1906-1971
Photojournalist

War Journalist.

In an era which acclaimed the war journalist, none was more renowned than Margaret Bourke-White. Her photographs for Life magazine brought World War II home with clarity and sensitivity for millions of Americans; her courage on the battlefront became legendary. Bourke-White set many firsts for women during the war — the first woman to fly on bombing missions, for instance — and her work was superior to that of most U.S. photographers, male or female. When U.S. troops liberated the Nazi death camps, Bourke-White was there, documenting the tragedy of the camps and relaying unforgettable images of the atrocities to the public.

Background.

Daughter of an engineer-inventor and a strong-willed, independent housewife, Bourke-White was raised in a household that embraced female equality and ambition. Her father, holding several machine patents, instilled in Bourke-White a fascination and awe for machines that would later...