Margaret Burke White's biography

Margaret Bourke White (1904-1971), American photographer. She helped develop the "photo essay," a literary form in which photographs are more important than words. Her touching photos of factories, dams and people are often published in Fortune, Life and other magazines. During World War II, she was the first authorized female war correspondent, covering the war in Europe.

White was born in Pound Brook, New Jersey, in 1904. Her father was an accomplished engineer and inventor; her mother was an enlightened woman. Under the influence of his parents, White became interested in nature and science from an early age and determined to become a herpetologist. She took an art photography course during her freshman year at Columbia University. During her senior year in college, she took many outstanding campus photos. After graduating from college, she came to Cleveland, where the real estate industry is developed, and local real estate agents hired her to take photos for real estate advertisements. But White's interest is not in architectural photography, but in industrial photography.

With the development of industry in Cleveland, White was finally able to engage in industrial photography. She often climbed to the flat roof of the factory building to find the ideal shot, completely ignoring the smoke billowing from the large chimneys around her. Her photos of the boiling and rolling molten iron at the Osti steelworks were very successful. For this reason, the factory bought her photo for $100. From then on, White began his life as an industrial photographer.