Middle East and became so enamored of the region's people and culture that he converted to Islam in 1964, taking the name Omar. He was the magazine's expert on the Middle East, and reported from Mecca. He covered the region from Morocco to Afghanistan for more than three decades, until he retired in 1994. During his forty years at National Geographic, he published forty stories from all around the world. Retirement After retiring from National Geographic in 1993, Abercrombie taught geography at George Washington University. He was fluent in five languages (Arabic, English, German, French, and Spanish). Abercrombie died at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland of complications from open-heart surgery. He was survived by his wife, Lynn, and children Mari, executive director of Windover Art Center, and Bruce, a videographer. Legacy Abercrombie's photojournalism career is documented in the 2004 film, White Tiger: The Adventures of Thomas J. Abercrombie, by filmmaker Patricia A. Leone, Blue Marlin Productions, Progressive IMG and Gabriel Film Group with original music score by Kevin Harkins. The film showed at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. The August 2006 issue of National Geographic included an Abercrombie tribute article, "A Geographic Life" . In addition, the Abercrombie Crests of Antarctica are named in his honor. Abercrombie is also one of four pioneering photographers to be honored in Odysseys and Photographs book published by the National Geographic Society, along with an exhibition at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C. and in London. References External links New Bay Times interview Interactive Slideshow with audio by Lynn Abercrombie National Geographic tribute White Tiger trailer Washington Post article 20th-century American photographers People from Stillwater, Minnesota National Geographic people 1930 births 2006 deaths Converts to Islam American Muslims