David (Chim) Seymour was a photojournalist, mainly noted for his warm and compassionate photographs of people from all over the world, especially children. His series of Barcelona at war is one of his most memorable.
Background
David (Chim) Seymour was born on November 20, 1911, in Warsaw, Poland. He had a sister, Eileen, who was three years older. Their parents were Regina and Benjamin Szymin, a respected publisher of Yiddish and Hebrew books. In 1914 David Seymour and his parents emigrated to Odessa just as World War I had begun. In 1919 they returned to Warsaw.
Education
David Seymour graduated from Leipzig Academic fur Graphische Kiinst in 1931, where he studied graphic arts and photography. Then he studied at the University of Paris in Paris.
Career
David Seymour began his freelance career in Paris in 1933. From 1936 to 1938 he covered the Spanish Civil War and other major political events in North Africa, Czechoslovakia, and throughout Europe. David Seymour traveled with Loyalist refugees to Mexico in 1939, recording their journey, and he voluntarily served in the U.S. Army (1942-1945) as a photo interpreter, rising to the rank of lieutenant.
In 1948 David Seymour worked on assignment for UNESCO, creating a book on children in postwar Europe, and during that time he also covered the early development of Israel. Between 1949 and 1955 David Seymour worked on assignments for many American publications in Europe and Israel. While covering the war in Suez in 1956 he was killed by machine-gun fire.
Membership
Along with Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger, and Robert Capa, David Seymour co-founded the cooperative Magnum Photos, for which he served as president from 1954 to 1956. His name was engraved on the Honor Roll of the Overseas Press Club in New York City (1956).