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Land, Edwin H.

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1909 - 1991

Biography

Edwin Herbert Land was a scientist and inventor who co-founded the Polaroid Corporation and served as its chairman until the early 1980s. Born May 7, 1909 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Land briefly attended Harvard University, but left his studies to create a laboratory with his Harvard physics instructor George Wheelwright. Established in 1932, the Land-Wheelwright Laboratories was renamed the Polaroid Corporation in 1937. Land led Polaroid for more than four decades, growing the company from a small research and development firm to a world-renown high-tech corporation. Land’s intensive research led to the Polaroid Corporation’s most famous discoveries and products including polarizing filters, the instant camera, and the retinex theory of color perception. During World War II, Land and his team at Polaroid produced the Vectograph for the war effort, which used polarized stereoscopic filters in aerial photographs. In 1947, Land first demonstrated his most celebrated invention, the Polaroid Land instant camera. From the 1950s to 1980s, new iterations of instant cameras and instant film were the leading products of the Polaroid Corporation. Land wrote extensively about his research and discoveries and published articles in both popular and scientific publications. He served as the face of the Polaroid Corporation, promoting the company and its products in public presentations and demonstrations. Land stepped down as chairman of Polaroid in 1980 and left the company in 1982. After his death on March 1, 1991, the Polaroid Corporation hosted a memorial event and tribute to reflect on Land’s legacy and contributions to the company and its employees.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Papers of I. Rice Pereira, 1929-1976

Collection Identifier: MC 375
Overview:

Correspondence, manuscripts, notebook, etc., of I. Rice (Irene Rice) Pereira, abstract painter, poet, and philosopher.

Filtered By

  • Subject: Art, Modern--20th century--United States--Exhibitions X