Talbert "Ted" Abrams (August 17, 1895 – August 25, 1990) was an American photographer and aviator known as the "father of

aerial photography Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other flight, airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography. Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wi ...

Early years

Born in

Tekonsha, Michigan Tekonsha is a village in Tekonsha Township, Calhoun County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 653 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United St ...

, Abrams learned to fly at the Curtiss Aviation School while working as a mechanic for Curtiss. He was issued

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...

pilot's license number 282. The certificate was signed by

Orville Wright The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world's first succes ...

."TALBERT "TED" ABRAMS, FATHER OF AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY: A TRIBUTE TO LANSING'S FALLEN EAGLE
/ref> He joined the

US Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

in 1917 and was assigned to the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

flying school at

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

. Following

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, his squadron took photos of rebel activities on

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

, and Abrams became interested in the potential of aerial photography.

Career

In 1920, he left the military, purchased a war-surplus

Curtiss JN-4 The Curtiss JN "Jenny" is a series of biplanes built by the Glenn Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft ...

and founded a small airline, ABC Airline (Always Be Careful!), but remained more interested in photographic work. On January 17, 1923, he married Leota Pearl Fry. The same year, he purchased a Standard J-1, fitted it with cameras, and founded the Abrams Aerial Survey Corporation (sold to Aerocon in 2003). Over the next few years, he formed the Abrams Instrument Corporation to develop better cameras and instruments for his work, and the Abrams Aircraft Corporation in 1937 to develop specially designed aircraft. He got his first income from aerial photography when he took a photo of a racetrack from his

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

for a newspaper. Later he used stereo-plotters to make maps for highway design and construction projects. In 1937 he developed a novel form of aircraft called " The Explorer", which was the first aircraft designed exclusively for aerial photography. 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 founded the Abrams School of Aerial Surveying and Photo Interpretation to teach these skills to the US military, while his Instrument Corporation built reconnaissance cameras for aircraft. In 1961, he sold the Abrams Instrument Corporation to

Curtiss-Wright The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is an American manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation (business), consoli ...

and went into semi-retirement. In 1962 Abrams and his wife made a large donation to Michigan State University in order to fund the construction of a planetarium, which was then named in their honor. He died in a nursing home in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

on August 26, 1990, at the age of 95.

Legacy

Every year, the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) presents the Talbert Abrams Award to a person who makes an outstanding contribution to aerial photography and mapping.

Mount Abrams The Behrendt Mountains () is a group of mountains, long, aligned in the form of a horseshoe with the opening to the southwest, standing southwest of the Merrick Mountains in Ellsworth Land, Antarctica. Location The Behrendt Mountains are in t ...

in the

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

is named after him,USGS Geographic Names Information System
/ref> as is the

Abrams Planetarium Abrams Planetarium is the planetarium on the campus of Michigan State University, Michigan, United States. History The Abrams Planetarium opened in 1963, and has had an estimated one million visitors since then. As a branch of the Department ...

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

. "For his participation in "

Operation Deep Freeze Operation Deep Freeze is the code name for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on. (There was an init ...

" at the South Pole in the 1960s he became one of the few persons in the world to have a mountain named after him, besides being awarded the

Antarctic Service Medal The Antarctica Service Medal (ASM) was established by the United States Congress on July 7, 1960, under s:Public Law 86-600, Public Law 600 of the 86th United States Congress, 86th Congress. The medal was intended as a awards and decorations of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrams, Talbert 1895 births 1990 deaths 20th-century American photographers 20th-century United States Marines Aviators from Michigan American military personnel of the Banana Wars People from Calhoun County, Michigan United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I Military personnel from Michigan