. In George Eastman gave up his daily management of Kodak and officially retired as president.

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 He was also an avid traveler, enjoyed music and social gatherings, and had 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. He continued to honor her after her death. On September 4, , 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. Eastman was a presidential elector in [ 33 ] and The agency was later renamed the Center for Governmental Research and continues to carry out that mission. In , Eastman established the Eastman Savings and Loan to provide financial services to Kodak employees.

In the s, Eastman was involved in calendar reform and supported the month per year International Fixed Calendar developed by Moses B. He secretly funded Cotsworth for a year and then openly supported him and the 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. He was chairman of the National Committee on Calendar Simplification. In 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. Preferring to remain anonymous, he made donations under the alias "Mr.

In , he endowed the establishment of the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, and in a school of medicine and dentistry there. In , he founded the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra , hiring its first music director Albert Coates. 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. Eastman also funded Eastmaninstitutet , a dental care clinic for children opened in 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. Kodak hired virtually no black employees during Eastman's lifetime, and a commission of the New York State Legislature on living conditions of African Americans found that Kodak had only a single black employee.

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 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 during the final two years of her life in a wheelchair, [ 6 ] 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. As a result of his pain, Eastman suffered from depression. On March 14, , Eastman died by suicide with a single gunshot through the heart.

His suicide note read, "To my friends, my work is done — Why wait? 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.

Eastman's funeral was held at St. It was buried in the grounds of the company he founded, at what is now known as Eastman Business Park. 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 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 block of Hollywood Boulevard and the other one on the west side of the block of Vine Street. Both recognize the same achievement, that he developed bromide paper , which became a standard of the film industry.

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 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.

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. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects.

George eastman facts for kids

Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. American entrepreneur, inventor, and photographer — For other uses, see George Eastman disambiguation. Waterville, New York , U. Rochester, New York , U. Photography pioneer Founder of Eastman Kodak. Early life [ edit ]. Career [ edit ]. Founding of Kodak [ edit ]. Growth of film industry [ edit ]. Personal life [ edit ].

Later years [ edit ]. Philanthropy [ edit ]. Views on race [ edit ]. Infirmity and suicide [ edit ]. Legacy [ edit ]. Patents [ edit ]. Honors and commemorations [ edit ]. Medallion depicting Eastman hanging in the entrance hall of Eastmaninstitutet. George Eastman commemorative issue, A first day cover honoring Eastman, Meridian marker and Eastman memorial.

Representation in other media [ edit ]. See also [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. The Atlantic. Retrieved January 8, Eastman was a presidential elector in and Eastman was associated with the Kodak company in an administrative and a business executive capacity until his death; he contributed much to the development of its notable research facilities.

In he founded the Eastman Trust and Savings Bank. In the s, he was involved in calendar reform and supported the month per year International Fixed Calendar developed by Moses B. By , the Kodak Company implemented the calendar in its business bookkeeping, and continued to use it until He was chairman of the National Committee on Calendar Simplification and his calendar was one of two finalists out of over to be presented to the League of Nations.

With his death and the looming tensions of WWII, it was dropped from consideration. In , he endowed the establishment of the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, and in a school of medicine and dentistry there. In , he founded the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, hiring its first music director Albert Coates. In Eastman gave up his daily management of Kodak to become treasurer.

He concentrated on philanthropic activities, to which he had already donated substantial sums. For example, he donated funds to establish the Eastman Dental Dispensary in He ranked slightly behind Andrew Carnegie , John D. Rockefeller , and a few others in his philanthropy, but did not seek publicity for his activities. He concentrated on institution-building and causes that could help people's health.

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 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, a dental care clinic for children opened in in Stockholm , Sweden. Being an astute business man, Eastman focused his company on making film when competition heated up in the camera industry. By providing quality and affordable film to every camera manufacturer, Kodak managed to turn its competitors into de facto business partners.

In , Eastman founded a bureau of municipal research in Rochester "to get things done for the community" and to serve as an "independent, non-partisan agency for keeping citizens informed". Called the Center for Governmental Research, the agency continues to carry out that mission. He was one of the major philanthropists in the United States during his lifetime.

The Rochester Institute of Technology has a building dedicated to Eastman, 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 also made substantial gifts to the Tuskegee Institute and the Hampton Institute in Alabama and Virginia, respectively.

Security Trust Company of Rochester was the executor of Eastman's estate.