Stanley Frank "Stan" Stearns (May 11, 1935 – March 2, 2012) was an American photographer who captured the iconic image of a three-year-old John F. Kennedy Jr. saluting the coffin of his father, US President John F. Kennedy, at his father's funeral.

Biography

Born in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, Stearns spent four years in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

as a photographer for '' Stars and Stripes'' before joining

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 2 ...

in 1958. Mr. Stearns covered the end of the Eisenhower administration, and rose to prominence after covering Kennedy's funeral and the presidential administrations of

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

and

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

. His image of the John-John salute is one of the most-published photographs in the world and was a front-runner for the

Pulitzer Prize for Photography The Pulitzer Prize for Photography was one of the American Pulitzer Prizes annually awarded for journalism. It was inaugurated in 1942 and replaced by two photojournalism prizes in 1968: the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography and "Pulitzer Pri ...

for 1964, but lost out to the photo of

Jack Ruby Jack Leon Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein; April 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner and alleged associate of the Chicago Outfit who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald was accused of ...

shooting Kennedy's assassin,

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...

. Stearns was elected president of the White House News Photographers Association in 1969, and hosted a black tie dinner for President Nixon and Vice President Agnew.The Capital
(March 31, 1971 p.28) After he left UPI in late 1970, Stearns returned to his hometown of Annapolis and opened a downtown studio. He photographed many well-known celebrities and politicians as well as prominent local residents, right up until his last days. His existing clients and archives are now maintained by his friend and fellow Annapolis photographer
David Anderson

References

External links

Official website
1935 births 2012 deaths Photographers from Maryland People from Annapolis, Maryland Military personnel from Maryland United Press International people {{US-photographer-stub