George Grantham Bain (January 7, 1865 – April 20, 1944) was a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

photographer. He was known as "the father of foreign photographic news".

Biography

He was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, on January 7, 1865, to George Bain and Clara Mather. His family moved from Chicago to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. He attended

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...

as an undergraduate to study chemistry, and later attained a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

from the same institution. After graduation, Bain became a reporter at the ''

St. Louis Globe-Democrat The ''St. Louis Globe-Democrat'' was originally a daily print newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1852 until 1986. When the trademark registration on the name expired, it was then used as an unrelated free historically themed paper. Orig ...

''. The following year he moved to the ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-Dem ...

'', where he became the

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

correspondent. He worked for

United Press 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 c ...

before he started the Bain News Service in 1898. He died at age 79, on April 20, 1944, at

Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States b ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

George Grantham Bain Collection

The George Grantham Bain Collection at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Prints and Photographs Division comprises approximately 40,000 glass plate negatives and 50,000 photographic prints. Most are scanned and have been made available online. Most date from the 1900s to the mid-1920s, but some are as early as the 1860s, and some as late as the 1930s. The majority of Bain's images depict events in

, but he also copied extant images of worldwide events for news distribution purposes. "The Bain picture files richly document local sports events, theater, celebrities, crime, strikes, disasters, political activities including the woman suffrage campaign, conventions and public celebrations," the library notes. There are no known copyright restrictions on the photographs in the Collection, although some of Bain's most important images had historically been marked with a copyright notice to prevent unauthorized distribution.

Gallery

File:Abolish child slavery.jpg, Two girls wearing banners bearing the slogan "ABOLISH CH LDSLAVERY!!" in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

, 1909 File:Albertina Rasch, gypsy dance, 1915.png,

Albertina Rasch Albertina Rasch (January 19, 1891 – October 2, 1967) was a naturalized American dancer, company director, and choreographer. Early life Rasch was born in 1891 (although she would later shave five years off her age), in Vienna (in what was th ...

, gypsy dance, 1915 File:Alexandra Fyodorovna LOC 01137u.jpg, Alexandra Fyodorovna File:Argentine Rivadavia Class Battleship 1912.jpg, Argentine ''Rivadavia''-class battleship, 1912 File:Bennett sisters boxing.jpg, The "Bennett Sisters" boxing File:Bleriot's Accident at Reims (August 1909) - George Grantham Bain collection.jpg, Four men with wreckage of Blériot's plane at Reims, 1909 File:BroxSistersToyCar.jpg, The

Brox Sisters The Brox Sisters were an American trio of singing sisters, enjoying their greatest popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s. Early life The sisters were Lorayne (born Eunice, November 11, 1901 – June 14, 1993), Bobbe (born Josephine, Novembe ...

, posed with toy car. Left to right: Loryane, Bobbe, Patricia File:Christus - Anton Lang Oberammergau 1900.jpg,

Anton Lang Anton Lang (17 January 1875 – 30 May 1938) was a German studio potter and an actor in the Oberammergau Passion Play. He played the role of Jesus Christ in 1900, 1910, and 1922. He was the Prologue Speaker in 1930 and again in the Jubilee Produc ...

as Christ, at the

Oberammergau Passion Play The Oberammergau Passion Play (german: Oberammergauer Passionsspiele) is a passion play that has been performed every 10 years from 1634 to 1674 and each decadal year since 1680 (with a few exceptions) by the inhabitants of the village of Obera ...

, 1900 File:Doriskenyon 4.jpg,

Doris Kenyon Doris Margaret Kenyon (September 5, 1897 – September 1, 1979) was an American actress of motion pictures and television. Early life She grew up in Syracuse, New York, where her family had a home at 1805 Harrison Street. Her father, Dr. Ja ...

