Polaroid Timeline

1930	1929 - 32 At Harvard, Edwin H. Land works on the development of synthetic polarizers. 1932 Land and his Harvard physics instructor George W. Wheelwright, III form Land-Wheelwright Laboratories to research and manufacture synthetic polarizers.
1935	1934–1935 Land-Wheelwright Laboratories signs a contract with Eastman Kodak Company for polarizing filters for cameras and with American Optical Company for polarizing lenses for sunglasses.
	1936 Howard G. Rogers leaves Harvard College to join Land-Wheelwright Laboratories and eventually becomes Director of Research at Polaroid. 1937 The Polaroid Corporation is founded. Clarence Kennedy, professor of art history at Smith College, fellow at Harvard, and consultant for Land-Wheelwright Laboratories, suggests the name Polaroid. Polaroid net sales: $141,935. Net profit: $8,677. 1939 The Polaroid Corporation moves to the Kendall Square area in Cambridge. William J. McCune, Jr., an engineer and graduate of MIT, becomes the quality control officer at Polaroid.
1940
	1941–45 Vannevar Bush, former vice-president and dean of engineering at MIT and then head of the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development, enlists Polaroid’s help in the war effort. The Polaroid Corporation enters into a contract with the National Defense Research Committee.
1945	1945 Polaroid net sales: $16,752,465. Net profit: $449,424.
	1944 – 48 Polaroid establishes project SX-70 to develop a one-step photography system. Meroë Marston Morse, a Smith College graduate, works as a lab assistant and later as manager of the black-and-white research lab. 1947 Land demonstrates instant photography at a meeting of the Optical Society of America in New York City on February 21. Polaroid net sales: $1,503,608. Net loss: $954,410. 1948 Commercial release of the Polaroid Land Camera, Model 95 takes place on November 26 at Jordan Marsh department store in Boston. 1949 1949 Photographer Ansel Adams becomes an artistic and technical consultant to Polaroid.
1950	1950 Polaroid introduces Type 41 black-and-white film. 4,400 dealers throughout the U.S. sell Polaroid cameras and film products.
	1952 Polaroid net sales: $13,393,259. Net profit: $597,210. 1953 Construction begins on the Polaroid plant, located on Route 128 in Waltham, Massachusetts.