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The Triumph And Tragedy Of The 20th Century: 46 Of The Most Important Images
The 20th century was a tumultuous, revolutionary era, and for the first time in human history, its story was captured not just in words, but on film. These 46 images have become historical artefacts in their own right, after searing themselves into our collective memory. They transport us from the corridors of power where Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin redrew the world map, to the dusty fields of California where a migrant mother’s face became the symbol of a national struggle. In these frames, we witness humanity's greatest triumphs, like the first tentative flight at Kitty Hawk and the giant leap onto the moon, alongside its deepest shames; from the grim faces of child laborers to the ugly jeers of a hateful mob. Each picture is a pivotal moment, a turning point that shaped the world we inhabit today.
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#1
Earthrise, The Moon, 24 December 1968
Mel in Georgia 4 months ago
Such an iconic photo. We'd all like to think there's another planet out there like it, but is there?
HubbaHubba 4 months ago
I feel like if I was on the moon looking at the earth I would be so depressed and I wouldn't know why.
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#2
Leap Into Freedom, Berlin, Germany, 15 August 1961
General Anaesthesia 4 months ago (edited)
He never felt free until the reunification of Berlin in 1989. The story: https://www.warhistoryonline.com/cold-war/conrad-schumann-leap-into-freedom.html
Joe Reaves 4 months ago
I'm glad I know the full story because it deserves to be told, but d**n I felt better seeing that as a hopeful escape rather than the depressing tale it turned out to be. Poor man. So brave to make that decision at 19 years of age. I wish it ended better.
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TotallyNOTAFox 4 months ago
He made it into safety by jumping on a tram passing by on the west side
#3
First Color Photos Autochrome Lumiere Auguste Louis, Hot Air Balloons, Paris, France,1914
#4
Buzz Aldrin On The Moon, Sea Of Tranquility, The Moon, 20 July 1969
Mel in Georgia 4 months ago
We're barely paying attention to the achievements in space these days. But this, with the technology available at the time, was and is still astounding.
Stephanie Did It 4 months ago
I remember Walter Cronkite actually weeping live on the air and saying, "they did it! They did it!" I'll never forget that moment.
#5
First Cell-Phone Picture - Taken By The Inventor Of The First Camera Phone, After His Daughter Sophie's Birth With The First Camera Phone Solution, Protomms, Santa Cruz, California, United States, June 11th, 1997
Photojournalism truly came of age in the 20th century, placing photographers on the front lines of conflict and in the heart of social upheaval. Their cameras bore witness to history as it unfolded, and the resulting images often did more to shape public opinion and define an event than any written account.
#6
Student Elizabeth Eckford Is Jeered By Student Hazel Bryan As She Attempts To Enter Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, 1957
MsPlants 4 months ago
Elizabeth Eckford was so brave for doing this and for being able to stand in the face of those people and be so classy. I mean look at her cool as a cucumber. Pretty dress, great hair, a pair of shades and her books. She is rocking it! She had to be terrified but she didnt let them know.
Michael Largey 4 months ago
At age 83, she is still with us. Unfortunately those other people - or their spiritual heirs - are too.
Mel in Georgia 4 months ago
People are still screaming at each other based on the color of their skin or how they identify or their religion or lack thereof, etc. without knowing a thing about them individually. Grew up believing in progress. So sad to see the backsliding.
harleychick3cat 4 months ago
I think the white girl screaming at her met with her years later and apologized. She said she regretted her actions during that time.
John Dilligaf 4 months ago
photos like this are why racists want such photos banned. They don't want to see grandma and grandpa in the crowd screaming.
#7
A Sea Of Steps, Wells Cathedral, England, United Kingdom, 1903
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 4 months ago
The door at the top left goes to a bridge that crosses a road and leads to Vicar's Close, the oldest continually inhabited street in Europe. The stairs to the right lead to the Chapter House, which is a circular room used as a meeting house.
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 4 months ago (edited)
I have basically this photo, but taken by me. Wells Cathedral is one of my favourite places: https://imgur.com/a/qbLc92N
#8
Passport Photo Anne Frank, Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 1939
st4x2gt974 4 months ago
From a ticket to the whole world, to hiding from it, to a death camp. Heart-breaking
#9
Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt And Josef Stalin, Yalta Conference, Crimea, February 1945
Joe Reaves 4 months ago
Less than 6 months later one of them was out of office and another was dead.
Onan Hag All 4 months ago
At least Stalin didn't have Roosevelt as his rent boy, unlike Putin and Trump.
