Arnold Hardy

He was returning home late from a dance when he heard the fire sirens. At the fire department he was told that the fire was at the Winecoff Hotel. He had a filmpack and only five flashbulbs when he arrived at the scene. Hardy recalled offering help to the firemen, but they refused. He started taking pictures, even though in the darkness it was technically very complicated to adjust the camera. After developing the film, Hardy sold three photos to the Associated Press for $300. However, others identify her as Daisy McCumber, 41, who survived but suffered multiple fractures and had her leg amputated. Apart from the Pulitzer Prize, Hardy was awarded five other top photography prizes in 1947. Later he declined a job with the Associated Press and instead began an x-ray equipment business. According to his son, Hardy was only proud that after the wide publication of his shot the fire safety standards around the country were raised significantly. In a 2000 interview, he said that the only photos he took since that time were of family and vacations. Hardy died in 2007 at age 85 at the Emory University Hospital in Atlanta of complications following hip surgery.

• Name — Arnold Hardy • Born — 2 February 1922 • Birthplace — Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S. • Died — 5 December 2007 • Place of death — Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. • Education — Georgia School of Technology • Illustration — Hardy's Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph