Leopold Mannes
Born Dec 26 1899 - Died Aug 11 1964

Color Photography
Patent Number(s) 1,997,493

Inducted 2005

Leopold Mannes and Leopold Godowsky, Jr., professional musicians, revolutionized color photography by inventing Kodachrome color film. They created a practical film for color photography, and its ease of use and exceptional quality appealed to both amateurs and professionals. The introduction of Kodachrome still and movie film triggered a cultural phenomenon by unleashing a flood of high-quality color images.

Invention Impact

In 1936, Kodachrome film was introduced. The availability of a robust, practical color film triggered a cultural, artistic and commercial revolution as amateur and professional photographers embraced the new technology which was used for both still and motion picture photography.

Inventor Bio

Mannes and Leopold Godowsky, Jr. met as teenagers. Both were fascinated by the popular Brownie cameras, and both longed for a way to take color photographs, experimenting with the process.

Mannes went on to study music at Harvard and earned a Pulitzer and a Guggenheim fellowship for composition. But even after he and Godowsky became musicians, they continued their photographic collaboration. Their search for financial support led them to Eastman Kodak, where they were hired and assigned a team of researchers. While working in darkness, Godowsky and Mannes measured film developing times by whistling the last movement of Brahms' C-minor Symphony.

Mannes remained in music after inventing Kodachrome, performing as a pianist and composing several musical scores. He served as president of the Mannes College of Music founded by his parents, and he served as a judge in music competitions, including the first Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Born in New York City, he studied music at Juilliard and Harvard.