Victor Hasselblad
Victor Hasselblad (
March 8,
1906 â€"
August 5,
1978) was a
Swedish inventor and
photographer. He invented the 6 x 6 cm
single-lens reflex camera, known to the world as "
Hasselblad".
Born in
Gothenburg,
Sweden, Hasselblad's career started in
1940, when a
German reconnaissance plane was shot down over Sweden and Hasselblad was approached by Swedish Air Force officers with a request to construct a camera that rivalled the one found in the German plane.
In
1941 the company
Victor Hasselblad AB was founded, and was commissioned to produce cameras for the
Swedish Air Force. In
1948 the first civilian Hasselblad camera, the 1600F, was introduced in New York. Since then, Hasselblad has become a household name among photographers.
According to Hasselblad's will, SEK 78 million (USD 8 million) was donated to The Erna and Victor Hasselblad Foundation after his death.
