John Lyndon Gaunt (June 4, 1924 – October 26, 2007) also known as Jack was an American photographer who worked for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''. He won the 1955

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 his photograph titled " Tragedy by the Sea". The image showed a man and a woman standing on a beach after their 19-month-old son disappeared.

Early life

Gaunt was born on June 4, 1924 and was the only child. His father was a stockbroker and he moved the family to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

in the late 1920s. Gaunt grew up in

Hermosa Beach, California Hermosa Beach (, Spanish for "Beautiful") is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 19,728 at the 2020 U.S. Census. The city is located in the South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area; ...

. He grew up with his future wife, Mary Elise, and he graduated from

Redondo Union High School Redondo Union High School (RUHS) is a public high school in Redondo Beach, California. Redondo Union High School is a part of the Redondo Beach Unified School District. All residents of Redondo Beach are zoned to Redondo Union. In addition, re ...

. In high school he contributed to the school's newspaper and provided images to the Hermosa Beach newspaper, ''

Daily Breeze The ''Daily Breeze'' is a 57,000-circulation daily newspaper published in Hermosa Beach, California, United States. It serves the South Bay cities of Los Angeles County. Its slogan is "LAX to LA Harbor". Early history The paper was found ...

''. He served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

as a pilot during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He studied at

Compton College Compton College is a Public college, public community college in Compton, California. From 2006, when it lost its regional accreditation, to 2017, when it regained that accreditation, it operated as a part of El Camino College. Before and after ...

and graduated from

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

with a degree in zoology.

Career

Gaunt was a ''

'' photographer and his nickname was Jack. He worked at the Times as a second shift photographer: he worked from late afternoon until early morning each day. After his death, his daughter said that he enjoyed the challenges of covering fires. On April 2, 1954 he captured an image which won him the 1955 award-winning photo entitled " Tragedy by the Sea". The image showed a man and a woman standing on a beach. The man and woman were a

couple named John and Lillian McDonald. In the image they stood together beside the ocean that had just taken their 19-month-old son Michael away. The photo was on the front page of the ''Los Angeles Times'' the following morning. As well as the Pulitzer, the photograph won an

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

Managing Editor's Award, and a prize from the California-Nevada Associated Press. The Pulitzer prize earned Gaunt a monetary award.

Personal life

Gaunt married Mary Elise in the late 1940s, and the two had two daughters: Jane and Abigail. He worked for the ''

'' from October 1950 to 1988. After Gaunt retired in 1988 he moved to the Pacific coast of Oregon. He died of congestive heart failure October 26, 2007. He had been in

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...

at Desert Hot Springs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaunt, John L. 20th-century American photographers Pulitzer Prize for Photography winners People from Desert Hot Springs, California People from Hermosa Beach, California Artists from Syracuse, New York 1924 births 2007 deaths Journalists from California Journalists from New York (state) 20th-century American journalists American male journalists United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II University of Southern California alumni Photographers from New York (state) Photographers from California American photojournalists