Henry Alvah Strong (August 30, 1838 – July 26, 1919) was an American photography businessman. He was the first president of the

Eastman Kodak Company The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpo ...

Early life and family

Henry Strong was born on August 30, 1838 in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

. He graduated from Wyoming Academy in 1858. On August 30, 1859, he married Helen Phoebe Griffin. They had three children: Gertrude Achilles,

Helen Carter Helen Myrl Carter Jones (September 12, 1927 – June 2, 1998) was an American country music singer. The eldest daughter of Maybelle Carter, she performed with her mother and her younger sisters, June Carter and Anita Carter, as a member of ' ...

, and Henry G. Strong. After Helen's death in 1904 from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

, he married Hattie (Corrin) Lockwood on June 14, 1905. He adopted her son, Corrin, and the family returned to Rochester, New York.

Business ventures

Strong held a lead position in his family's buggy whip manufacturing company prior to meeting

George Eastman George Eastman (July 12, 1854March 14, 1932) was an American entrepreneur who founded the Eastman Kodak Company and helped to bring the photographic use of roll film into the mainstream. He was a major philanthropist, establishing the Eastman ...

in 1870. In 1881 he helped provide capital to Eastman to launch the Eastman Dry Plate Company which would later become

Legacy

Numerous buildings in Rochester, notably

Strong Memorial Hospital Strong Memorial Hospital (SMH) is an 886-bed medical facility, part of the University of Rochester Medical Center complex (abbreviated URMC), in Rochester, New York, United States. Opened in 1926, it is a major provider of both in-patient and ou ...

and Strong Auditorium at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of ...

were built from his philanthropy.

References

1838 births 1919 deaths American manufacturing businesspeople Kodak people 19th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1830s-stub