Harold Eugene Edgerton  (American, 1903-1990) 

Harold Eugene Edgerton (American, April 6, 1903–January 4, 1990) graduated from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, NE, with a BS in Electrical Engineering. After spending a year working for General Electric as a researcher, he began his post-graduate studies at MIT in Cambridge, MA, in 1926. He earned both his MS and PhD in Electrical Engineering, and went on to accept a position as an engineering professor. While at MIT, Edgerton began experimenting with strobes in an effort to advance their technological utility. He was interested in how strobes could be used to freeze objects in movement when being captured on film with a camera. These experiments led him to begin taking his own photos, and through the use of strobe photographic technology, Edgerton was able to capture split second events, such as the bursting of a balloon or the firing of a gun. Edgerton studied alongside fellow photographer and engineer Gjon Mili, who shared his interest in strobe photography. He retired from his position of institute professor emeritus in 1968, but continued working in the MIT Stroboscope Light Laboratory and teaching the freshman course in stroboscope photography. In 1934, he was awarded a bronze medal by the Royal Photographic Society, and in 1973, he won the National Medal of Science. Edgerton passed away in Cambridge, MA, on January 4, 1990.