Chester Floyd Carlson (1906–1968) was the Seattle-born physicist and attorney who revolutionized modern business by inventing the Xerox process. After earning a physics degree from Caltech in 1930 and a law degree from New York Law School in 1939, Carlson sought a way to copy documents without messy wet inks.

In 1938, in his laboratory on the second floor of the house at 32-05 37th Street in Astoria, with partner Otto Kornei, he successfully created the world’s first xerographic image. This breakthrough led to the founding of the Xerox Corporation, whose researchers later pioneered essential computing tools like the mouse and the graphical user interface (GUI).

In his later years, Carlson became a dedicated philanthropist, donating much of his wealth to civil rights, humanitarian efforts, and spiritual causes.