Written by Ritam Need Batra, a grade 8 student

George Eastman was an American inventor and entrepreneur who founded the famous company, Eastman Kodak. It was known for making photography and film rolls and later cameras. This was before the digital revolution when cameras did not have memory cards, but films.

Eastman was born in a middle-class family to  George Washington Eastman and Maria Eastman. He invented the film roll in  1884, he and in 1888, he created the Kodak Black camera. He never married but he was close to his mother, his sister, and her family.

Eastman was a great leader of all time. He promoted a lady called Florence McAnaney to be head of the personnel department, making her one of the first women to hold an executive position in a big firm in the United States of America. He built a great company and was associated with the firm until his death; He went beyond the photography business and in1911, he established Eastman Trust and Saving Bank.

Moreover, he donated 200000 euros to establish a dental clinic in London. On November 20, 1931, the UCL Eastman Dental Institute opened in a ceremony attended by Neville Chamberlain, then Minister of Health and American Ambassador in the UK.

In his last years, Eastman suffered unbearable pain due to a disorder in his back. He committed suicide on 14 March 1932. He did this because he was very depressed due to the death of his mother, and the intense pain in his back.

In 1930 American Institute of Chemists Gold awarded him the Gold Medal and the George Eastman House was designated a National Historic Monument.

At last, I would like to say that Eastman was a great entrepreneur of his time. He had donated a lot towards the welfare of people.

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