5 photos that have made history

Photography is an art that allows us to immortalize moments of joy, life and happiness. We've all experienced this before, finding old photos lost in a shoebox at the back of our wardrobes. Today, Museum TV invites you to discover 5 photos that have made history!

V-J day in Times square

It is the day of the surrender of Japan on 14 August 1945. Photojournalist Alfred Eisenstaedt is in New York's Times Square when he photographs a young man and woman kissing. Indeed, this photo shows a Navy sailor kissing a nurse on the day of the Allied victory. A beautiful photo that allows us to forget for a few moments the horrors of the Second World War.

However, the meaning of this photo, which has always been considered to be very romantic, has more recently been disputed. Indeed, it would not really be a love kiss between a couple as it has long been imagined but a stolen kiss. Indeed, Greta Friedman, the nurse in the photo, explained that it was a sneaky kiss that had been forced upon her.

Marilyn Monroe's flying skirt

We all know the iconic photo of Marilyn Monroe with her skirt flying over a drain. Indeed, the shot immortalised by Sam Shaw in 1954 on the set of "Seven Year Itch" represents the lightness of the 50s when the whole world had its eyes riveted on the famous Marilyn Monroe.

The Kiss of Life

Let's continue on the subject of kisses with a famous photograph by Rocco Morabito. It was 1968 when the journalist photographed these two men kissing on a power line. This kiss of life saved one of the two workers who had just received a fatal electric shock. The intervention of his colleague saved his life and the journalist's photo won the Pulitzer Prize.

A man on the moon

The year is 1969. July 20, precisely the day that Neil Amstong photographed his companion Buzz Aldrin on the moon. The two men of the Apollo 11 mission made history by becoming the first human beings to have walked on the moon. A feat that shows the folly and grandeur of human ideas!

Bliss

Every computer enthusiast or Windows pioneer remembers this famous wallpaper. It was 1995 in the Nappa Valley north of San Francisco, California, when photographer Charles O'Rear took his picture on the side of the road. January is in full swing and the rain has just stopped when the photographer captures what will become the most famous photograph of the 21st century.

Now you know the 5 photos that have made history!

Visit our streaming platform to discover all our programmes dedicated to photography.