Hannibal
Goodwin
(1822 -
1900)
invented
cellulose nitrate photographic film
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Hannibal
Williston Goodwin was born in 1822 in Tompkins
County, New York. He became rector of The House
of Prayer, an Episcopal Church at Newark, New
Jersey in1867..
He took up photography so that he
could produce his own illustrations for his talks.
He experimented with cellulose nitrate as a less
fragile material than glass for making lantern
slides and in 1887, the year he retired from the
church he had served for 20 years, Goodwin filed
a patent for " a photographic pellicle and
process of producing same . . . . especially in
connection with roller cameras", but the
patent was not granted until 13 September 1898.
In the meantime, George Eastman
had already started production of roll-film using
his own process.
In 1900, Goodwin set up the
Goodwin Film & Camera Co. but before film
production had started he was involved in a
street accident near a construction site and died
from his injuries.
His patent was sold to Ansco who successfully
sued Eastman Kodak for infringement of the patent
and were awarded $5,000,000.
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