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Born in Wichita, Kansas, Smith began his career by taking pictures for two local newspapers, the Eagle and the Beacon. When he went to New York City, he began work for Newsweek and became known personally for his incessant perfectionism and thorny personality. Smith was fired from Newsweek for refusing to use the type of camera his boss wanted and joined Life Magazine in 1939. He soon resigned from Life and was wounded in 1942 while simulating battle conditions for Parade.
As a correspondent for Ziff-Davis Publishing , Smith entered World War II on the front lines of the island-hopping American offensive against JapanJapan (, Nippon/Nihon literally "the origin of the sun") is a country in East Asia situated on a chain of islands east of the Asian continent on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean. The largest of these islands are, from north to south, Hokkaido , Honsh, photographing U.S. MarinesThe United States Marine Corps USMC is the second-smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. The United States Coast Guard is the smallest. The Marine Corps is nonetheless la at SaipanSaipan is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, with a total area of 120 kmē (46. The 1995 population was 52,698. The island is about 20 km (12. 5 mi) long and 9 km (5. 5 mi) wide, and its highest poi, GuamThe Territory of Guam ( In Detail) ( In Detail) Territorial motto: Where America's Day Begins Official languages English, Chamorro, Japanese Capital Hagatna Chief of state George W. Bush Governor Felix Perez Camacho Area Total % water Ranked 202nd 549 kmē, Iwo JimaIwo Jima ( Japanese Iojima meaning " sulfur island") is a volcanic island in Japan, part of the Volcano Islands (also known as the Ogasawara Islands), approximately 650 miles (1046 km) south of Tokyo (24. It has an approximate area of 8 square miles (21 k, and Okinawa. On Okinawa, Smith was hit by mortar fire; after his recovery, he rejoined Life and perfected the photo essayA photo essay is a series of photographs that are intended to tell a story or evoke a series of emotions. They are often accompanied by a written text, which sometimes takes the form of a full text essay, article, or book, and other times is limited to ca from 1947Events January January 1 British mines nationalized January 1 Nigeria gains limited autonomy January 1 The Canadian Citizenship Act went into effect January 3 Proceedings of the United States Congress are televised for the first time. January 10 United Na to 1954. Smith severed his ties with Life again over their use of his Albert Schweitzer and began a series of book-length photo shoots in which he strove for complete control of his subject matter. Complications from his consumption of drugs and alcohol led to a massive stroke from which Smith died in 1978. There currently exists the W. Eugene Smith Fund to promote "humanistic photography" which has since 1980 awarded photographers with exceptional accomplishments in the field.
Photographs by Smith:
Web links
Smith, W. Eugene Smith, W. Eugene Smith, W. Eugene