Karl Struss (1886-1981) was a talented American photographer who played a key role in the early development of cinematography. He won the first Academy Award in that category.

Karl Fischer Struss was born on November 30, 1886, in New York City, the youngest of six children born to Henry W. Struss and his wife Marie. The family was of German background. Henry Struss owned a silk mill. After his economic fortunes took a downturn in the early 1890s, he owned and ran a bonnet-wire manufacturing plant.

According to some sources, Struss did not finish high school because of illness. Others stated that he graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in New York City. In either case, as early as 1903, Struss became employed at his father's plant, where he worked for the next ten years. Looking for a hobby, Struss began attending night classes in photography at Columbia University Teacher's College...