Talbert "Ted" Abrams (August 17, 1895,

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 717 at the 2010 census. Tekonsha is the birthplace of Talbert Ab ...

– August 25, 1990) was an American photographer and aviator known as the "father of aerial photography".

Early years

Born in

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

Curtiss Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909 – 1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in its first decade ...

. He was issued

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) 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 maintai ...

pilot's license number 282. The certificate was signed by Orville Wright."TALBERT "TED" ABRAMS, FATHER OF AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY: A TRIBUTE TO LANSING'S FALLEN EAGLE
/ref> He joined the US Marine Corps in 1917 and was assigned to the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

flying school at Pensacola. Following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, his squadron took photos of rebel activities on

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

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

Career

In 1920, he left the military, purchased a war-surplus Curtiss JN-4 and founded a small airline,

ABC Airline ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

(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 The Standard J is a two-seat basic trainer two-bay biplane produced in the United States from 1916 to 1918, powered by a four-cylinder inline Hall-Scott A-7a engine. It was constructed from wood with wire bracing and fabric covering. The J-1 ...

, fitted it with cameras, and founded the

Abrams Aerial Survey Corporation Abrams may refer to: * Abrams (surname), a list of notable people with the surname * '' Abrams v. United States'', 250 U.S. 616 (1919), U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding free speech during times of war * M1 Abrams, main battle tank * Abrams, ...

(sold to Aerocon in 2003). Over the next few years, he formed the

Abrams Instrument Corporation Abrams may refer to: * Abrams (surname), a list of notable people with the surname * '' Abrams v. United States'', 250 U.S. 616 (1919), U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding free speech during times of war * M1 Abrams, main battle tank * Abrams, ...

to develop better cameras and instruments for his work, and the

Abrams Aircraft Corporation The Abrams Air Craft Corporation was an aircraft manufacturer established in Lansing, Michigan, USA, in 1937 as an offshoot of Talbert Abrams' Aerial Survey Corporation. Abrams had founded an airline ( ABC Airline) in 1929 but found himself incr ...

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he founded the

Abrams School of Aerial Surveying and Photo Interpretation Abrams may refer to: * Abrams (surname), a list of notable people with the surname * '' Abrams v. United States'', 250 U.S. 616 (1919), U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding free speech during times of war * M1 Abrams, main battle tank * Abrams, W ...

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 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 capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

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

Legacy

Every year, the

American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) is an American learned society devoted to photogrammetry and remote sensing. It is the United States' member organization of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remot ...

presents the

Talbert Abrams Award Talbert is a surname of Germanic origin. It is recorded in Scotland in the 16th century. The name refers to: *Ansel Talbert (b. unknown, d. 1987), American aviation journalist *Bill Talbert (1918–1999), American professional tennis player * Bru ...

to a person who makes an outstanding contribution to aerial photography and mapping.

Mount Abrams Mount Abrams () is a mountain east of Mount Brice, in the Behrendt Mountains. It was discovered and photographed from the air by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition (RARE) of 1947–48 under Finn Ronne. It was named by Ronne for Talbert A ...

in the

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

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

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

. "For his participation in "

Operation Deep Freeze Operation Deep Freeze (OpDFrz or ODF) is codename 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 w ...

" 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 Aviators from Michigan United States Marines 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