Background
Leopold Godowsky, Jr. was born on May 27, 1900 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. His father was a renowned pianist, composer and developer of advanced piano techniques.
Leopold Godowsky, Jr. was born on May 27, 1900 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. His father was a renowned pianist, composer and developer of advanced piano techniques.
Trained as a musician, Leopold Godowsky attended the Riverdale School in New York (ca. 1916), then studied chemistry, physics and mathematics at the University of California.
Leopold Godowsky, Jr. worked as a professional violinist in California and then in New York, pursuing photographic experiments as a hobby with his friend Leopold D. Mannes, another musician, whom he had met at the Riverdale School.
They first used the kitchen and bathroom as laboratories, but in 1924 and 1929 they rented space in office buildings. Their earliest attempts to improve color processes centered on the use of optical devices, and they patented a special lens movement.
With the aid of C. E. K. Mees at Eastman Kodak, they experimented with direct color-plate and film processes. Their ideas took a new direction when they learned of the Fischer theory of color couplers. Thanks to Dr. Mees, they were allowed to continue their experiments at Eastman Kodak's Rochester laboratories from 1931 to 1939.
The most important result of their work was the development of Kodachrome film in 1935, and their basic research led to Kodacolor film and prints (1941), Ektacolor film (1949) and Eastman color negative 35mm film (1949).