| Louis Fabian Bachrach Jr. | |
| Birth Date: | 9 April 1917 |
| Birth Place: | Newton, Massachusetts |
| Death Place: | Newton, Massachusetts |
| Other Names: | Fabian Bachrach |
| Known For: | Bachrach Studios |
Louis Fabian Bachrach Jr. (April 9, 1917 – February 26, 2010) was an American photographer, known for portraits of celebrities, politicians, presidents and other prominent individuals. He was professionally known as Fabian. Bachrach was best known for a portrait of Senator John F. Kennedy, which was later used as his official photograph after he was elected President in 1960.[1] [2]
Bachrach's family, who own Bachrach Studios, has been in the commercial photography business for more than 140 years.[1] Bachrach Studios is believed to be the world's oldest continuously operating photography studio.[1] His paternal grandfather, David Bachrach founded Bachrach Studios in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1868.[1] He had previously photographed Abraham Lincoln during his trip to Gettysburg in 1863 during the U.S. Civil War.[1]
Louis Fabian Bachrach Jr. was born in Newton, Massachusetts, on April 9, 1917. His father, Louis Fabian Bachrach, was also a photographer.[1] Bachrach received a bachelor's degree in history from Harvard University in 1939 and joined Bachrach Studios shortly afterwards.[1] Bachrach served as an aerial navigator in the United States Navy in the Pacific during World War II.[1] Bachrach later earned a master's degree in Italian literature from Boston College in 1988, when he was in his 70s.[1]
Bachrach introduced color photography to Bachrach Studios during the 1950s, and switched the studios completely to color images during the 1970s.[1] Some of Bachrach's most famous subjects included presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, Jean-Claude Duvalier, Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Jacques Cousteau, Joe DiMaggio, Richard Avedon, Robert Frost, Buckminster Fuller, Ted Kennedy, and Muhammad Ali.[1]
Fabian Bachrach died of pneumonia on February 26, 2010, in Newton, Massachusetts, at the age of 92.[1] [2]