Key Events In The History Of Eastman Kodak Co.

The Associated Press

Here are key events in the history of Eastman Kodak Co., which announced plans Thursday to stop making digital cameras and some other consumer devices:

1880 — George Eastman begins commercial production of dry plates for photography in a rented loft of a building in Rochester, N.Y.

1888 — The name "Kodak" is born and the Kodak camera is marketed with the slogan, "You press the button, we do the rest."

1889 — The Eastman Co. is formed, taking over the assets of the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Co.

1892 — The company becomes Eastman Kodak Company of New York.

1900 — The first Brownie camera is introduced. Selling for $1 and using film that costs 15 cents a roll, it brings hobby photography within financial reach.

1929 — The company introduces its first motion picture film.

1935 — Kodachrome film is introduced and becomes the first commercially successful amateur color film.

1951 — The low-priced Brownie 8mm movie camera is introduced, followed by Brownie movie projector in 1952.

1962 — The company's U.S. consolidated sales exceed $1 billion for the first time. Its work force tops 75,000.

1963 — Kodak introduces a line of easy-to-use Instamatic cameras with cartridge-loading film (selling more than 50 million by 1970).

1972 — Five pocket-size Instamatic cameras that use smaller cartridges are launched. More than 25 million cameras sell in less than three years.

1975 — Kodak invents the world's first digital camera. The toaster-size prototype captures black-and-white images at a resolution of 10,000 pixels (.01 megapixels).

1981 — Company sales surpass the $10 billion revenue mark. The next year, hometown payroll peaks at 60,400.

1984 — Kodak enters the video market with the Kodavision Series 2000 8mm video system and introduces Kodak videotape cassettes in 8mm, Beta and VHS formats, along with a line of floppy disks for computers.