Photographer. He was a pioneering 19th century photographer who is considered to be one of the first photo-journalists. Employed first by Matthew Brady, then Alexander Gardner, during the Civil War he was responsible for many of the photographs of battlefields, especially at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that have become indelible and iconic images of that conflict. He often got little or no credit though, as his photographs were attributed to Matthew Brady Studios, not to him specifically. After the war he accompanied the United States Geological expeditions throughout the American West and Southwest, and to the isthmus of Panama, documenting and photographing their progress. Although today he is considered one of America's great photographers of the 19th century, he died in near obscurity at age 42, of tuberculosis, in the Staten Island, New York City, New York home of his father in 1882. In 1966 he was the subject of the work "Timothy O"Sullivan: America's Forgotten Photographer" by James D. Horan. Today, the Library of Congress American Memory collection contains 276 of his photos, including "Harvest of Death", the famous photograph of Union Army dead who were killed on the first day (July 1, 1863) at the Battle of Gettysburg.
Photographer. He was a pioneering 19th century photographer who is considered to be one of the first photo-journalists. Employed first by Matthew Brady, then Alexander Gardner, during the Civil War he was responsible for many of the photographs of battlefields, especially at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that have become indelible and iconic images of that conflict. He often got little or no credit though, as his photographs were attributed to Matthew Brady Studios, not to him specifically. After the war he accompanied the United States Geological expeditions throughout the American West and Southwest, and to the isthmus of Panama, documenting and photographing their progress. Although today he is considered one of America's great photographers of the 19th century, he died in near obscurity at age 42, of tuberculosis, in the Staten Island, New York City, New York home of his father in 1882. In 1966 he was the subject of the work "Timothy O"Sullivan: America's Forgotten Photographer" by James D. Horan. Today, the Library of Congress American Memory collection contains 276 of his photos, including "Harvest of Death", the famous photograph of Union Army dead who were killed on the first day (July 1, 1863) at the Battle of Gettysburg.
Bio by: SullivanHolmes
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