born April 6, 1903, Fremont, Neb., U.S.
died Jan. 4, 1990, Cambridge, Mass.
U.S. electrical engineer and photographer.
He was a graduate student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology when in 1926 he developed a flash tube that could produce high-intensity bursts of light in as little as 1/1,000,000 of a second; it is the flash device still used in photography today. Since it can also emit repeated bursts of light at regular brief intervals, it is an ideal stroboscope . With the new flash Edgerton was able to photograph such things as drops of milk falling into a saucer and bullets traveling at speeds of 15,000 mph (24,000 kph); the resulting images have been appreciated for their artistic beauty and their value to industry and science.