Timeline of Kodak History
By: Kevin Doran
Updated: February 9, 2012
Kodak will no longer manufacture cameras. It's like McDonald's not making hamburgers or Kleenex not making tissues. Kodak sold its first camera in 1888.
This is a brief timeline of important events in Kodak's 132 year history. For a more detailed timeline click here.
1878 - 24-year old Bank Clerk named George Eastman fell in love with photography and was obsessed making it easier.
1880 - Eastman perfects dry plate technology and gets a patent.
1883 - Eastman Dry Plate and Film company is opened at 343 State Street in Rochester,
1884 - To raise money Eastman sells 14 shares. Those people all became very rich.
1888 - The name "Kodak" is born. Sanp shot photography is invented with the Kodak box camera. It's marketed with the slogan, "You press the button, we do the rest."
1889 - Eastman creates the first roll of film.
1891 - Roll film made it possible for Thomas Edison to invent the motion picture camera.
1892 - The company name was changed to Eastman Kodak Company of New York.
Kodak starts selling overseas in France, Germany, and Italy. Builds a plant in London.
1898 - The Folding Pocket Kodak Camera. This is the father of modern roll-film cameras.
1900 - The Brownie camera was introduced at $1 each and films at 15 cents per roll. It makes hobby photography affordable.
1902 - Kodak Devloping Machine introduced to process roll film.
1907 - Kodak employs more than 5,000 worldwide.
1914 - The Kodak tower, the company's current headquarters, opens on State Street
1921 - Eastman introduces first xray film
1923 - Kodak introduced Kodacolor motion picture films, cameras and projectors and sold them at affordable prices. They give the U.S. government with aerial cameras and trained U.S. Signal Corps cameramen during World War 1.
1924 - Eastman gave away half his fortune, which totaled more than $75 million.
1927 - Eastman Kodak had a virtual monopoly of the photographic industry in the United States, and employs 20,000 worldwide
1929 - Kodak introduces the first motion picture film with sound.
1932 - George Eastman, 77, committed suicide. He left a note that says, "To my friends. My work is done. Why wait?" He left his entire estate to the University of Rochester. His home is today the George Eastman House Museum
1935 - Kodachrome Film introduced, the first commercially successful amateur color film.
1946 - Worldwide employment 60,000
1955 - Worldwide employment 73,000
1961 - The first Kodak Carousel slide projector is introduced.
1962 - At this time Kodak is investing heavily in research and development for cameras and medical imaging and graphic arts. Sales exceed $1 billion for first time.
1963 - Kodak Instamatic Camera introduced using cartridge loading film and no flashbulbs. Made photography easy and affordable for everyone. They would sell 50 million in the next decade.
1965 - Introduces X-ray processing system. Takes only 90 seconds.
1966 - Worldwide sales exceed $4 billion, employment 100,000.
1967 - Elmgrove plant opens in Gates.
1972 - Pocket sized Instamatic cameras introduced. They would sell more than 25 million cameras in less than three years.
1973 - Worldwide employment 120,000.
1975 - Kodak invents the first digital camera. It was the size of a toaster and captured black and white images at 10,000 pixels. (.01 megapixels.)
1981 - Sales top $10 billion.
1984 - Rochester employment peaks at 60,400.
1988 - Global payroll peaks at 145,300. (Over next 20 years Kodak would cut more than 125,000 jobs.)
1997 - Introduces the KODAK DC20. The first mega pixel quality, pocket size, point and shoot digital camera selling for under $1,000.
2000 - Elmgrove Plant is sold.
2001 - KODAK Easyshare system. Makes it easier to put digital pictures onto computer and printer.
2004 - Kodak begins digital makeover. It's ejected from the 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average. It cuts tens of thousands of jobs as it closes factories and changes businesses.
2007 - Sells Health Group to Onex corporation. Continues in rochester today under Carestream.
2008 - To raise money, Kodak begins selling its patent portfolio. They make $2 billion in fees over three years.
2010 - Kodak sues Apple and Research in Motion, claiming the smartphone makers are infringing its patent for technology. (that lets a camera preview low-resolution versions of a moving image while recording still images at higher resolutions.) Global employment falls to 18,800.
2011 - Kodak begins shopping around its 1,100 digital-imaging patents. Kodak hires Jones Day, a law firm that lists bankruptcies and restructuring among its stop specialties.
