Today, the photocopier stands out as a device frequently used in workplaces, government and educational institutions. But have you ever wondered who invented the photocopier? Who is the Chester Carlson, the inventor and patent holder of the photocopier?
Who is Chester Floyd Carlson?
Chester Carlson was born on February 8, 1906. Carlson, who was born in Seattle, Washington, the capital of the USA, died on September 19, 1968. He died in 1968 at the age of 62 after a heart attack.
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Chester Carlson’s father was Olaf Adolph Carlson and his mother was Ellen Carlson. Carlson’s mother Ellen died when he was 17 years old. Exactly 10 years later, when Carlson was 27, his father Olaf Adolph died.
Information about Carlson’s private life includes his first marriage to Elsa von Mallon in 1934. Divorced in 1945, the couple described their marriage as an unhappy period. Carlson made his second marriage with Dorris Helen Hudgins.
Chester Carlson’s Education Period
Growing up in poverty, Carlson worked from the age of eight to support his family. In fact, Carlson worked for about two to three hours before and after school during his high school education. Stating that working was a necessity for him at an early age, Carlson did research on successful inventors such as Thomas Edison. Thus, the idea of invention became attractive to him and he wanted to contribute to society.
On the other hand, Carlson completed his education despite all these difficulties. He first attended San Bernardino High School. Then he went to a cooperative study program at Riverside Junior College. At Riverside, he first studied chemistry and then physics. Afterwards, he completed his education in Physics at the California Institute of Technology during the Great Depression of 1930.
After all this, he entered New York Law School in 1936. Carlson, who studied law at night, copied the law books in the library by handwriting because he could not afford to buy them. The difficulties in copying reinforced his decision to build a copying machine.
Carlson’s Achievements
Chester Carlson is best known for inventing xerography. Carlson’s royalties and shares in Xerox Corporation even made him a multimillionaire. But in addition to this success, Carlson has also received various honors and philanthropic work.
Chester Carlson was an inventor who devoted much of his fortune to charitable causes. Carlson donated over 150 million dollars to charitable organizations. He was also an active supporter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He also made annual donations to university studies, while another of his large donations was to the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. He donated 4 million dollars while he was alive.
In addition to all these philanthropic works, Carlson was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1981. In 1964 he was named Inventor of the Year and in 1966 he received the Horatio Alger Award for his contributions to science.
Invention of the Xerograph
The first xerographic copier was invented in 1959 by the Xerox company under the leadership of Chester Carlson. Chester Carlson made the first copy on a zinc plate coated with sulfur. Carlson’s experiments in inventing the photocopier involved using light to produce an electric current in the original piece of paper.Chester Carlson patented his xerography invention in 1940.
However, the subsequent processes did not go well for Carlson. Along with the patent, he faced difficulties in the development and marketing of the product. Carlson was turned down by numerous companies.
After four years, Chester Carlson reached an agreement with the Battelle Memorial Institute in 1944. The Battelle Memorial Institute is located in Columbus, Ohio, USA. The Institute worked with Carlson for five years to improve and develop the copying process.
In December 1946, Battelle Memorial Institute, Chester Carlson and the Haloid Company signed the first agreement to license a commercial product electrophotography. At the same time, the Institute continued to develop basic research while the Haloid Company focused on developing a commercial product. In 1947, the Haloid Corporation in New York acquired the commercial rights to xerography. Haloid Corporation was a company that manufactured and sold photographic papers.
On October 22, 1948, the Haloid company made the first public announcement of xerography.In 1949, the first commercial copier appeared on the market. This first copier was the Xerox Model A. After the Model A, the company released many xerographic copiers. However, none of these were exactly easy-to-use products. The first device to be recognized as a modern copier was the Xerox 914. The Xerox 914 was largely successful.
