PHOTOGRAPHER

Wilson Bentley

1865 - 1931

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Wilson Alwyn Bentley (February 9, 1865 – December 23, 1931), also known as Snowflake Bentley, was an American meteorologist and photographer, who was the first known person to take detailed photographs of snowflakes and record their features. He perfected a process of catching flakes on black velvet in such a way that their images could be captured before they either melted or sublimated, and elaborated the theory that no two snowflakes are alike. Kenneth G. Libbrecht notes that the techniques used by Bentley to photograph snowflakes are essentially the same as those used today, and that while the quality of his photographs reflects the technical limitations of the equipment of the era, "he did it so well that hardly anybody bothered to photograph snowflakes for almost 100 years". The broadest collection of Bentley's photographs is held by the Jericho Historical Society in his home town, Jericho, Vermont. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Wilson Bentley is the 58th most popular photographer (up from 66th in 2019), the 4,212th most popular biography from United States (up from 4,374th in 2019) and the 16th most popular American Photographer.

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Among PHOTOGRAPHERS

Among photographers, Wilson Bentley ranks 58 out of 148. Before him are Paul Strand, Josef Sudek, Gustav Klutsis, Cecil Beaton, André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri, and Sean Flynn. After him are Nick Ut, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Grete Stern, Hippolyte Bayard, Patrick Demarchelier, and Lothar Wolleh.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1865, Wilson Bentley ranks 95. Before him are Henri Desgrange, Eugene Botkin, Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Édouard Chavannes, Afonso, Duke of Porto, and Max Heindel. After him are Josef Fischer, Heinrich Rubens, Tan Sitong, Emma Eckstein, Mahmud Tarzi, and Lily Braun. Among people deceased in 1931, Wilson Bentley ranks 68. Before him are Melvil Dewey, Gustaf Kossinna, Samad bey Mehmandarov, Xu Zhimo, Jean-Louis Forain, and William Bates. After him are Nicolae Paulescu, David Starr Jordan, Hanns Hörbiger, Rachel Bluwstein, Viktor Dyk, and Emil Warburg.

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Wilson Bentley ranks 4,212 out of 20,380. Before him are Jef Raskin (1943), Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884), Robert David Hall (1947), Clara Barton (1821), Richard Belzer (1944), and Steven Holl (1947). After him are Joe Hill (1972), Maureen Stapleton (1925), Todd Rundgren (1948), Sly Stone (1943), Bray Wyatt (1987), and Milt Jackson (1923).

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Among PHOTOGRAPHERS In United States

Among photographers born in United States, Wilson Bentley ranks 16. Before him are Robert Mapplethorpe (1946), Berenice Abbott (1898), Lewis Hine (1874), Edward Weston (1886), Paul Strand (1890), and Sean Flynn (1941). After him are Herb Ritts (1952), Gertrude Käsebier (1852), Imogen Cunningham (1883), William P. Gottlieb (1917), Berry Berenson (1948), and Ansel Adams (1902).

American born Photographers

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