[jpshare]
The Polaroid camera and instant photography would probably not have been invented if Edwin Land hadn’t been inspired by a science teacher at a boys’ camp in Lebanon, Conn., in 1922.
Land was born in Bridgeport, Conn., on May 7, 1909. His father prospered disposing scrap metal from Electric Boat. When Land was 13 years old, he was sent to Camp Mooween (now Mooween State Park). There, a teacher showed him how a crystal filter screened light waves to eliminate the glare from a tabletop. From that moment, the entire direction of Edwin Land’s remarkable career was set.
Edwin Land was not only a brilliant inventor, but a business pioneer who hired women for important positions, stood at the forefront of the affirmative action movement and established the prototype for the successful Silicon Valley startup. Steve Jobs called him his hero.
Read the full story of how Edwin Land invented the Polaroid camera — and many other things — here.
