Pulitzer Prize Recipient for Photography. He received recognition for being the recipient of the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for Photography. The subject of his award-winning photograph was United States Presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson II, who was attending a Labor Day rally on September 1, 1952 at Flint Park in Flint, Michigan. Stevenson was seated on the platform next to Michigan Governor G. Mennen William. From Gallagher's camera lens view, a hole was seen in Stevenson's shoe. Using his old Speed Graphic, which would only take a clear close-up photograph if it was near the subject, Gallagher held the camera at arm's length placing it on the platform and did not look into the viewfinder. He got one single shot before Stevenson uncrossed his legs. Upon learning that Gallagher was the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Photography with this photograph, Stevenson, who was known for his serious personality, sent a humorous congratulation note stating, "Glad to hear you won with a hole in one!" Born in Kansas, he was ten years old when his family moved to Flint. He had purchased his first camera in high school and entered one of his photographs to a competition of the Flint skyline winning $5. As a high student, he would take photographs of car wrecks and sell them to insurance companies. With the money he made, he would purchased better camera equipment. After graduating from high school in 1943, he joined the United States Army Air Corp serving in World War II as a combat photographer in North Africa, the China-India-Burma Theater and the Pacific. After the war, he began his photography career in Flint with "Sporting Digest." After a year at the "Digest", he transferred to the "Flint Journal" and within a few months was a staff photographer, which was the position he held until he died. He was known to have a good working relationship with the police department and city government officials, which always helped him with a storyline. He was the type of person who could easily mingle with janitors, cooks, CEO's, or union representatives. He never met a stranger. The photograph of Stevenson, a Democratic candidate, was published on the front page of the "Journal," who supported the Republican presidential candidate, Dwight Eisenhower. At his editor Mike Gorman's suggestion, he offered the photograph to Associated Press and it was accepted. The "New York Times" recognized the importance of Gallagher's photograph with the editor stating that was "one of the outstanding pictures of the campaign." "Newsweek" magazine paid $15 for his photograph. He was disappointed that "Life" magazine did not accept the photograph as they would have paid him $125, but in the end he received $1,600 total for this award-winning photograph. A follow-up photograph was made with an owner of a shoe store mailing Stevenson a pair of new shoes, which proved to be a successful idea. After Gallagher died of meningitis, his family shared his scrapbooks and personal papers with the Pulitzer Prize office. A devout Roman Catholic who never missed Mass, he married a school teacher in 1954 and the couple had five children.