1909-1991

American inventor with over 500 optical and plastics patents who was the driving force behind the Polaroid Corporation. Land developed the polarizer Polaroid-J used in sunglasses and optical instruments. During World War II he developed the invaluable reconnaissance tool "vectography"—a three-dimensional photographic system. In 1947 he invented the first instant-developing film and the Polaroid-Land Camera, which produced prints in 60 seconds. Land also developed an optical system for observing living human cells in their natural colors.