Solomon Osagie Alonge

Chief Solomon Osagie Alonge (1911–1994) was a self-taught photographer and pioneer of Nigerian photography. He was the first official photographer for the royal court of Benin City, Nigeria, and a chief in the Iwebo palace society. Alonge's record of Nigerian royalty and social class is one of the most extensive and well-preserved collections from the period. documenting the final and elaborate traditional burial ceremony for Oba Akenzua's mother in 1935. He served as treasurer of the Central Baptist Church for over 20 years.

The National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C., exhibited Alonge's work beginning in September 2014, displaying some of his rarely seen photographs. The exhibition, which coincided with the Nigerian celebration of 100 years as a united country, was curated by professor and photographer Flora S. Kaplan, who corresponded with Alonge and visited Benin in 1982.