FreeDragon 4 months ago
I know the photo but I never noticed that Rooseveldt is having a ciggy.
#10
Raising The Flag On Iwo Jima, Iwo Jima, Japan, 23 February 1945
TotallyNOTAFox 4 months ago
The famous picture is actually the second, bigger flag being hoisted
The century’s relentless pace of innovation was a story of stark contrasts, a duality the camera captured perfectly. For every image of humanity reaching for the stars or conquering the skies, there was another documenting the terrifying efficiency of modern warfare and industrial destruction.
#11
First Colour Image From Viking Lander 1 Of Mars, Chryse Planitia, Mars, 21 July 1976
Bruce Mardle 4 months ago
Didn't NASA originally release an image with a blue sky, then say something like "oops! We got the colour balance wrong"? (The Vikings are the earliest space mission I can (vaguely) remember. I was 10.)
#12
A Little Spinner In The Mollohan Mills, South Carolina, United States, 1908
MsPlants 4 months ago
they used little kids to catch the shuttles (i think thats what they were called) because there hands are smaller so they can get in there easier. But the kids had to grab them while the machines were still going so if they werent fast enough bam! hand would be smashed in the machine as the 2 sides would come together weaving the threads to make cloth. so d**n dangerous
Geoffrey Scott 4 months ago
And there are those conservatives who wish for it to happen again.
Load More Replies... #13
The Pastry Cook, Cologne, Germany, 1928
#14
Lyndon B. Johnson Taking The Oath Of Office, Dallas, Texas, United States, November 1963
aldebar 4 months ago
Jackie was asked if she wanted to remove her coat before the photo was taken. She refused. She wiped off her face, but said "One second later, I thought, 'Why did I wash the blood off?' I should have left it there; let them see what they've done," so she left her suit on because it still had JFK's blood on it.
harleychick3cat 4 months ago
Photo is black and white, but those spots on Jackie's coat are JFK's "parts".
#15
The Steerage, Aboard The SS Kaiser Wilhelm II, Possibly Anchored At Plymouth, England, United Kingdom, 1907
More than ever before, the camera became an instrument of social conscience, exposing harsh realities that were often hidden from view. By turning a lens on poverty, child labor, and racial injustice, photographers created irrefutable evidence that fueled movements for change.
#16
The Vanishing Race, Nevada, Arizona, United States, 1904
UpupaEpops 4 months ago
"Curtis wrote that this scene of Navajo riding off into the distance showed “that the Indians as a race, already shorn in their tribal strength and stripped of their primitive dress, are passing into the darkness of an unknown future.” The artist’s signature image is produced here as an orotone, a positive gelatin silver print on glass that has been backed with gold pigment or leaf." - The Cleveland Museum of Art what a charming individual...
- 4 months ago
If that's the original title of this photograph, it may reflect wishful thinking that indigenous people disappear and romanticizing it. The composition supports that idea: riders hardly visible, riding away from the camera towards a vanishing point.
Pyla 4 months ago
Curtis's work was highly romanticizing the diminishing world of the Native Americans. He's among a dozen, more or less, photogs who did this kind of work at the beginning of the 20th century and late 19th century.
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Breaker Boys, Pittston, Pennsylvania, United States, 1911
Lady Eowyn 4 months ago
Until about 1900, nearly all coal breaking facilities in the United States were labor-intensive. The removal of impurities was done by hand, usually by breaker boys between the ages of 8 and 12 years old.[6][11][12][13] The use of breaker boys began around 1866.[4][5] For 10 hours a day, six days a week, breaker boys would sit on wooden seats, perched over the chutes and conveyor belts, picking slate and other impurities out of the coal.[4][6][11][12][14][15][16] Breaker boys working on top of chutes or conveyor belts would stop the coal by pushing their boots into the stream of fuel flowing beneath them, briefly pick out the impurities, and then let the coal pass on to the next breaker boy for further processing.[10][17] Others would divert coal into a horizontal chute at which they sat, then pick the coal clean before allowing the fuel to flow into clean coal bins.[5]
#18
Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California, United States, 1936
MsPlants 4 months ago
fun fact about this picture, the photographer asked them to pose for a serious picture but the kids were playing and laughing so they had to turn there heads so they didnt show they couldnt stop smiling. there was an article somewhere about the photographer and his series of depresion era pictures he did.
#19
Sir Winston Churchill, Ottawa, Canada, 1941
AnnaB 4 months ago
I read somewhere that the reason he looks so angry is that the photographer made him put down his cigar.
Mel in Georgia 4 months ago
From everything I've read this captures his personality perfectly. Win for the photog.
