On this day in 1912, Detroit-born photographer Harry Callahan was born. Initially working for Chrysler, he shifted to photography after hearing Ansel Adams speak, later earning the National Medal of Arts in 1996. Also, in 1955, Michigan's first official historic marker was dedicated at Michigan State University, honoring its founding as the nation’s first state-supported agricultural college, as outlined in the Morrill Act of 1862.
TRANSCRIPT
Today in 1912, Harry Callahan was born in Detroit. Now, while he has the same name, I’m not talking about Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry. This Harry Callahan was a photographer and educator who turned to photography at first while working for Chrysler. But a talk given by the legendary Ansel Adams made Callahan shift careers to take photography seriously to the point where he was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1996.
And today in 1955, Michigan’s very first official historic marker was dedicated on the campus of Michigan State University. It commemorates the founding of MSU as the first state supported agricultural college in the country. The marker reads “Here began the first college of its kind in America, and the model for Land-Grant colleges established under the Morrill Act of 1862.”