Ruth Robertson | |
|---|---|
 Robertson working as a war correspondent withSpeed Graphic Alaska 1945 | |
| Born | (1905-05-24)May 24, 1905 Taylorville, Illinois |
| Died | February 17, 1998(1998-02-17) (aged 92) |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Photography |
Ruth Agnes McCall Robertson Marietta (May 24, 1905 – February 17, 1998)[1] was an Americanphotojournalist who accomplished many "firsts" for women photographers[2] and is also known mostly for photographingAngel Falls inVenezuela and surveying them to establish them as tallest waterfalls in the world; it was published inNational Geographic magazine, November 1949.[2] She was born inTaylorville, Illinois.[2]
Robertson was a ground-breaking photographer who in 1939 was hired byThe Peoria Evening Star newspaper as its first “girl photographer.”[2][3][1] Three years later Robertson moved to Chicago and began working forAcme News Pictures,[4] which later becameUnited Press International. While working for Acme, Robertson co-founded an independent news service called Press Syndicate.[2] Through this connection Robertson received photographic assignments which made her the first female photographer allowed onto thebaseball infield atWrigley Field in 1943,[4] and the "only female photographer at the 1944 Democratic and Republican conventions."[2]
Robertson had been a journalist duringWorld War II and after she returned to her routine job at theNew York Herald Tribune, felt that her "life lost its thrill."[5] In 1949, Robertson eagerly accepted an assignment to Venezuela.[5] She became interested inAngel Falls and initially took aerial photographs.[5] On April 23, 1949, she set out on an expedition to the base with the Latvian explorerAleksandrs Laime[6] to reach the falls.[5][7] They traveled on theChurún River in dugoutcanoes and endured downpours of rain.[5] On May 12, they finally reached the falls.[2][5] The expedition was the first documented expedition, which included ten Kamarakoto natives (including another woman named Juanita),[4] to reach the foot of the falls, and was also the first to measure them.[5][8]
Robertson stayed inVenezuela for the next 12 years, and became the editor of theDaily Journal (formerly known asCaracas Journal), and subsequently moved toMexico, before returning to the U.S. in the mid-1960s, and re-locating toRosenberg, Texas, where she died in 1998.[4]
The Ruth Robertson Archives have been preserved at theHarry Ransom Center of theUniversity of Texas in Austin.[2][9][4]
AuthorKathryn Casey's book,Angel Falls, released in September 2023, was inspired by Robertson's life.[10]
Books and articles by Robertson or with photographs by Robertson:
Articles about Robertson:
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