Don McCullin

Don McCullin is an internationally renowned British photojournalist, recognised in particular for his war photography. Born in London in 1935, he was posted to the Canal Zone during the 1956 Suez Crisis where he worked as a photographer's assistant, as part of his National Service in the RAF. 

His career began, however in 1959 when his photograph of a local London gang, The Guvnors, was published in The Observer. Five years later in 1964 he won the World Press Photo Award for his coverage of the war in Cyprus, in addition to the Warsaw Gold Medal. Between 1966 and 1984 he worked as an overseas correspondent for The Sunday Times, covering the secessionist state Biafra in 1968 and the African Aids epidemic. His poignant work on Northern Ireland conflict and the Vietnam War is also held in high regard. 

In 1993 he became the first photojournalist to be granted a CBE. In addition he has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bradford and honorary degrees from The Open University and the University of Bath. His first major retrospective exhibition was held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1980, with other major exhibitions in later years including AIDS photographs at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London and the United Nations in New York.