Stanley Frank "Stan" Stearns (May 11, 1935 – March 2, 2012) was an American photographer who captured the iconic image of a three-year-old

John F. Kennedy Jr. John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. (November 25, 1960 – July 16, 1999), often referred to as John-John or JFK Jr., was an American socialite, attorney, magazine publisher, and journalist. He was a son of 35th United States president John F. K ...

saluting the coffin of his father, US 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 ...

, at his father's funeral.

Biography

Born in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, Stearns spent four years in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

as a photographer for '' Stars and Stripes'' before joining

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

in 1958. Mr. Stearns covered the end of the Eisenhower administration, and rose to prominence after covering Kennedy's funeral and the presidential administrations of

Lyndon 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 assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

and

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

. His image of the John-John salute is one of the most-published photographs in the world and was a front-runner for the

Pulitzer Prize for Photography The Pulitzer Prize for Photography was one of the American Pulitzer Prizes annually awarded for journalism. It was inaugurated in 1942 and replaced by two photojournalism prizes in 1968: the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography and "Pulitzer Pri ...

for 1964, but lost out to

Jack Ruby Shoots Lee Harvey Oswald ''Jack Ruby Shoots Lee Harvey Oswald'' is a 1963 photograph of nightclub owner Jack Ruby fatally shooting Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy. The image was captured by ''Dallas Times Herald'' photographer Robert H. J ...

, which was the photo of

Jack Ruby Jack Leon Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein; March 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Born in Chicago, R ...

shooting Kennedy's assassin,

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at age 12 for truan ...

. Stearns was elected president of the White House News Photographers Association in 1969, and hosted a black tie dinner for President Nixon and Vice President Agnew.The Capital
(March 31, 1971 p.28) After he left UPI in late 1970, Stearns returned to his hometown of Annapolis and opened a downtown studio. He photographed many well-known celebrities and politicians as well as prominent local residents, right up until his last days. His existing clients and archives are now maintained by his friend and fellow Annapolis photographer
David Anderson

References

External links

Official website
1935 births 2012 deaths Photographers from Maryland People from Annapolis, Maryland Military personnel from Maryland United Press International people 20th-century American photographers {{US-photographer-stub