Load More Replies... General Anaesthesia 4 months ago
Yousuf Karsh, fantastic photographer, protraits and more. https://karsh.org/overview/#thumbnails
Photography forever altered the nature of political power, bringing world leaders and issues out from behind closed doors and onto a global stage. These images did way more than document diplomatic events. They also crafted public personas and broadcast ideologies, becoming powerful tools of statecraft and propaganda but also to fuel social change.
#20
American Gothic, Washington, D.C., United States, 1942
Mel in Georgia 4 months ago
Photo by Gordon Parks. Brief summary: Gordon Parks was a pioneering photographer whose work profoundly captured the complexities of American life, focusing on social justice, race relations, and the African American experience.
#21
The Flatiron, New York City, United States, 1904
#22
Fire Caused By An Earthquake, 18 April, San Francisco, California, United States, 1906
Stephanie Did It 4 months ago
Why did these ladies look so delighted when destruction and chaos are right behind them?
Batwench 4 months ago
Shock can do funny things to people and bring out weird feelings and behaviour.
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Girl With A Mirror, New York City, United States, 1912
Mel in Georgia 4 months ago
I don't know, but it's mesmerizing. Love the composition and lighting.
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Woman Of Tehuantepec, Tehuantepec, Mexico, 1929
Auntriarch 4 months ago
I thought that was a hat for a second. The decoration reminds me of canal artwork.
#25
First Flight, 120 Feet In 12 Seconds, 10:35 A.m., Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, North Carolina, United States, 1903
Mel in Georgia 4 months ago
It blows the mind that the first flight into space was less than 60 years later.
Troy Parr 4 months ago
It could blow your mind further to know that the Wright Brothers and Neil Armstrong were alive at the same time and they all came from Ohio. It isn't known if they ever met but it would have been easily possible...
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Often, the immense story of an era was distilled into the expression on a single human face. A portrait could transform an anonymous individual into a moving symbol, giving a human identity to abstract concepts like economic depression, genocide, persecution, or revolution.
#26
Monolith, The Face Of Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California, 1927
#27
The Tetons And The Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, United States, 1942
#28
Guerrillero Heroico - Che Guevara, Havana, Cuba, 5 March 1960
D 4 months ago
This man was a terrorist who took part in the abuse and t*****e of LGB people amongst others.
David 4 months ago
The Butcher of La Cabanya Prison, where horrible atrocities were carried out. He also was a racist who purged all black cubans from the revolutionary forces after the war, and when he helped communist forces in Africa, the Communist rebels said he was worse than the British or French imperialists bc of how racist he was to them. He was horrible, a med school drop out son of millionaires who got bored and is now a hero despite being an evil person
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웅장한 거북이 🇰🇷🇰🇭 4 months ago
Never understood the fame that man got. You would have gladly started ww3 if possible. He was to extreme even for castro
#29
Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong Swimming In The Yangtze River In Wuhan, China, 1966
Rich Black 4 months ago
this is a known fake. heads photoshopped into a scene, before photoshop was a thing
UpupaEpops 4 months ago
https://thechinaproject.com/2021/07/14/power-of-symbolism-the-swim-that-changed-chinese-history/
#30
President Richard Nixon Using Chopsticks During A Chinese Banquet With Premier Chou En-Lai Of The People's Republic Of China, Beijing, China, 26 February 1972
harleychick3cat 4 months ago
Remember when Nixon was the absolute worst President for our country?
David 4 months ago
As an actual President he was very good, he was very popular during his presidency, the issue was his corruption that marred his presidency. He got the US out of Vietnam, opened relations with China, led 2 major treaties with the USSR and reduced chances of nuclear war with SALT and even traveled to the USSR to make it happen. Created the EPA and modern US Environmental and emissions standards system with THe President's Council on Environmental Quality and the Clean Air Act Amendments for emissions reduction and the testing of air quality. Still the third most federal protected lands creates of any president. Also OSHA, NOAA , The Noise Control Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and much more
Load More Replies... Lady Eowyn 4 months ago
He wasn't a convicted s*x offender and he faded out of the public eye after leaving office. Which is more than can be said about Orangina.
From the Great Depression to the Civil Rights struggle and the Space Race, the camera chronicled the turbulent journey of what became known as the "American Century." These photographs capture the nation's (and by extension, the world's) profound contradictions and staggering achievements, defining its complex identity in the modern world.
