Kodak is the American corporate photo giant whose film and imaging products are recognized worldwide. Headquartered in Rochester, New York, the Eastman Kodak Company (Kodak, for short) was incorporated in 1901 as the successor to the small dry-plate business founded in Rochester in 1880 by George Eastman (1854-1932). From its modest beginnings in a rented loft space, the original Eastman Dry Plate Company (which became the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company and then simply the Eastman Company) expanded rapidly, largely because of Eastman's inventive and marketing genius. By 1900, distribution outlets were established in France, Germany, Italy, and other European countries. By the end of the twentieth century, Kodak, one of industry's most readily identifiable trademarks, had operations in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Australia, and Kodak products were marketed by subsidiary companies to people in more than 150 countries.

An amateur photographer with little formal education...