# List of photographs considered the most important

This is a list of photographs considered the most important in surveys where authoritative sources review the history of the medium not limited by time period, region, genre, topic, or other specific criteria. These images may be referred to as the most important, most iconic, or most influential—and are considered key images in the history of photography.

## 19th century
### Before 1850

| Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Format | Notes |
| View from the Window at Le Gras (French: Point de vue du Gras) | 1826 | Nicéphore Niépce | Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, France | Bitumen-coated pewter plate | Considered the oldest surviving camera photograph. |
| Windows From Inside South Gallery | August 1835 | William Henry Fox Talbot | Lacock, England, United Kingdom | Photogenic drawing negative | The earliest surviving photographic negative and the earliest surviving paper photograph. |
| The Artist's Studio | 1837 | Louis Daguerre | Paris, France | Daguerreotype | |
| Boulevard du Temple | 1838 | Louis Daguerre | Paris, France | Daguerreotype | The earliest surviving photograph depicting people: a person working as a shoeshiner and an individual having his shoes shined. |
| Self‐Portrait as a Drowned Man | 18 October 1840 | Hippolyte Bayard | Paris, France | Direct Positive | Possibly the earliest known staged photograph, created in protest to the French government's apparent neglect of the invention of his photographic process. |
| The Haystack | 1844 | William Henry Fox Talbot | Lacock, England, United Kingdom | Calotype | A photograph that appeared in The Pencil of Nature, the first photographically illustrated book to be commercially published. |

### 1850s

| Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Format | Notes |
| The Mime Charles Deburau as Pierrot | 1854 | Nadar | Paris, France | Salt print | The photograph is part of a series taken during the 1850s. |
| The Cook House of the 8th Hussars | April 1855 | Roger Fenton | Crimea | Salt print | |
| Valley of the Shadow of Death | 23 April 1855 | Roger Fenton | Sevastopol, Crimea | Wet collodion negative | Fenton's pictures during the Crimean War were one of the first cases of war photography, with Valley of the Shadow of Death considered "the most eloquent metaphor of warfare" by The Oxford Companion to the Photograph. |
| Sergeant Dawson and his Daughter | 1855 | Unknown; attributed to John Jabez Edwin Mayall | Unknown | Unknown (likely albumen print) | |
| The Brig | 1856 | Gustave Le Gray | Normandy, France | Albumen print | |
| Portrait of Nariakira Shimazu | 17 September 1857 | Shiro Ichiki | Satsuma Domain, Japan | Daguerreotype | Oldest daguerreotype by a Japanese author; first photo designated an Important Cultural Property by the government of Japan in 1999. |
| Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern | November 1857 | Robert Howlett | London, England | Glass plate | Landmark environmental portraiture and iconography of the Industrial Revolution and 19th century. |
| Two Ways of Life | 1857 | Oscar Gustave Rejlander | Wolverhampton, England | Albumen print | |
| La Vallée de l'Huisne (River Scene) | 1857 | Camille Silvy | Nogent-le-Rotrou, France | Albumen print | |
| Fading Away | 1858 | Henry Peach Robinson | Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom | Albumen print | |

### 1860s

| Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Format | Notes |
| Abraham Lincoln | 27 February 1860 | Mathew Brady | New York City, United States | Gelatin silver print | Taken shortly before Lincoln's Cooper Institute speech. Widely used in his campaign during the 1860 presidential election, both Brady's photo and the speech helped him become president. |
| Guardian Angel, One Person Praying | c. 1860 | Unknown | London, England, United Kingdom | Albumen print | |
| Boston, As the Eagle and the Wild Goose See It | 13 October 1860 | James Walice Black | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | Glass plate | |
| Cathedral Rock | 1861 | Carleton Watkins | Yosemite National Park, California, United States | Albumen print | |
| The Dead of Antietam | 1862 | Alexander Gardner | Antietam, Maryland, United States | Large-format glass plate | Showing the aftermath of the Battle of Antietam—the deadliest single day in the American Civil War |
| The Scourged Back | c. 2 April 1863 | McPherson & Oliver | Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States | Albumen print | One of the most widely distributed photos of the abolitionist movement. |
| Cartes de Visite | May - August 1863 | Andre Adolphe Disderi | Paris, France | Albumen print | |
| The Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter, Gettysberg | July 1863 | Alexander Gardner | Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States | Large-format glass plate | |
| Sarah Bernhardt | 1864 | Nadar | Paris, France | Glass plate | |
| Wanted Poster | 20 April 1865 | Unknown | United States | Unknown | Broadside advertising reward for capture of Lincoln assassination conspirators, illustrated with photographic prints of John H. Surratt, John Wilkes Booth, and David E. Herold. |
| Execution of the Lincoln Conspirators at Washington Arsenal | 7 July 1865 | Alexander Gardner | Washington, D.C., United States | Albumen print | |
| Portrait of Sir John Herschel | 1867 | Julia Margaret Cameron | Hawkhurst, England, United Kingdom | Carbon print | Herschel would later be the godfather to Cameron's firstborn. |
| Call, I Follow, I Follow, Let Me Die! | 1867 | Julia Margaret Cameron | Hawkhurst, England, United Kingdom | Carbon print | |
| Close No. 193 High Street | 1868 | Thomas Annan | Glasgow, Scottland, United Kingdom | Photogravure | |
| East and West Shaking Hands at Laying Last Rail | 10 May 1869 | Andrew J. Russell | Promontory, Utah, United States | Glass plate | The ceremony for the driving of the golden spike at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 1869; completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. Central Pacific Railroad (left), meets Union Pacific Railroad (right) and exchange bottles of water from the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. |

