Question 1

True or false: Eastman's middle name was 'Kodak' before he created the company.

Accepted Answer

False. Kodak was a brand name he invented, based on the letter 'K' which he liked; his full name was simply George Eastman.

Question 2

True or false: Eastman was a high school dropout who became a self-made millionaire.

Accepted Answer

True. He left school at age 14 to support his family, then taught himself photography and business, eventually building Kodak into a global giant.

Question 3

True or false: Eastman never married and had no children.

Accepted Answer

True. He was a lifelong bachelor who devoted his energy to business, philanthropy, and his mother, with whom he lived until her death.

Question 4

True or false: George Eastman invented the first digital camera.

Accepted Answer

False. Eastman founded Kodak and invented roll film; the first digital camera was built by Steven Sasson, an Eastman Kodak engineer, in 1975.

Question 5

True or false: George Eastman was the first person to patent color photography.

Accepted Answer

False. Color photography was pioneered by others like James Clerk Maxwell and the Lumière brothers; Eastman focused on roll film and easy-to-use cameras.

Question 6

True or false: Eastman donated over $100 million to educational institutions, including MIT and Tuskegee Institute.

Accepted Answer

True. A major philanthropist, he gave anonymously to universities and historically Black colleges, totaling about $100 million (equivalent to billions today).

Question 7

True or false: George Eastman died by suicide at age 77 after suffering from a painful spinal condition.

Accepted Answer

True. Facing debilitating pain from spinal stenosis, he shot himself in 1932, leaving a note: 'My work is done. Why wait?'

Question 8

True or false: Kodak's famous slogan 'You press the button, we do the rest' was written by Mark Twain.

Accepted Answer

False. The slogan was created by Eastman himself in 1888 to market the simple Kodak camera; Twain was a friend but not the copywriter.

George Eastman Trivia Questions