Ansel E. Wallace

Ansel Earle Wallace (October 30, 1884 – December 19, 1941) was an American photojournalist and newsreel cameraman who gained prominence in 1915 when he covered World War I.

Early life and career

Ansel Earle Wallace was born on October 30, 1884, in South Bend, Indiana. His father and his brother Harry were all photographers. In 1909, Wallace went to New York City where he started working as a press photographer for the newspapers of William Randolph Hearst. He shot his first film in 1914 while covering the Mexican War together with his colleague Ariel Varges.

One of the first newsreel cameramen in American film history, Wallace had a major scoop in 1915 with his pictures of the new super submarines that were deployed by the German Navy.

Wallace returned to America in July 1915. By 1918 he had left the Hearst news service and for the rest of his life Wallace worked for Wallace and Sons Photography. He died in Evansville, Indiana, on December 19, 1941, and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Numerous still pictures taken by Wallace at the front have also been identified by the authors.