2012 - Kodak reorganizes into two groups; Commercial and Consumer. On January 19, 2012 Kodak files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
This is a brief timeline of important events in Kodak's 132 year history. For a more detailed timeline click here.
1878 - 24-year old Bank Clerk named George Eastman fell in love with photography and was obsessed making it easier.
1880 - Eastman perfects dry plate technology and gets a patent.
1883 - Eastman Dry Plate and Film company is opened at 343 State Street in Rochester,
1884 - To raise money Eastman sells 14 shares. Those people all became very rich.
1888 - The name "Kodak" is born. Sanp shot photography is invented with the Kodak box camera. It's marketed with the slogan, "You press the button, we do the rest."
1889 - Eastman creates the first roll of film.
1891 - Roll film made it possible for Thomas Edison to invent the motion picture camera.
1892 - The company name was changed to Eastman Kodak Company of New York.
Kodak starts selling overseas in France, Germany, and Italy. Builds a plant in London.
1898 - The Folding Pocket Kodak Camera. This is the father of modern roll-film cameras.
1900 - The Brownie camera was introduced at $1 each and films at 15 cents per roll. It makes hobby photography affordable.
1902 - Kodak Devloping Machine introduced to process roll film.
1907 - Kodak employs more than 5,000 worldwide.
1914 - The Kodak tower, the company's current headquarters, opens on State Street
1921 - Eastman introduces first xray film
1923 - Kodak introduced Kodacolor motion picture films, cameras and projectors and sold them at affordable prices. They give the U.S. government with aerial cameras and trained U.S. Signal Corps cameramen during World War 1.
1924 - Eastman gave away half his fortune, which totaled more than $75 million.
1927 - Eastman Kodak had a virtual monopoly of the photographic industry in the United States, and employs 20,000 worldwide
1929 - Kodak introduces the first motion picture film with sound.
1932 - George Eastman, 77, committed suicide. He left a note that says, "To my friends. My work is done. Why wait?" He left his entire estate to the University of Rochester. His home is today the George Eastman House Museum
1935 - Kodachrome Film introduced, the first commercially successful amateur color film.
1946 - Worldwide employment 60,000
1955 - Worldwide employment 73,000
1961 - The first Kodak Carousel slide projector is introduced.
1962 - At this time Kodak is investing heavily in research and development for cameras and medical imaging and graphic arts. Sales exceed $1 billion for first time.
1963 - Kodak Instamatic Camera introduced using cartridge loading film and no flashbulbs. Made photography easy and affordable for everyone. They would sell 50 million in the next decade.
1965 - Introduces X-ray processing system. Takes only 90 seconds.
1966 - Worldwide sales exceed $4 billion, employment 100,000.
1967 - Elmgrove plant opens in Gates.
1972 - Pocket sized Instamatic cameras introduced. They would sell more than 25 million cameras in less than three years.
1973 - Worldwide employment 120,000.
1975 - Kodak invents the first digital camera. It was the size of a toaster and captured black and white images at 10,000 pixels. (.01 megapixels.)
1981 - Sales top $10 billion.
1984 - Rochester employment peaks at 60,400.
1988 - Global payroll peaks at 145,300. (Over next 20 years Kodak would cut more than 125,000 jobs.)
1997 - Introduces the KODAK DC20. The first mega pixel quality, pocket size, point and shoot digital camera selling for under $1,000.
2000 - Elmgrove Plant is sold.
2001 - KODAK Easyshare system. Makes it easier to put digital pictures onto computer and printer.
2004 - Kodak begins digital makeover. It's ejected from the 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average. It cuts tens of thousands of jobs as it closes factories and changes businesses.
2007 - Sells Health Group to Onex corporation. Continues in rochester today under Carestream.
2008 - To raise money, Kodak begins selling its patent portfolio. They make $2 billion in fees over three years.
2010 - Kodak sues Apple and Research in Motion, claiming the smartphone makers are infringing its patent for technology. (that lets a camera preview low-resolution versions of a moving image while recording still images at higher resolutions.) Global employment falls to 18,800.
2011 - Kodak begins shopping around its 1,100 digital-imaging patents. Kodak hires Jones Day, a law firm that lists bankruptcies and restructuring among its stop specialties.
2012 - Kodak reorganizes into two groups; Commercial and Consumer. On January 19, 2012 Kodak files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
