Carlson Chester

Chester Carlson

Chester Carlson (engl. Chester Carlson; On February 8, 1906  — on September 19, 1968)  — the American physicist, the native of Seattle. Inventor of the principle of electrography or xerography. In production of this principle he fought for implementation for many years as businessmen from General Electric, IBM and officials from U.S. Army refused to invest money in this project.

Early years

Carlson's parents were suffering from tuberculosis. Because of their disease Carlson was forced to work since early years to support family. His mother died when Chester was 17 years old. In 21 years Carlson lost the father. Having read a success story of Thomas Edison, the young man was fond of invention.

In  1930 Chester Carlson gained the diploma of the physicist in California Institute of Technology and went to work as the research engineer in Bell Labs in New York. Having considered work stupid and routine it passed into patent department. During the Great depression in  1933 it was dismissed. Settled the clerk to the lawyer running patent cases at office near the Wall Street. In a year passed into P.R. Mallory Company company, known under the name Duracell today. In  1936 arrived on evening department of the New York school of the right, the diploma of the lawyer at which gained in  1939.

Idea of an invention

Carlson began to think of technologies of printing at the very beginning of the career. When he was asked why he began researches in the field he answered so: "Since the childhood I was not indifferent to the fine arts. later, already in the first classes of school, I dreamed of the typewriter. In high school I was fond of chemistry and wanted to issue the small magazine for amateur chemists. I earned additionally at one printer in non-study time and he sold me the old printing press. Actually I received it instead of salary. I do not think that I published more than two copies of the small brochure. But anyway, this experience very much impressed me. It turned out that to transfer words to paper very labor-consuming occupation. It led me to considering of other technologies of printing. I got a small notepad where from time to time wrote the thoughts in this respect".

Embodiment of the idea

The first print it and his assistant Otto Korney was received in the home laboratory in New York on October 22, 1938.

There passed years of work and many disappointments, years of attempts to convince to invest in its development such giants as General Electric, IBM, RCA and officials from U.S. Army. Chester Carlson's invention interested nobody. Only in  1944 he signed the agreement with non-profit organization (Battelle Memorial Institute) supporting innovations. It was a rotary point. There to it suggested to improve technology and even found an exact word for the name of this process  — "electrophotography". Soon, Battelle resold the license in Haloid Company. The last called the process invented by Carlson "xerography" (from the Greek   words "xeros" — "Sukhoi" and "graphos" — "writing"). Carlson reduced the name to XeroX (quite so it was written in the original). In  1961 Haloid changed a name to Xerox Corporation.

Interesting Facts

Irrespective of Chester Carlson, in 1948, in Germany, the inventor doctor Eysben founded firm on release of the photocopier of own construction. Its Develop Corp company is called. She continues to produce the copy equipment also today, without having recognized Carlson's superiority as she took out 16 patents for the invention of doctor Eysben.