File:Gun Shop in Armstrong Works LOC ggbain 00178.jpg, The gun shop at Armstrong Works, 1902–1903 File:HMSDreadnought gunsLOCBain17494.jpg, Pair of 12-inch guns on , between 1907-1922 File:Helen Dinsmore Huntingdon.jpg, Helen Dinsmore Huntington File:1912 Indianapolis 500, Joe Dawson winning.jpg, Joe Dawson, winning the

1912 Indianapolis 500 The 1912 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, or International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race, the second such race in history, was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1912. Indiana-born driver Joe Dawson won the race, leadin ...

File:Nestorian (Assyrian) Christian family making butter, Mawana, Persia.jpg, Nestorian (

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

) Christian family making butter in Mawana, Persia, date unknown File:Blanche Bates.jpg, American actress

Blanche Bates Blanche Bates (August 25, 1873 – December 25, 1941) was an American actress. Early years Bates was born in Portland, Oregon, while her parents (both of whom were actors) were on a road tour. As an infant, she traveled with them on a t ...

, dressed for a role in "The Fighting Hope" File:Bob Burman.jpg, Race car driver

Bob Burman Robert R. Burman (April 23, 1884 – April 8, 1916) was an American race car driver, he was an open-wheel pioneer, setting numerous speed records in the early 1900s. He participated in many historic races and was one of the drivers to compe ...

, 1911 File:Lillian Gish-edit2.jpg, Actress

Lillian Gish Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893February 27, 1993) was an American actress, director, and screenwriter. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was called the "First Lady of American Cinema", ...

, 1911 File:Madgalen - Bertha Wolf Oberammergau 1900.jpg, Bertha Wolf as

Mary Magdalen Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

, at the

, 1900 File:Mildreddavis.jpg, Actress

Mildred Davis Mildred Hillary Davis (February 22, 1901The reference book ''Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory'' gives Davis's birth date as January 1, 1900.August 18, 1969) was an American actress who appeared in fifteen of Harold Lloyd's cla ...

, 1921 File:Paulinefrederick 2.jpg, Actress

Pauline Frederick Pauline Frederick (born Pauline Beatrice Libbey, August 12, 1883 – September 19, 1938) was an American stage and film actress. Early life Frederick was born Pauline Beatrice Libbey (later changed to Libby) in Boston in 1883 (some sources stat ...

File:Marioara a Romaniei.jpg,

Maria of Yugoslavia Maria of Yugoslavia (born Princess Maria of Romania; 6 January 1900 – 22 June 1961), known in Serbian as Marija Karađorđević ( sr-cyr, Марија Карађорђевић), was Queen of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later Queen of Yugo ...

as a child, when she was Princess Marie of Romania File:Ruthstdenis.jpg, Actress

Ruth St. Denis Ruth St. Denis (born Ruth Denis; January 20, 1879 – July 21, 1968) was an American pioneer of modern dance, introducing eastern ideas into the art. She was the co-founder of the American Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts and the teac ...

File:Violadana 2.jpg, Actress

Viola Dana Viola Dana (born Virginia Flugrath; June 26, 1897 – July 3, 1987) was an American film actress who was successful during the era of silent films. She appeared in over 100 films, but was unable to make the transition to sound films. Early lif ...

File:Making Death Mask Edit 4.jpg, Making of a

death mask A death mask is a likeness (typically in wax or plaster cast) of a person's face after their death, usually made by taking a cast or impression from the corpse. Death masks may be mementos of the dead, or be used for creation of portraits. It ...

, 1908 File:Blanco 4194440295 bbb98c7de6 o.jpg,

Lucio Blanco Lucio Blanco (July 21, 1879 – June 1922) was a Mexican military officer and revolutionary, noteworthy for his participation in the Mexican Revolution of 1910 to 1920. Biography Lucio Blanco was born on July 21, 1879 in Nadadores, Coahuila. He ...

and staff, File:Charles Lindbergh circa 1927.jpg,

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

References

External links

George Grantham Bain photograph archive
at the

George Grantham Bain photograph archive
at

Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...

*
Bain News Service
at LC Authorities, with 30,000 records {{DEFAULTSORT:Bain, George Grantham 1865 births 1944 deaths American photographers American lawyers Library of Congress Saint Louis University alumni Artists from Chicago St. Louis Post-Dispatch people