From politics and war to sports and music, this small collection of images is a fascinating look back in history. Iconic photos that filled history books, the media and internet and became symbols of an era.
6| Che Guevara March 5, 1960
Guerrillero Heroico (English: “Heroic Guerrilla Fighter”) is an iconic photo of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara wearing his black beret taken by Alberto Korda. It was taken on March 5, 1960, in Havana, Cuba, at a memorial service for victims of the La Coubre explosion and by the end of the 1960s turned the charismatic and controversial leader into a cultural icon.
The vast circulation of this photograph helped it become the ultimate symbol of Marxist revolution and anti-imperialist struggle. [Source: Wikipedia]
5| Million Dollar Quartet – December 4, 1956
“Million Dollar Quartet” is the name given to recordings made on Tuesday December 4, 1956 in the Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. The recordings were of an impromptu jam session among Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash. Marilyn Knowles-Riehl is the mystery woman seated on the piano in the Million Dollar Quartet photo from 1956. She was Elvis’ girlfriend at the time and was there in Sun Studios at the legendary 1956 jam session. In fact, her voice is heard on the historic recording. [Source: ElvisNews.com]
4| Loch Ness Monster – April 21, 1934
The “Surgeon’s Photograph” purported to be the first photo of a “head and neck” of the Loch Ness Monther. Dr. Wilson claimed he was looking at the loch when he saw the monster, so grabbed his camera and snapped five photos. After the film was developed, only two exposures were clear. The first photo (the more publicised one) shows what was claimed to be a small head and back. The second one, a blurry image, attracted little publicity because it was difficult to interpret what was depicted.
The image was revealed as a fake in The Sunday Telegraph dated 7 December 1975. Supposedly taken by Robert Kenneth Wilson, a London gynaecologist, it was published in the Daily Mail on 21 April 1934. Wilson’s refusal to have his name associated with the photograph led to it being called “Surgeon’s Photograph”. [Source: Wikipedia]
3| Sgt. Pepper Album Cover Shoot – Unused Hitler Cutout 1967
This is a rare photograph that’s more of a behind-the-scenes than uncropped picture. It’s a studio shot from the making of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover. Often shortened to Sgt. Pepper, it was The Beatles eigth studio album.
2| Tank Man – Tiananmen Square June 5, 1989
Tank Man, or the Unknown Rebel, is the nickname of an anonymous man who stood in front of a column of Chinese Type 59 tanks the morning after the Chinese military forcibly removed protestors from in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. The man achieved widespread international recognition due to the videotape and photographs taken of the incident. Despite his anonymity, he is commonly (though not necessarily correctly) referred to in Chinese as Wang Weilin, as dubbed by a Sunday Express article. [Source: Wikipedia]
1| Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima - Mount Suribachi February 23, 1945
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima is an historic photograph taken on Feb. 23, 1945, by Joe Rosenthal. It depicts five United States Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman raising the flag of the United States atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.
If you enjoyed this post, the CAS highly recommends:
35 Amazingly Artistic Japanese Manhole Covers
