Joe Rosenthal

American, 1911–2006

BiographyJoe Rosenthal was born in Washington on 9th October, 1911. He had a strong interest in photography and after finishing college joined the Newspaper Enterprise Association in San Francisco before becoming a staff photographer with the San Francisco Examiner.

On the outbreak of the Second World War Rosenthal applied to join the US Army as a military photographer. Rejected because of his poor eyesight, Rosenthal was eventually sent to cover the Pacific War by the Associated Press.

Rosenthal was at Iwo Jima and took some very dramatic pictures of the invasion. On February 23, 1945, while on the top of Mount Suribachi, Rosenthal took one of the most famous photographs of the war. The picture, Raising of the Flag on Iwo Jima, was published throughout the world.

After the war Rosenthal became chief photographer and manager of Times Wide World Photos. Later he worked for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Rosenthal died in Novato, CA, Sunday, August 20, 2006.

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