George Eastman (1854-1932), American inventor, industrialist and pioneer of photography. Whilst working as a bookkeeper, Eastman, a keen amateur photographer, invented a dry-plate process for developing photographic film. He later developed a paper base that allowed small cheap cameras to be produced. To manufacture these cameras he set up the Kodak company. In 1889 eastman also used the first celluloid film, which paved the way for motion picture film. Eastman took his own life in 1932 after a long illness.