In 1888 the first model of the Kodak camera appeared. It took round pictures 6.4 cm (2.5 in) in diameter, was of the fixed focus type, and carried a roll of film enough for 100 exposures.

In 1889 The Eastman Company was formed. In 1891 George Eastman began to produce a second line of cameras, the Ordinary range.

In 1892 the company was renamed the Eastman Kodak Company in 1892. The Kodak company thereby attained its name from the first simple roll film cameras produced by Eastman Dry Plate Company, known as the "Kodak" in its product line.

In the early 1890s the first folding Kodak cameras were introduced. These were equipped with folding bellows that permitted much greater compactness. In 1895 the first pocket Kodak camera, the $5 Pocket Kodak, was introduced. The camera slipped easily into an ordinary coat pocket. In 1897 the first folding pocket Kodak camera was introduced.

In 1898 George Eastman purchased the patent for Velox photographic paper from Leo Baekeland for $1,000,000. After this time, Velox paper was then sold by Eastman Kodak.

In 1900 the Brownie camera was introduced, creating a new mass market for photography. In 1901 the present company, Eastman Kodak Company of New Jersey, was formed under the laws of that state. Eventually, the business in Jamestown was moved in its entirety to Rochester, and the plants in Jamestown were demolished.

In 1920 Tennessee Eastman was founded as a wholly owned subsidiary. The company's primary purpose was the manufacture of chemicals, such as acetyls, needed for Kodak's film photography products. In 1930: Eastman Kodak Company was added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average index on July 18, 1930. The company remained listed as one of the DJIA companies for the next 74 years, ending in 2004.

In 1935 Kodak introduced Kodachrome, a colour reversal stock for movie and slide film. Kodak branched out into the manufacture of hand-grenades in 1936.

In 1959 Kodak introduced the Starmatic camera, the first automatic Brownie camera, which sold 10 million units over the next five years.

In 1963 Kodak introduced the Instamatic camera, an inexpensive, easy-to-load, point-and-shoot camera.

In 1975 Steven Sasson, then an electrical engineer at Kodak, invented a digital camera.

In 1976 Kodak introduced the first Kodamatic, instant picture cameras, using a similar film and technology to that of the Polaroid company.

In 1978 Kodak introduced the Ektachem clinical chemistry testing system. The system employs dry film technology, and within 5 years was being used by most hospitals in the country.

In 1981 Kodak was sued by Polaroid for infringement of its Instant Picture patents. The suit ran for five years, the court finally finding in favour of Polaroid in 1986.

In 1982 Kodak launched the Kodak Disc film format for consumer cameras. The format ultimately proved unpopular and was later discontinued.

In 1986 Kodak scientists created the world's first megapixel sensor, capable of recording 1.4 million pixels and producing a photo-quality 12.5 cm × 17.5 cm (4.9 in × 6.9 in) print.

In 1988 Kodak bought Sterling Drug for $5.1 Billion.

In 1991 Kodak launched The Kodak Professional Digital Camera System or DCS, the first commercially available digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera. A customised camera back bearing the digital image sensor was mounted on a Nikon F3 body and released by Kodak in May; the company had previously shown the camera at photokina in 1990.

In 1993 Eastman Chemical, a Kodak subsidiary founded by George Eastman in 1920 to supply Kodak's chemical needs, was spun off as a separate corporation.

In 2003 Kodak introduced the Kodak EasyShare LS633 Digital Camera, the first camera to feature an AMOLED display, and the Kodak EasyShare Printer Dock 6000, the world's first printer-and-camera dock combination.

In November 2003 Kodak acquired the Israel-based company Algotec Systems, a developer of advanced picture archiving and communication systems (PACS).

In January 2004 Kodak announced that it would stop selling traditional film cameras in Europe and North America, and cut up to 15,000 jobs (around a fifth of its total workforce at the time).

On April 8, 2004 Kodak was delisted from the Dow Jones Industrial Average index, having been a constituent for 74 consecutive years.

In January 2005 Kodak acquired the Israel-based company OREX Computed Radiography, a provider of compact computed radiography systems that enable medical practitioners to acquire patient x-ray images digitally. The company also acquired the Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada-based company Creo.

On 1st August 2006, Kodak agreed to divest its digital camera manufacturing operations to Flextronics, including assembly, production and testing. As part of the sale it was agreed that Flextronics would manufacture and distribute consumer digital cameras for Kodak, and conduct some design and development functions for it. Kodak kept high-level digital camera design in house, continued to conduct research and development in digital still cameras, and retained all intellectual property and patents.

On 10th January 2007 Kodak agreed to sell Kodak Health Group to Onex Corporation for $2.35 billion in cash, and up to $200 million in additional future payments if Onex achieved specified returns on the acquisition.

On 19th April 2007 Kodak announced an agreement to sell its light management films business, which produced films designed to improve the brightness and efficiency of liquid crystal displays, to Rohm and Haas.

In January 2009 Kodak posted a $137 million fourth-quarter loss and announced plans to cut up to 4,500 jobs.

On 22nd June 2009: Kodak announced that it would cease selling Kodachrome color film by the end of 2009, ending 74 years of production, after a dramatic decline in sales.

During 2011, Kodak shares fell more than 80 percent. In January 2012 Kodak received a warning from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) notifying it that its average closing price was below $1.00 for 30 consecutive days and that over the next 6 months it must increase the closing share price to at least $1 on the last trading day of each calendar month and have an average closing price of at least $1 over the 30 trading-days prior or it would be delisted. From the $90 range in 1997, Kodak shares closed at 76 cents on January 3, 2012. On January 8, 2012, Kodak shares closed over 50% higher after the company announced a major restructuring into two main divisions, one focused on products and services for businesses, and the other on consumer products including digital cameras.

On 19th January 2012 Kodak filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection. The company's stock was delisted from NYSE and moved to OTC exchange. Following the news it ended the day trading down 35% at $0.36 a share.

On 7th February 2012 the Image Sensor Solutions (ISS) division of Kodak was sold to Truesense Imaging Inc.

On 9th February 2012: Kodak announced that it would exit the digital image capture business, phasing out its production of digital cameras.

On 24th August 2012 Kodak announced that it plans to sell its film, commercial scanner and kiosk divisions.

On 20th December 2012 Kodak announced that it plans to sell its digital imaging patents for about $525 million to some of the world’s biggest technology companies, thus making a step to end bankruptcy.

On 29th April 2013 Kodak announced an agreement with the U.K. Kodak Pension Plan (KPP) to spin off Kodak’s Personalized Imaging and Document Imaging businesses and settle $2.8 Billion in KPP claims.

On 17th October 2013 Kodak brings European headquarter and the entire EAMER Technology Centre under one roof in Eysins, Switzerland. The relocation brings the company's European headquarters and Inkjet demo facilities, which were based in Gland, Switzerland, and the Kodak EAMER Technology and Solutions Centre, which was based in La Hulpe, Belgium, together.

In January 2017 Kodak announced it was bringing back its Ektachrome film.