Cecil William Stoughton (January 18, 1920 – November 3, 2008) was an American

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

. He is best known for being President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

's photographer during his

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

years. Stoughton was present at the motorcade at which Kennedy was assassinated and subsequently took the only photograph on board

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control-designated Aviation call signs, call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. The term is commonly used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modifie ...

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

being sworn in as the next President.

Life and work

Stoughton was born in

Oskaloosa, Iowa Oskaloosa is a List of cities in Iowa, city in, and the county seat of, Mahaska County, Iowa. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Oskaloosa was a national center of bituminous coal mining. The population was 11,558 in the 2020 U ...

, on January 18, 1920. During World War II, he was assigned to the

First Motion Picture Unit The 18th AAF Base Unit (Motion Picture Unit), originally known as the First Motion Picture Unit, Army Air Forces, was the primary film production unit of the United States Army Air Forces, U.S. Army Air Forces (AAF) during World War II, and w ...

. He was a captain in the

United States Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army responsible for creating and managing Military communications, communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was ...

, when he was assigned to the White House Army Signal Agency. Stoughton's behind-the-scene pictures of John and Jacqueline and their children in their public and personal life were pivotal in shaping the public's view of the U.S. first family. He took more than 8,000 pictures of the family spanning the 34-month period beginning with Kennedy's inauguration and ending with his

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

. Stoughton took the only photograph ever published showing John F. Kennedy,

Bobby Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also known as RFK, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New Yor ...

and

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

together. Stoughton was present at the motorcade at which Kennedy was assassinated, and was subsequently the only photographer on board

when

was sworn in as the next President. Stoughton knew it was "tasteless," but suggested a photograph needed to be made of the "history-making moment ... and I think we should have it." Kenneth T. Walsh even agreed and said of Stoughton's picture that ''Air Force One'' "has become associated with incredibly powerful images" and "a symbol of the country and a reminder of history." His photograph, the most famous ever taken aboard a presidential aircraft, depicts Johnson raising his hand in oath as he stood between his wife

Lady Bird Johnson Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She had previously been Second Lady of the United States from 1961 to 196 ...

and a still blood-spattered Jacqueline Kennedy. Stoughton recounted this event and his service as White House photographer during Johnson's first two years in office in an oral history contributed to the

Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, also known as the LBJ Presidential Library, is the presidential library and museum of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th president of the United States (1963–1969). It is located on the grounds of ...

. From 1967–1973, Stoughton served as the chief still photographer of the National Park Service. Stoughton appeared as a contestant on the May 29, 1987 episode of the game show ''

Classic Concentration ''Concentration'' is an American television game show based on the children's memory game of the same name. It was created by Jack Barry and Dan Enright. Contestants matched prizes hidden behind spaces on a game board, which would then reveal ...

,'' on the date that Kennedy would have turned 70 years old. In 2007, Stoughton appeared on the television series ''

Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people ( ...

'' as part of the LBJ Centennial where he recounted his story and presented prints of his photographs from his personal collection, including a print of his photograph of Johnson being sworn in that Johnson had signed, and a photograph of Johnson in the Oval Office as he signed the photo of his swearing in. All the items together appraised for $75,000. Two years after his death a large collection of his photographs was sold at auction. It included the picture of Johnson's inauguration, and fetched $151,000. He died in

Merritt Island, Florida Merritt Island is a peninsula, commonly referred to as an island, in Brevard County, Florida, United States, located on the eastern Florida coast, along the Atlantic Ocean. It is also the name of an unincorporated town in the central and south ...

, and was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

*
Photo by Stoughton of Kennedy brothers with Marilyn Monroe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoughton, Cecil W. 1920 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American photographers United States Army officers People from Oskaloosa, Iowa People associated with the assassination of John F. Kennedy Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson First Motion Picture Unit personnel People from Merritt Island, Florida Military personnel from Iowa White House photographers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery