"To my friends, my work is done - Why wait?"

Noted entrepreneur, inventor, and philanthropist George Eastman of the Eastman-Kodak Company gave a lot to the world before he passed. His experiments with 35mm roll film helped popularize photography in the late 1800s and led to the invention of motion pictures. He was also responsible for perfecting the first Kodak camera.

At age 77, Eastman suffered from chronic pain due to a spinal condition. On March 14, 1932, after a reportedly jovial meeting with friends, he excused himself to write a brief letter before he shot himself.