Steven J. Sasson, an electrical engineer at Eastman Kodak, created a digital camera, much to management’s dismay.James Rajotte for The New York Times

Jan. 19, 1975

Jan. 19, 1975

Jan. 19, 1975 600 400 Kodak Admin

Steven J. Sasson, an electrical engineer at Eastman Kodak, created a digital camera, much to management’s dismay.James Rajotte for The New York Times

Steven J. Sasson, an electrical engineer who invented the first digital camera at Eastman Kodak in the 1970s, remembers well management’s dismay at his feat. “My prototype was big as a toaster, but the technical people loved it,” Mr. Sasson said. “But it was filmless photography, so management’s reaction was, ‘that’s cute — but don’t tell anyone about it.’”