Luther Chase Goldman (November 2, 1909 – January 12, 2005) was an American

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

and wildlife photographer.Luther Chase Goldman

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

Best known for his photographs of

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

of birds, he was chief photographer of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Biography

Goldman was born on November 2, 1909, in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, the son of biologist Edward A. Goldman, and studied at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. He spent much of his career as a field biologist and photographer for the FWS, and was manager of several prominent nature preserves, including the

Salton Sea The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly salinity, saline endorheic lake in Riverside County, California, Riverside and Imperial County, California, Imperial counties in Southern California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the S ...

and Bitter Lake refuges. During the

Second World War 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 served as an

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

for the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. He eventually became assistant chief of

wildlife management Wildlife management is the management process influencing interactions among and between wildlife, its Habitat, habitats and people to achieve predefined impacts. Wildlife management can include wildlife conservation, population control, gamekeepi ...

for the U.S. He died on January 12, 2005 in

Lanham, Maryland Lanham is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, it has a population of 11,282. The New Carrollton station (the terminus of the Washington Metro's O ...

at the age of 95.

References

1909 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American photographers University of Maryland, College Park alumni Photographers from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American naturalists {{US-photographer-stub