Historic Photos

These are the most important photos of the 20th and 21st century. A beautiful collection compiled by Magnum Photos. It includes (in order):

CERRO MURIANO, Spain—Federico Borrell Garcia, Spanish loyalist militiaman, collapses into death, 1936.

FRANCE—D-Day, Omaha Beach, 1944.

HIROSHIMA, Japan—The center of the atomic bomb blast. A Japanese soldier walks through a site where an army barracks once stood, 1945.

POLAND—Teresa, a child in a residence for disturbed children, grew up in a concentration camp. She has drawn a picture of "home" on the blackboard, 1948.

KORDOFAN, Sudan—The Nubas, 1949.

NORTH CAROLINA—A black man drinks at segregated water fountains, 1950.

NEW YORK—James Dean alone in Times Square, 1955.

SANTA CLARA, Cuba—Fidel Castro lifts a young admirer during the revolution, 1959.

MOSCOW—Nikita Khrushchev and Richard Nixon's kitchen debate, 1959.

SHARPEVILLE, South Africa—Police open fire on a crowd, killing more than 70 and injuring hundreds of others during what came to be known as the Sharpeville massacre, 1960.

CHICAGO—Malcolm X, 1961.

ARLINGTON, Va.—Jacqueline Kennedy at John Fitzgerald Kennedy's funeral, Nov. 25, 1963.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—At the climax of his "I Have A Dream" speech, Martin Luther King Jr. raises his arm on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and calls out for deliverance with the electrifying words of an old Negro spiritual hymn, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!", 1963.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—A female protester being arrested and led away by police, 1963.

SOUTH CAROLINA—A funeral of a soldier killed in Vietnam, 1966.

ARLINGTON, Va.—Jan Rose Kasmir confronts the National Guard outside the Pentagon during the 1967 anti-Vietnam War march, 1967.

SAIGON, Vietnam—The Saigon fire department, which has the job of collecting the dead from city streets, has just placed a girl, killed by U.S. helicopter fire, in the back of their truck, where her brother finds her, 1968.

PARIS—Students hurl projectiles during the May 1968 student protest.

PRAGUE, Czechoslovakia—Warsaw Pact troops invade Prague near the radio headquarters, 1968.

MATAGALPA, Nicaragua—Muchachos await counterattack by the Guard, 1978.

MEXICO—Mexicans are arrested while trying to cross the U.S. border, 1979.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan—An Afghan girl at Nasir Bagh refugee camp, 1984.

NEW BRIGHTON, United Kingdom—1985.

TEHRAN, Iran—Veiled women learn how to shoot in the outskirts of the city, 1986.

CONEY ISLAND, N.Y.—A family walks along the crowded boardwalk, 1986.

BERLIN—A young man bridges the wall between East and West Berlin, 1989.

BEIJING, China—Tiananmen Square, 1989.

SAN FRANCISCO—AIDS at the Ambassador Hotel. James has been living with AIDS since 1985. He moved into the hotel three years ago. It's the longest time he has lived anywhere, 1993.

BROOKLYN, N.Y.—Young people watch a huge plume of smoke rise from lower Manhattan after the attack on the World Trade Center, Sept. 11, 2001.

GAZA STRIP—A Palestinian man prays in Khan Younis camp. He awaits permission to pass through an Israeli checkpoint at the entrance of Gush Oatif, 2003.

IRAQ—An American soldier is killed during the battle for Baghdad, April 8, 2003.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• historic
• photos
• history

[YLHB]

Way too centered on US history. I wouldn't call James Dean alone in Times Square "the most important moment in the 20th century history". Nevertheless, there are interesting pictures (D-Day, Viet Nam, Paris '68, MLK, Berlin Wall, Tienanmen, WTC, Gaza, Iraq).

[bahramshams]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, during the 20th century (in which the camera was invented), America has been the most important country in the world: from the civil rights movement to the war in Vietnam and the assassination of JFK, nothing else has come as close.

[LozMac33]

The Soviet Union? They dont "come close"? Or is it because you good 'ol boys kicked their commie asses,lol

[bahramshams]

I'm English.

[jayturn2468]

is it not ignorant to call a German a nazi?

[DKM817]

people like german1826 are obviously ignorant, uneducated, and just plain stupid.

[barvaraguaimaran]

if you dont have nothing to do here, dont do nothing..im english,,im black..im chinesse,, im indien...im spanish,,,,all are people who love and bolive in a god :)

[HeartBeatsElectro]

@bahramshams If you mean the united states is inportant as in they are the WORST country in the world then sure? Ask me for some reasons. I dare you.

[janrosekasmir]

Please read my comments starting 3 sections below, and go up. Sorry I posted Back-Ass-wards

[janrosekasmir]

As a Jew, I lament the attrocities perpetrated by the Nazis - how were their crimes any less inhuman than the massacre at My Lai - the daily degradation of women forced to rely on protituion to subsist - the unspeakable slaughter of families - babies - born and unborn.

[janrosekasmir]

i felt close to all of my brothers and sisters around the world - "The Family of Man" and it pained me to know that my Vietnamese brothers and sisters were being slaughtered. I am still sickened by the stories of soldiers using an entire culture for target practice. The unspeakable crimes.

[janrosekasmir]

I am always touched to find that my photo has meant somethng important to other humans. I was particularly moved by the opening quote. At the time of the demonstration, I was 17 and living with a foster family. I had been busted for one oz of marijuana, and served 10 months in a state institution that was unspeakably horrific. I was released to a family, I could not relate to and was terribly unhappy.

I found solace in doing what I could for peace. i was a person of conviction.

[mashdbanana]

BE GONE EMOS! BE GONE!

[tmprogram]

communism showed its true face in 1968. fuckin sell outs!

[nembhard600rr]

2:26 was a very angry person and it sickens me that a man would take another man strip him naked rename him john whip him rape his woman and bind him in chains..And now blacks have the light skin black dark skin black complex which is obviously a disease called self-hatred which isn't their fault though, bless them.

[CountryQuestion]

I think this is one of the most beautiful videos I have seen on Youtube. It shows life in its most unique ways, which is what youtube is good at. Thanks very much to whoever made the video, really stops you in your tracks. Keep up the good work !