Bill Biggart

Coordinates: 40°42′42.1″N 74°0′49.0″W / 40.711694°N 74.013611°W / 40.711694; -74.013611
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

William G. Biggart
photojournalist, photographer
Years active1985—2001[1]
EmployerImpact Visuals
SpouseWendy Doremus
Children3[1][2]
Websitewww.billbiggart.com

William G. Biggart (July 20, 1947 – September 11, 2001) was an American

World Trade Center's North Tower. He was the only professional photographer to be killed while covering the attacks.[1][2][3]

On September 15, 2001, four days after the attacks, Biggart's remains were discovered along with a bag containing his three cameras and the CompactFlash card from which his last photographs were recovered. The photos were used in the October 15, 2001, issue of Newsweek.[1][4][5][6] His photographs from 9/11 were exhibited at the International Center of Photography and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.[4][7][8] They have also been preserved on the Internet by The Digital Journalist.[9]

Personal life

A child of an American officer stationed in Germany, Bill Biggart was born in Berlin in 1947. Biggart was one of 12 siblings in his Irish-Catholic family.[1][10][11] As an adult, he moved into a loft in Lower Manhattan, New York City, about the same time that the WTC was opening in the 1970s.[12]

Biggart was married twice and had three children. He had one son from his first marriage. Biggart's second wife was Wendy Doremus, and they had two children.[1][2]

Career

Biggart started out as a commercial photographer

Yusuf Hawkins.[18] He was also present in Berlin to photograph the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989.[11][13]

Biggart began working for the Impact Visuals photo news agency in 1988 and he continued to work there until he was killed.

Agence France Press, and Sipa Press.[13] His work appeared in The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, The Village Voice and The City Sun.[5][13]

September 11 attacks

National September 11 Memorial
's South Pool, along with those of passengers of Flight 77.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, a passing taxi driver alerted Biggart to the fact that a plane had just crashed into the

Union Square, grabbed three cameras (two film, one digital) and began walking the two miles toward the center,[21] where fire trucks were located,[1] shooting photographs along the way,[21] including digital, color film and slide images.[6] He eventually found himself at the World Trade Center shooting the Twin Towers as they burned, and continued taking photos after the South Tower collapsed. His wife called Biggart on his cell phone shortly after the first tower's collapse. According to her, Biggart said he was with the firemen and safe, and he would meet her in 20 minutes.[21]

Another photographer, Bolivar Arellano of the New York Post, observed that Biggart was photographing the second tower before it fell, and that Biggart was closer than any other photographer, and closer than Arellano felt was safe.[22] Bill Biggart took his last photo at 10:28:24 a.m. EST,[1][6][11] about 20 minutes after his phone call with his wife.[1] At 10:28 a.m., the North Tower collapsed.[23] Falling debris from the tower killed him.[3] His last photograph was presented as a highlight of the 2002 exhibit at the National Museum of American History.[24] In the days following the tower's collapse, Biggart was reported among the missing. His wife searched for him at news agencies and hospitals.[25] Four days later, his remains and camera equipment were recovered from the tower debris.[4]

Biggart took over 300 photographs of the event,[1] 154 of which one of Biggart's friends, photographer Chip East, was able to recover from Biggart's digital storage devices, and which have become part of the exhibits of Biggart's most well-known photographs.[1][2][8]

Memorials

Creative works

  • Ireland: A Week in the Life of A Nation (1986 U.K.)
  • Running Towards Danger: Stories Behind the Breaking News of 9/11 (2002, Newseum)

Exhibits

  • Aftermath: Reflections on The Anniversary of September 11, Bill Biggart: Final Exposures, International Center of Photography, New York City, 2002.[7]
  • Bearing Witness to History, Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C., 2002.[8]
  • Bill Biggart's cameras from 9/11 are on display at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., April 11, 2008.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Adler, Jerry (October 1, 2001). "Shooting To the End". Newsweek. Archived from the original on May 13, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e O'Clery, Conor (December 2, 2001). "The parting shot". The Irish Times. (subscription required)
  3. ^ a b DeLuca, Louis (September 1, 2012). "See the final photos by Bill Biggart, eyewitness to 9/11, killed in the attack". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d Neal, Rome (September 6, 2002). "Bill Biggart: Final Exposures". CBS News. Archived from the original on November 21, 2010.
  5. ^ a b c "At Pakistan/Afghanistan Border; Journalist Among Dead and Media Workers Missing". IFEX.org. September 2, 2001. Archived from the original on September 12, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  6. ^ a b c Sengupta, Nilanjana (September 1, 2011). "Snapshots of a disaster". The Straits Times.
  7. ^
    Daily News. Daily News. Archived
    from the original on September 12, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  8. ^ a b c "Smithsonian Is Planning 9/11 Exhibit". The New York Times. August 3, 2002. Archived from the original on February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  9. ^ "Bill Biggart's Final Exposures". The Digital Journalist. January 2011. Archived from the original on February 21, 2010. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  10. ^ a b c "Parties, Love Notes and Other Small Memories That Now Loom Large". The New York Times. September 1, 2001.
  11. ^ a b c d e Van der Lingen, Suzanne. "Bill Biggart: 9/11". GUP magazine. Archived from the original on July 9, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  12. ^ a b Hay, Carol; McKitterick, Tom (September 9, 2001). "Remembering a friend". Toronto Star.
  13. ^ a b c d "About Bill". Bill Biggart, photographer, 1947–2001. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  14. ^ Gussow, Mel (November 3, 1982). "Stage: 'Mens Room'". The New York Times.
  15. ^ Moffett III, George D.; Temko, Ned (April 2, 1988). "Crisis of leadership besets troubled Israel". The Christian Science Monitor.
  16. ^ Temko, Ned (April 2, 1988). "Palestinian-Israeli war shifts to verbal front, but still at stalemate". The Christian Science Monitor.
  17. ^ Irwin, Victoria (June 1, 1987). "New Yorkers have much to ponder after Goetz trial". The Christian Science Monitor.
  18. ^ Roberts, Sam (September 3, 1989). "Once Again, Racism Proves to Be Fatal In New York City". The New York Times. p. The Week in Review (Section 4) page 6, column 1.
  19. ^ "Bill Biggart killed at World Trade Centre". Editorial Photographyers United Kingdom & Ireland. September 1, 2001. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  20. ^ van der Lingen, Suzanne (September 6, 2011). "Bill Biggart: 9/11" Archived July 9, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. GUP magazine.
  21. ^ a b c d "September 11th" Archived June 20, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Bill Biggart: Photographer. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  22. ISBN 9781845115456. Archived
    from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  23. ^ Miller, Bill (May 1, 2002). "Report Assesses Trade Center's Collapse". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 20, 2011.
  24. ^ "2002 Exhibition Highlights". National Museum of American History. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  25. ^ Lin, Jennifer (September 1, 2001). "As hopes fade, aching sorrow sets in; Passersby memorialize the fallen on the hulk of a charred fire truck". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  26. ^ Ho, Dorothy (October 1, 2001). "Newseum Honors Bill Biggart, Who Died Covering WTC Attack". Film Journal. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014.
  27. National 9/11 Memorial
    . Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  28. ^ Dietsch, Deborah K. (April 5, 2008). "Newseum completes avenue revitalization". The Washington Times.

External links

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