American photographer. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Callahan worked at Chrysler, and then studied engineering at Michigan State University. He eventually dropped out and began to pursue self-taught photography in 1938. Callahan was inspired by a lecture given by Ansel Adams in 1941, and from that point on, he was inspired to work on hisphotgraphic skills more seriously. He later moved to Rhode Island in 1961 and established a photography program at the Rhode Island School of Design. He taught there until his retirement in 1977. In 1996, Callahan was awarded the National Medal of Arts.