EARLY LIFE: Malcolm Wilde Browne, born in Manhattan, April 17th of 1931, died August 27th of 2012, was American with Quaker roots passed down from his mother with Roman Catholic roots from his father. Grandfather was first cousins with Oscar Wilde. He was the eldest of four, a sister and two younger brothers. He attended Swarthmore College where he studied chemistry.
WHO HE WORKD FOR: "He was assigned to the military newspaper Stars and Stripes, and after completing his tour of duty, he took a job with the Associated Press, which in 1961 made him bureau chief in Saigon. In 1968 Browne became a reporter for the New York Times, for which he covered the Vietnam War until the final evacuation from Saigon in 1973. He was on the Times staff for three decades, though in later years he switched to science writing. Browne chronicled his years as a war correspondent in his autobiography, Muddy Boots and Red Socks (1993)."
REASON FOR BECOMING PHOTOJOURNALIST: In 1956, he was drafted and sent to Korea, and ended up getting a job with a military newspaper. He decided on a career in journalism then. His career in photojournalism is said to be an "accident".
FAMOUS FOR:Malcolm W. Browne, a orld famous photojournalist whose four-decade career included covering the Vietnam War; taking one of the most memorable photos of the conflict, the "self-immolating " monk, Thích Quảng Đức, who was a martyr that burned himself to death due to his protesting of the persecution of Buddhists, and a lively second act as a science writer who explained chemical weapons and described the rise of synthetic body parts.
GEOGRAPHIC PLACES HE SHOT: Korean War, Vietnam, South America, and the Persian Gulf War were all major areas where Malcolm shot for his many different reporter jobs.
AWARDS: In 1964 Browne and David Halberstam of the New York Times jointly won the Pulitzer Prize (awarded to people for a distinguished example of reporting on the international affairs) for "their individual reporting of the Vietnam war and the overthrow of the Diem regime". He is also know to have won the World Press Photo Of The Year, the main prize is given to the image that "... is not only the photojournalistic encapsulation of the year, but represents an issue, situation or event of great journalistic importance, and does so in a way that demonstrates an outstanding level of visual perception and creativity.", in 1963.
WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID ABOUT HIS WORK/IMPORTANCE OF HIS WORK: "Malcolm Browne was a precise and determined journalist who helped set the standard for rigorous reporting in the early days of the Vietnam War," said Kathleen Carroll, AP executive editor and senior vice president. President Kennedy said about the photograph, "No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one" which eventually led to JFK's reevaluation of his administrations Vietnam Policy. This was considered the beginning of the end of American support for the Ngo Dinh Diem regime and its later demise.
INFLUENCE: In my opinion he influenced the entire world of photojournalism due to his most famous photo, this opened up the door for reporters to capture really true moments that might be hard to see. He also was influenced by the war drafts because without them he never would have even considered photography or journalism.
QUOTES/OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS: "In Vietnam, it was said there were two kinds of observers: those who over heard about the war from others and those with the muddy boots. "I preferred the latter category""-Malcolm W. Browne
MY OPINION OF HIS WORK: In my opinion, Malcolm Wilde Browns work/photographs could tell a story with little to no words, they were independent and strong. His photos touched people all over the world and I think he was good at what he did and without him I don't think photojournalism would have been impacted as greatly today.
INTERESTING STORIES: While overseas he had many of his stories confiscated or forbade from being published, he also had his camera confiscated for honest photos that were taken. He also always wore red socks.