#31
Taking Hold Of The Camera At The South Pole, Antarctica, 14th December, 1911
#32
Kissing The War Goodbye, New York City, United States, 14 August 1945
Tatiya Rivendark 4 months ago (edited)
This photo? Really? Just no! He grabbed her and kissed her, they were total strangers. Good grief, verify your sources before you sensationalise SA.
#33
Albert Einstein Sticks His Tongue, New York City, United States, 1951
MsPlants 4 months ago
this picture was taken after a dinner function where Einstien had already been photographed all night long. He was in the car with a couple friends of his ready to go home and before the door closed a photographer asked for one last photo and he stuck his tongue out thinking it would ruin the picture. it ended up being htis one. He ended up loving this picture and send later it was his favorite picture of himself. the full picture without cropping actually shows the other 2 people in the car.
#35
An Oasis In The Badlands, South Dakota, United States, 1905
Mel in Georgia 4 months ago
Interesting article about this photo and others by Edward Curtis. It's a mixed legacy, as is typical of white people trying to depict other cultures. https://www.history.com/articles/native-american-tribe-photos
Many of these iconic shots are defined by their perfect, fleeting timing, or as the masters called "the decisive moment." In that single shutter click, a complex story of triumph, defiance, or simple human eccentricity is forever frozen, allowing us to study the instant that history was made.
#36
Charles Lindbergh Arrived At Croydon Field, Surrey, England, 29 May 1927
Pretty Pink Sky Photography 4 months ago
How did he land with all those people around the plane?
John Dilligaf 4 months ago
It was like surfing a mosh pit. As the plane came in for a landing the mob reached up and grabbed it then quickly passed it down the line till it came to a stop. Then they set it down.
Load More Replies... MsPlants 4 months ago
poor Lindberg and his wife. his son was kidnapped just because he was famous. such a sad story
FlamingZombies 4 months ago
Yes, we can bemoan the fact that his kid was kidnapped. But that doesn't excuse him being a N**i sympathizer.
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#37
Babe Ruth Bows Out, New York City, United States, 13 June 1948
#38
Cousin “Bichonnade” In Flight, Paris, France, 1905
#39
Jacques-Henri Lartigue, Grand Prix Of The Automobile Club Of France, Course At Dieppe, Dieppe, France, 1912
#40
Blind Woman, New York City, United States, 1916
Joe Reaves 4 months ago
It looks like she is wearing a badge that shows she is a licensed beggar. In the Victorian era and early twentieth century the poor were divided into deserving and undeserving. Deserving poor were the disabled or those too old to work and they could get a license to beg. If you could work then it was your responsibility to support yourself and your family, regardless of whether that was even possible with the wages paid or the cost of rent or the number of children you had (birth control was rare and marital r**e wasn't a crime). Which is why we get pictures like the mill children or the breaker boys.
This era saw photography evolve from a specialist's craft into a ubiquitous part of daily life. The century began with photographers using heavy glass plates and ended with the first grainy image from a cell phone, a technological leap that put the power to document history into the pockets of millions.
#41
Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, New York City, United States, 1913
#42
German Trenches Near Reims, France, 1917
MsPlants 4 months ago
as much as we talk about the horrors of WWII, which we should mind you, I think people dont fully grasp how horrendous the conditions were in the trenches or what it was like when people first experienced mustard gas and other poison gasses used in the field for the first time. also this is the war where they learned what happened if you marched a line of people or calvery right accross a field into a brand new inventoion called machine guns and the mass produced gatling guns.
TotallyNOTAFox 4 months ago (edited)
Also the first conflict that saw air combat and large scale bombings
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#45
Armco Steel, Weston Middletown, Ohio, United States, 1922
Mel in Georgia 4 months ago
My degrading Ohio hometown has an old, abandoned cement factory in the middle of it. It was once a vibrant, post WWII city populated with workers connected to the factory and military personnel connected to the AF base there. Times change. Don't think the Donald is bringing that back.
Geoffrey Scott 4 months ago
If I recall, the Cuyahoga river caught fire. REALLY don't want that back.
Load More Replies... #46
Elvis Meets Nixon, Washington, D.C., United States, 21 December 1970
General Anaesthesia 4 months ago
The drսg аddіct offered his services as an undercover agent for the FBI.
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What do you think ?
Mel in Georgia 4 months ago
I wish these posts would contain more context for these fascinating photos. It really doesn't take a lot of effort to do visual searches on them. Looking at you, Viktorija!
Mel in Georgia 4 months ago
I wish these posts would contain more context for these fascinating photos. It really doesn't take a lot of effort to do visual searches on them. Looking at you, Viktorija!
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