Editing Talbert Abrams

{{short description|American photographer and aviator}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2009}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Talbert T. Abrams
| image       = <!-- just the filename, without the File: or Image: prefix or enclosing [[brackets]] -->
| alt         = 
| caption     = 
| birth_name  = <!-- only use if different from name -->
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1895|08|17|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Tekonsha, Michigan]]
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|1990|08|25|1895|08|17|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Lansing, Michigan]]
| nationality = American
| other_names = 
| occupation  = Photographer and aviator
| known_for   = 
}}
'''Talbert "Ted" Abrams''' (August 17, 1895<ref name="Who's Who">{{cite book|title=Who Was Who in America, with World Notables, v. 10: 1989–1993|year=1993|publisher=Marquis Who's Who|location=New Providence, NJ|isbn=0837902207|pages=1–2|chapter=Abrams, Talbert}}</ref> &ndash; August 25, 1990) was an American photographer and aviator known as the "father of [[aerial photography]]".

==Early years==
Born in [[Tekonsha, Michigan]], Abrams learned to fly at the [[Curtiss Aviation School]] while working as a mechanic for [[Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company|Curtiss]].<ref name=MSU>{{cite web |url=http://www.pa.msu.edu/abrams/History/Ted_Abrams.html |title=Talbert "Ted" Abrams |publisher=Department of Physics and Astronomy, [[Michigan State University]] |accessdate=August 17, 2012}}</ref> He was issued [[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale]] pilot's license number 282.<ref name=MSU/> The certificate was signed by [[Orville Wright]].<ref name="b-29s-over-korea.com">[http://b-29s-over-korea.com/ted_abrams//ted_abrams01.html "TALBERT "TED" ABRAMS, FATHER OF AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY: A TRIBUTE TO LANSING'S FALLEN EAGLE]</ref>

He joined the [[US Marine Corps]] in 1917 and was assigned to the [[US Navy]] flying school at [[Pensacola]].<ref name=MSU/> Following [[World War I]], his squadron took photos of rebel activities on [[Haiti]], and Abrams became interested in the potential of aerial photography.<ref name=MSU/>

==Career==
In 1920, he left the military, purchased a war-surplus [[Curtiss JN-4]] and founded a small airline, [[ABC Airline]] ('''A'''lways '''B'''e '''C'''areful!), but remained more interested in photographic work.<ref name=MSU/> On January 17, 1923, he married Leota Pearl Fry.<ref name=MSU/> The same year, he purchased a [[Standard J-1]], fitted it with cameras, and founded the [[Abrams Aerial Survey Corporation]] (sold to Aerocon in 2003).<ref name=MSU/><ref name=NYT>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/30/obituaries/talbert-abrams-dies-aerial-pioneer-was-95.html|title=Talbert Abrams Dies; Aerial Pioneer Was 95|date=August 30, 1990|work=[[The New York Times]]|accessdate=October 4, 2011}}</ref> Over the next few years, he formed the [[Abrams Instrument Corporation]] to develop better cameras and instruments for his work, and the [[Abrams Aircraft Corporation]] in 1937 to develop specially designed aircraft.<ref name=MSU/>

He got his first income from aerial photography when he took a photo of a racetrack from his [[biplane]] for a newspaper. Later he used [[stereo-plotter]]s to make maps for highway design and construction projects. In 1937 he developed a novel form of aircraft called "[[Abrams P-1 Explorer|The Explorer]]", which was the first aircraft designed exclusively for aerial photography.<ref name="b-29s-over-korea.com"/>

During [[World War II]], he founded the [[Abrams School of Aerial Surveying and Photo Interpretation]] to teach these skills to the US military, while his Instrument Corporation built reconnaissance cameras for aircraft.<ref name=MSU/>

In 1961, he sold the Abrams Instrument Corporation to [[Curtiss-Wright]] and went into semi-retirement.<ref name=MSU/>

In 1962 Abrams and his wife made a large donation to Michigan State University in order to fund the construction of a planetarium, which was then named in their honor.

He died in a nursing home in [[Lansing, Michigan]] on August 26, 1990, at the age of 95.<ref name=NYT/>

==Legacy==
Every year, the [[American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS)]] presents the [[Talbert Abrams Award]] to a person who makes an outstanding contribution to aerial photography and mapping. [[Mount Abrams]] in the [[Antarctic]] is named after him,<ref>[http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:5:::NO::P5_ANTAR_ID:29 USGS Geographic Names Information System]</ref> as is the [[Abrams Planetarium]] at [[Michigan State University]].<ref name=MSU/>

"For his participation in "[[Operation Deep Freeze]]" at the South Pole in the 1960s he became one of the few persons in the world to have a mountain named after him, besides being awarded the [[Antarctic Service Medal]]."<ref name="b-29s-over-korea.com"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrams, Talbert}}
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American photographers]]
[[Category:20th-century United States Marines]]
[[Category:Aviators from Michigan]]
[[Category:American military personnel of the Banana Wars]]
[[Category:People from Calhoun County, Michigan]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Michigan]]