such as the movement of sand dollars and sea urch-
ins. He entered the human body to take motion
pictures of capillary blood flow and pointed his
cameras to the skies to record solar eclipses.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Edgerton continued
teaching and directing research at MIT, and earned
the affectionate nickname ‘‘Doc’’ from his stu-
dents. One of his best-known photographs dates
from this period.Shooting the Apple, 1964, shows
the instant a bullet tears through a bright red apple.
Edgerton used this image to illustrate the laws of
physics in a popular lecture he titled ‘‘How to
Make Applesauce at MIT.’’ During this period he
also continued his many research projects and wide
travels. In 1971, the Harold E. Edgerton Labora-
tory (ERL) in the New England Aquarium in Bos-
ton, a center for basic and applied science, was
dedicated, honoring aquarium trustee Harold
Edgerton. In 1975, he ended his daily association
with EG&G, Inc., and became the company’s
emeritus chairman of the board.
To ensure his pioneering legacy, some of his
camera strobe equipment and photographs are
installed at the Plainsman Museum in Aurora,
Nebraska. The MIT Sea Grant research vessel, a
seagoing laboratory and classroom, was commis-
sioned and namedEdgerton. In 1983, MIT dedi-
cated ‘‘Strobe Alley’’ an 80-foot corridor museum
at MIT of Edgerton’s photographs and equipment,
as well as artifacts recovered on various voyages.
MIT also created and dedicated the EG&G Educa-
tion Center at MIT, a teaching and conference
facility built with gifts from EG&G, Inc. and its
three founding partners.
Edgerton remained active, however; in 1985, at
age 82 he again accompanied Cousteau aboard
Calypsoon an expedition off Matanzas Harbor,
near Havana, Cuba, in search of Spanish ship-
wrecks. Later that year the PBS Nova series aired
‘‘Edgerton and His Incredible Seeing Machines,’’ a
program based on a film originally produced by
Nebraska Educational Television that explored the
career and inventions of Edgerton and documents
the development of stroboscopic photography.
On January 4, 1990, after lunch at the MIT
Faculty Club, Harold E. ‘‘Doc’’ Edgerton died at
age 86. Edgerton’s inventive genius and his long
career allowed all mankind’s eyes to observe and
record events never before seen. To solidify his
legacy and propagate his love for learning, the
Harold E. Edgerton Educational Center (renamed
Edgerton Explorit Center) opened in 1995 in Aur-
ora, Nebraska, his childhood home. Although his
impetus was at base a scientific one, his photo-
graphs are today widely appreciated, exhibited,
and collected for their formal beauty and aesthetic
qualities. A number of his best-known images were
printed as dye-transfers in the 1980s and have been
collected by museums around the world.
GRANTWarren
Seealso:National Geographic; Underwater PhotographyBiography
Born April 6, 1903, Fremont, Nebraska. Enrolled at the Uni-
versityofNebraska,Lincoln,1921.B.S.inElectricalEngi-
neering, 1925. Enrolled at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology(MIT),studiedrotatingenginesusingastrobe
light, 1926. M.S. in Electrical Engineering from MIT,
1927; joined faculty; married Esther May Garrett, 1928.
Announced stroboscope and its use in both ultra high
speed and still (or stop-motion) photography; formed
partnership with former student Kenneth J. Germeshau-
sen; D. Sc. in electrical engineering from MIT, 1931. First
stroboscope-taken photographs appeared in publica-
tions, 1932. Applied for U.S. patents for the stroboscope;
photographs included in the Royal Photographic
Society’s annual exhibition in London (first Edgerton
exhibition), 1933. Herbert E. Grier joined the partnership
of Edgerton and Germeshausen; partnership received its
first photography award, the Royal Photographic
Society’s Bronze Medal, 1934. Designed a strobe lamp
for night aerial photography for the U.S. Army Air
Force; co-authored first book,Flash!, 1939. Served in
Europe as technical representative for the U.S. Army Air
Force, 1944. War Department Medal of Freedom, 1946.
Begins association with underwater explorer Jacques-
Yves Cousteau, develops pinger and side-scan sonar,- Photographs ocean floor using thumper, 1960.
Designs boomer for seismic profiling of sea floor, 1961.
Appointed Institute Professor at MIT, 1966. First slow-
motionphotographs,1968.ReceivesU.S.NationalMedal
of Science, awarded by President Richard M. Nixon; MIT
establishes the Edgerton Fund, 1973. Named ‘‘New Eng-
land Inventor of the Year,’’ 1982. ‘‘Strobe Alley’’ and
EG&G Education Center, (both at MIT) dedicated, - ‘‘Edgerton and His Incredible Seeing Machines’’
airedbyPBSon‘‘Nova,’’1985.InductedintotheNational
Inventors Hall of Fame by the United States Patent and
Trademark Office. Died, 1990. Harold E. Edgerton Edu-
cational Center (renamed Edgerton Explorit Center)
opened, 1995.
Selected Works
Wes Fesler Kicking a Football, 1934
Densmore Shute Bends the Shaft, 1938
Fanning the Cards, 1940
Milkdrop Coronet, 1957
Self-Portrait with Balloon and Bullet, 1959
Shooting the Apple, 1964Individual Exhibitions
1934 Harold Edgerton; Royal Academy of Photography,
London, EnglandEDGERTON, HAROLD