Margaret Bourke-White

Pioneering photojournalist who shattered gender barriers and documented critical historical moments

Margaret Bourke-White (1904-1971) revolutionized visual storytelling as one of the first female war correspondents and the first Western photographer permitted to document Soviet industry. Her lens captured defining 20th-century moments including TIME magazine's first cover photo and the liberation of Buchenwald concentration camp.

Breaking into male-dominated fields, she became LIFE magazine's inaugural staff photographer in 1936. Her daring shots of construction workers atop NYC's Chrysler Building epitomized both technical mastery and fearless spirit. During WWII, she survived torpedo attacks and flew combat missions to document frontline realities.

Bourke-White's most impactful work emerged from India's partition in 1947. Her iconic Gandhi at His Spinning Wheel portrait became symbolic of nonviolent resistance. She later documented South African apartheid and Korean War aftermath, always emphasizing human stories within historical events.