This Day in History: 1899-06-12

Weegee (Arthur Fellig), New York crime photographer, is born this day in 1899.  Weegee was known for stark black and white photos of urban life and death. He began as a freelance press photographer in the 1930s and followed police to the scene of crimes.  Just as Dorothea Lange’s 1930s migrant photos helped create the atmospheric backdrop for Depression-era films like Grapes of Wrath,  Weegee’s crime photos epitomized the dark and gritty urban life highlighted in film noir cinema classics like the Maltese Falcon.