Earl Dotter
Earl Dotter (born July 24, 1943) is an American occupational photographer best known for documenting some of America's most dangerous jobs, including coal mining, textile manufacturing, asbestos, emergency responders at the World Trade Center site, and healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. His work is included in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.
Also recorded as Earl Lester Dotter
Earl Dotter
Harrison Keely · CC BY 4.0
- Name
- Earl Lester Dotter
- Born
- 24 July 1943
- Birthplace
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
- Education
- San Jose State College
- Occupation
- Photographer
- Spouse
- Deborah Stern
- Nationality
- United States
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Documentary summary
Earl Dotter (born July 24, 1943) is an American occupational photographer best known for documenting some of America's most dangerous jobs, including coal mining, textile manufacturing, asbestos, emergency responders at the World Trade Center site, and healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. His work is included in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.
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Note VALÉORINE
Earl Dotter (born 1943) is a photographer, of American nationality. The photographer was born in Philadelphia. Earl Dotter worked in Silver Spring. Works are held at Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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wikidata · Q110155497 · wikipedia · Earl Dotter
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Earl Lester Dotter • Born — 24 July 1943 • Birthplace — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US • Education — San Jose State College • Occupation — Photographer • Spouse — Deborah Stern • Children — 4
Education
Education
Dotter graduated from San Jose State College in 1967. While attending he purchased a Rolleiflex camera and started photographing the San Francisco Bay Area. By 1968 Dotter entered the School of Visual Arts in New York City. The next year he became a AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer.
Career
Career
Dotter documented dangerous mine work and black lung disease for the United Mine Workers of America. Many labor unions and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have used his work. He has also participated in the Great Labor Arts Exchange. Dotter's photographs have been featured on the cover of New York Magazine and in The Saturday Evening Post. One of Dotter's photographs was used on social media without permission as part of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, according to the Mueller report. Dotter taught photography at Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy and has been a visiting scholar with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health for 25 years. His photography archive is being acquired by Duke University Libraries' David M. Rubenstein Rare Books and Manuscripts Library.
Personal life
Personal life
Dotter's wife, Deborah Stern, is a labor lawyer. They have been married 37 years and have four children.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Earl Dotter”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q110155497: Earl Dotter
General reference · Wikidata
Awards
• 1976: National Magazine Award for The United Mine Workers Journal, sponsored by Columbia School of Journalism • 1988: Leica Medal of Excellence Award, National Capital Region • 2001: American Public Health Association’s Alice Hamilton Award • 2015: Lifetime Achievement Award from New England College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine • 2016: Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization’s Tribute of Inspiration Award
Earl Dotter, American occupational photographer
Harrison Keely
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Traiger, Lisa. The singular focus of Earl Dotter. Washington Jewish Week. 2022-08-17.
- 2.som.org.uk. Earl Dotter Presents: A Life's Work in Occupational & Environmental Health Photography. Supporting Occupational Health and Wellbeing Professionals. 2023.
- 3.Monforton, Celeste. Their work, his work: 50 years of photographs by Earl Dotter. The Pump Handle. 2018-09-21.
- 4.About Earl Dotter. Earl Dotter.
- 5.Moore, John. Photo exhibit June 14–16 at UT Health Northeast documents perils of American workers. Tyler Morning Telegraph. 2016-06-09.
- 6.Paul, Deanna. Russians used a photo of his father as pro-Trump propaganda. He saw it in the Mueller report. The Washington Post. 2019-04-22.
- 7.Harvard University. Earl Dotter, BA. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 4 August 2022.
- 8.Earl Dotter Received The Alice Hamilton Award. The Alicia Patterson Foundation. 29 December 2000.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 4
- In Mine and Mill: A Photographic Portfolio of Coal Miners and Textile Workers. 1980. Pilgrim Press.
- The Quiet Sickness: A Photographic Chronicle of Hazardous Work in America. 1998.
- Life’s Work: A 50 Year Photographic Chronicle of Working in the U.S.A. 2018. Published by the American Industrial Hygiene Association.
- Digging Our Own Graves: Coal Miners and the Struggle over Black Lung Disease. 2020. Written by Barbara Ellen Smith. Haymarket Books.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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