Robert Landsburg
{{short description|American photographer (1931–1980)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Robert Landsburg
| image = Robert_Landsburg.jpeg
| image_size = 150px
| birth_name = Robert Emerson Landsburg
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1931|11|13}}
| birth_place = Seattle, Washington, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1980|05|18|1931|11|13}}
| death_place = near Mount St. Helens, Washington, U.S. {{Coord|46|12|46.3|N|122|16|03.3|W|display=inline}}
| death_cause = Killed by a pyroclastic flow caused by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
| resting_place = Skyline Memorial Gardens, Portland, Oregon, U.S.
| occupation = Photographer
| years_active =
| known_for = Photographing the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
| notable_works =
}}
Robert Emerson Landsburg (November 13, 1931 – May 18, 1980){{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oregonian-the-dead-and-missing/153497071/ |title=The dead and missing |newspaper=The Oregonian |location=Portland, Oregon |page=V38 |date=October 27, 1980 |accessdate=August 17, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}} was an American photographer who died while photographing the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.Staff report (January 1981). Robert Landsburg's brave final shots. National Geographic
Biography
Landsburg was born in 1931 in Seattle, Washington. He served in the United States Navy from 1951 through 1959, partially during the Korean War.{{cite web |url=https://www.fold3.com/record/528746093/ |title=Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File |agency=United States Department of Veterans Affairs |via=fold3.com |url-access=subscription |accessdate=August 17, 2024}} He was working as a commercial photographer by 1970, winning an award that year for best travel film by a travel promotion association, given by Sunset magazine.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oregonian-film-maker-wins-award/153497859/ |title=Film Maker Wins Award |newspaper=The Oregonian |location=Portland, Oregon |page=8 |date=January 26, 1970 |accessdate=August 17, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}} As of 1978, his photography work could be seen in 16 public buildings in Portland, Oregon.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sunday-oregonian-what-has-ceta-done/153498325/ |title=What has CETA done for the arts in Portland? |first=Charles |last=Deemer |magazine=Northwest: The Sunday Oregonian Magazine |page=NW5 |date=October 29, 1978 |accessdate=August 17, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}}
In the weeks leading up to the eruption of Mount St. Helens, Landsburg visited the area many times in order to photographically document the changing volcano.Bunce, Vincent (2000). Restless Planet: Volcanoes, p. 44. Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers, Austin. {{ISBN|0-7398-1327-7}}. On the morning of May 18, he was within a few miles of the summit. When the mountain erupted, Landsburg retreated to his car while taking photos of the rapidly approaching ash cloud.{{cite web |url=https://thatoregonlife.com/2022/05/mt-st-helens-eruption-images/ |title=The Haunting Final Images From Two Photographers on Mt. St. Helens |first=Danielle |last=Denham |website=thatoregonlife.com |date=May 18, 2022 |accessdate=August 17, 2024}} Before he was engulfed by the pyroclastic flow, he rewound the film back into its case, put his camera in his backpack, and then laid himself on top of the backpack to protect its contents. His body was found 17 days later, buried in the ash with his backpack underneath.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-searchers-find-body-of-anot/153496385/ |title=Searchers Find Body of Another Volcano Victim |agency=UPI |newspaper=The Republic |location=Columbus, Indiana |page=A2 |date=June 5, 1980 |accessdate=August 17, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-spokesman-review-st-helens-sedate/153496742/ |title=St. Helens sedate |agency=AP |newspaper=The Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington |page=29 |date=June 6, 1980 |accessdate=August 17, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}} The film was developed and has provided geologists with valuable documentation of the historic eruption.Robert Coenraads (2006). Natural Disasters and How We Cope, p. 50. Millennium House, {{ISBN|978-1-921209-11-6}}.
Landsburg was a resident of Portland at the time of his death. He was interred at Skyline Memorial Gardens in Portland.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oregonian-obituary-for-robert-landsb/153498672/ |title=Obituary for Robert LANDSBURG |newspaper=The Oregonian |location=Portland, Oregon |page=D7 |date=June 9, 1980 |accessdate=August 17, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}}
See also
References
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Category:Deaths in volcanic eruptions
Category:Natural disaster deaths in Washington (state)
Category:Photographers from Oregon
Category:Photographers from Washington (state)
Category:Artists from Portland, Oregon