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Photographs That Changed The World

Posted May 31, 2006 at 06:40AM by Karen R. Listed in: Educational Tags: crimean war

A picture can speak a thousand words. That's why there are actually some camera-captured images that elicit more than the usual "Oohs!" and "Aahs!". Here are some LIFE photographs that created a big impact and affected the world.

Anne Frank, 1941

More than just a classic, easy read, The Diary of Anne Frank was a testimony to the hardships that the Jews experienced during the Holocaust. Anne Frank's story showed hope and humanity in the face of danger. This ordinary portrait of a girl of 14 shows the brave Anne Frank staring with big eyes, wearing an enigmatic expression, looking on to a future that we now know never came for her.

The Crimean War, 1855

Before Roger Fenton, no war has had any photographic record. In 1854, he shot only landscapes and portraits and pictures of Queen Victoria's children at Windsor Castle. He was assigned the next year by a print dealer to cover the Crimean War waged by England and France against Russia. Amidst cholera and broken ribs, Fenton produced 350 images of the war. Since the Queen and Fenton's sponsors did not want to see blood and evidence of a failing war, most of his photos were dignified and calm.

First Human X-ray, 1896

X-ray

No one knows the back of your hand better than yourself. This timeless concept was taken a notch higher with Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen's discovery. While experimenting with a Crookes tube, Roentgen noticed that a bit of barium platinocyanide emitted a fluorescent glow. Seeing this, he laid a photographic plate behind his wife's hand and created the first X-ray photo. Due to this discovery, physicians can now look inside a person's body without making an incision. Roentgn is the recipient of the first Nobel Prize for Physics in 1901.

Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire, 1911

The above picture spurred a national crusade for workplace safety. Taken in 1911, the image documents bodies of the workers of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company who jumped out from the eighth floor of the New York City factory. The company keeps its doors locked to ensure that its young immigrant women stayed working and didn't steal anything. When a fire broke out on Saturday, 25 March 1911, many of them opted to exit the building through the window rather than be locked in the fire. In just 30 minutes, 146 were killed.

How Life Begins, 1965
Life

I've never given birth to a child, but I just know that seeing life coming out of you is one of the most wonderful sights a mother can ever see. Hence, it is understandable how Lennart Nilsson's photos caused a sensation when it was published in 1965. The 16-page cover story in LIFE featured Nilsson's efforts since 1957 when he began taking pictures with an endoscope, an instrument that can see inside a body cavity. Nilsson's LIFE portfolio has been enlarged and used in placards by right-to-life activists for the past years.

For more life-changing photographs (there are 95 more), just visit the Digital Journalist website.

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