George Eastman -- History of Research Proposal

However, Eastman needed him for the roller project, and together, they persisted.

In 1885, the Eastman-Walker Roll Holder received a patent. It revolutionized photography, allowing amateur photographers to take up to 50 photographs in an hour, and did away with the huge camera boxes and heavy glass plates of the era.

In 1885, to get rid of Walker's temper tantrums, but because he was a major stockholder, Eastman assigned him to manage the London office of Kodak. Walker introduced Eastman to the Dickmans of London in 1889. Several years later, as Walker's business sense drove the London office into the ground, and as Eastman finally tired of Walker's continual grumbling, Eastman fired him and replaced him with George Dickman.

How important was Walker to Eastman and the success of the Kodak company? He co-invented, with Eastman, one of the most successful creations that drove the profitability of the Kodak Company for many years. His mechanical ability allowed the roll holder to be mass produced inexpensively, and it worked flawlessly. However, as with Reichenbach, that's what he was hired to do and he was well-compensated for it. Probably, once again, the roll holder would have been invented but, most probably with some delay.What the impact of that would have been on the company, no one knows. Eastman's dependence on Walker's invention is undeniable. If not for the roll holder, the "portable, affordable camera" would not have been successful.

Conclusion

George Eastman concluded the last years of his life by traveling and by granting millions in contributions to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Rochester, and other institutions. When he learned that he would probably become an invalid for his remaining years due to a spinal problem, he chatted and joked with friends. Then he went into his bedroom, placed a pistol against his chest and shot himself in the heart.

Bibliography

Ackerman, C. George Eastman. Frederick, MD: Beard Books, 1930.

Brayer, E. George Eastman: A Biography. Baltimore, MD.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.

Goldman, P.B. "George Eastman 1854-1932." Various. MonkeyShines on Great Inventors. Toledo, OH: Great Neck Publishing, 1997. 69-70.

Johnston, P. "Exposing History: George Eastman." History Today (peer-reviewed) (1989): 3-4, Volume 39, Issue 12.

Johnston, Patricia. "George Eastman; Photography." Foner,….....