Bourke-White, Margaret

Bourke-White, Margaret bûrkˈ hwīt [key], 1904–71, American photo-journalist, b. New York City. One of the original staff photographers at Fortune, Life, and Time magazines, Bourke-White was noted for her coverage of World War II, particularly of the invasion of Russia and the liberation of Italy and of German concentration camps. Her series on the rural South during the depression, mining in South Africa, Korean guerrilla warfare, and American industry, and her portraits of world leaders are especially celebrated. Bourke-White's books include Purple Heart Valley (1944), You Have Seen Their Faces (1937; with her husband, Erskine Caldwell), and Portrait of Myself (1963). She died after a 14-year battle with Parkinson's disease.

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