Edwin Land
Edwin Land (1909-1991): Polaroid Camera
Land was a scientist and inventor best known for the Polaroid-Land instant camera. He also invented inexpensive filters for polarizing light and a practical system of in-camera instant photos. His Polaroid instant camera went on sale in 1948. He developed sheet polarizers that were applied to sunglasses, glasses for full-color stereoscopic (3-D movies) and LCDs. During the Cold War, he played an essential role in photographic reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. He and his team developed the optics of the revolutionary Lockheed U-2 spy plane. From the beginning of his company career, he hired women and trained them to be research scientists. He believed in humanitarian movements especially concerning Dr. Martin Luther King. In his retirement, he founded the Rowland Institute for Science.