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Milton Brooks

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Milton Brooks
Born(1901-08-29)August 29, 1901
St. Louis, Missouri US
DiedSeptember 3, 1956(1956-09-03) (aged 55)
Other namesPete
OccupationPhotographer

Milton E. "Pete" Brooks (August 29, 1901 – September 3, 1956) was the winner of the first Pulitzer Prize for Photography in 1942.[1]

Biography

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Brooks's Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph, "Ford Strikers Riot"

Brooks was born in St. Louis. He was a stocky red-headed man with an ardent boating habit.[2] His father, James W. Brooks, was also a newspaper reporter and "desk man".[2] Brooks was a staff photographer for The Detroit News from 1928 to 1953.[3] Afterward, he became a commercial photographer.[3]

Prize-winning photograph

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The photograph with which Brooks won the prize was called Ford Strikers Riot. It was taken during the 1941 workers' strike at a Ford manufacturing plant, and shows strikers beating a strikebreaker, who is trying to protect himself by pulling his coat over his head and face.[4]

Describing the circumstances surrounding the photo, Brooks said, "I took the picture quickly, hid the camera under my coat and ducked into the crowd. A lot of people would have liked to wreck that picture."[5]

References

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  1. ^ Pulitzer Prize Winners: 1942
  2. ^ a b "Winners of 1942 Pulitzer Awards and Two Successful Entries" New York Times, May 5, 1942.
  3. ^ a b "Obituaries: Milton E. (Pete) Brooks". Detroit Free Press. September 6, 1956 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Fischer, Heinz-Dietrich; Fischer, Erika J., eds. (2010). Press Photography Award 1942–1998: From Joe Rosenthal and Horst Faas to Moneta Sleet and Stan Grossfeld. Vol. 14. DeGruyter. pp. 4–5. ISBN 9783598301841.
  5. ^ "M.E. Brooks, Photo Prize Winner, Dies", Detroit News, Sept 4, 1956.