EP# 013: Chester Carlson and Xerox

The ultimate game changer in the history of making copies was xerography, developed by a quiet, unassuming man who was sick of being bent over a desk for hours at a time making copies by hand. This man, Chester Carlson who grew up under unimaginable poverty, never stopped dreaming of inventing a machine to automatically make copies.

As an assistant to a patent attorney and later as a law school student, the nearsighted Carlson spent hours bent over his desk. With his muscles cramping and his back aching, he dreamed of a better way to make copies. He was never interested in money. He wanted to help society with an invention that would change the world.

Show notes (with time stamps)

Introduction: 00:00 – 04:35

The Beginning: 04:39 - 13:16

Post-college: 13:21 - 23:42

The Start of Something Big: 23:46 - 54:09

Conclusion: 54:15 - 56:30

Music

Artist: Scott Holmes

Album: Road Trip

Track: Indie Rock

References

Copies in Seconds: Chester Carlson and the Birth of the Xerox Machine by David Owen

Chester Carlson and the Development of Xerography by Susan Zannos