### 1870s

| Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Format | Notes |
| Old Faithful | 1870 | William Henry Jackson | Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States | Mammoth-format plate | |
| Great Falls of the Yellowstone River | 1871 | William Henry Jackson | Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States | Albumen print | |
| Chicago Fire | October 1871 | Unknown | Chicago, Illinois, United States | Unknown | |
| Ancient Ruins in the Canyon de Chelly | 1873 | Timothy O'Sullivan | Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, United States | Albumen print | |
| Steinway Hall | 2 December 1873 | Unknown | New York City, United States | Halftone print | Steinway Hall on East 14th Street, between University Place and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The first halftone print of a photo used in a periodical in the United States. |
| Composite Portraits of Criminal Types | 1877 | Francis Galton | London, England, United Kingdom | Unknown | |
| The Horse in Motion | June 1878 | Eadweard Muybridge | Palo Alto, California, United States | Composite from multiple glass plates | Series of cabinet cards regarded as a precursor to motion pictures. Pictured left is the variant Sallie Gardner at a Gallop, which further captured a horse's motion. |

### 1880s

| Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Format | Notes |
| Street Arabs in the Area of Mulberry Street | 1880 | Jacob Riis | New York City, United States | Gelatin silver print | |
| Water Rats | 1886 | Frank Meadow Sutcliffe | Whitby, England, United Kingdom | Albumen print | |
| Bandits' Roost, 59 1/2 Mulberry Street | 1888 | Jacob Riis | Mulberry Bend, New York City, United States | Gelatin silver print | Part of How the Other Half Lives, an early photojournalist publication pursuing better conditions for the lower class of New York City. The photo and publication's impact was such that they contributed to the crime-ridden Bend's replacement with Columbus Park. |

### 1890s

| Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Format | Notes |
| The Hand of Mrs. Wilhelm Röntgen | 1895 | Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen | Würzburg, Kingdom of Bavaria, Germany | X-ray | The first X-ray, taken by its inventor, featured his wife's hand and ring. |
| Shroud of Turin negative | 1898 | Secondo Pia | Turin, Italy | Negative | Photographic negative of an ancient cloth relic shows details of a scourged and crucified human body |
| Organ Player and Singing Girl | 1898 | Eugène Atget | Paris, France | Gelatin silver print | |
| Portrait of Emil Racoviță | 1899 | Louis Boutan | Banyuls-sur-Mer, France | Glass plate | First underwater portrait, and the first taken by a camera designed for underwater photography. |

## 20th century
### 1900s

| Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Format | Notes |
| A Sea of Steps | 1903 | Frederick H. Evans | Wells Cathedral, England, United Kingdom | Large Format | One of Evans's finest works in architectural photography. |
| First Flight | 17 December 1903 | John T. Daniels | Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, United States | Glass plate | Captured flight of the first airplane, the Wright Flyer, flown by inventors Orville and Wilbur Wright. |
| The Vanishing Race–Navaho | 1904 | Edward S. Curtis | Arizona, United States | Photogravure | Taken during the cultural assimilation of Native Americans while also popularizing the Vanishing Indian stereotype. |
| The Flatiron | 1904 | Edward Steichen | New York City, United States | Blue-green pigment gum bichromate over platinum print | |
| The Pond—Moonlight | 1904 | Edward Steichen | Mamaroneck, New York, United States | Multiple gum bichromate print over platinum | Pictorialist hand-colored photograph; only three versions exist. In 2006, a print became the most expensive photo sold. |
| An Oasis in the Badlands | 1905 | Edward S. Curtis | South Dakota, United States | Glass plate | |
| Bichonnade in Flight | 1905 | Jacques Henri Lartigue | Paris, France | Gelatin silver print | |
| San Francisco Earthquake | 18 April 1906 | Arnold Genthe | San Francisco, California, United States | Unknown (likely gelatin silver print) | |
| The Steerage | 1907 | Alfred Stieglitz | Aboard the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II, possibly anchored at Plymouth, England, United Kingdom | Glass plate | Landmark modernist photo depicting immigrants on the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II. |
| Child Laborer in Newberry, South Carolina Cotton Mill | 1908 | Lewis Hine | Newberry, South Carolina, United States | Glass plate | Part of a series by the National Child Labor Committee to have child labor laws passed. |
| The North Pole | 6 April 1909 | Robert E. Perry | Arctic Ocean | | |
| Cactus Hot Air Balloon | 1909 | Léon Gimpel | Paris, France | Autochrome | |

### 1910s

| Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Format | Notes |
| Breaker Boys | 1911 | Lewis Hine | Pittston, Pennsylvania, United States | Unknown (likely gelatin silver print) | Part of a series by the National Child Labor Committee to have child labor laws passed. |
| Triangle Shirtwaist Fire | 25 March 1911 | Brown Brothers | New York City, United States | | |
| The South Pole | 14 December 1911 | Bjorn Finstad | Antarctica | | |
| Girl with a Mirror | 1912 | Clarence H. White | New York City, United States | Platinum print | |
| Storyville Portrait | 1912 | E.J. Bellocq | New Orleans, Louisiana, United States | | |
| Une Delage au Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France de 1912 | 1912 | Jacques-Henri Lartigue | Dieppe, France | Large Format | This photo depicts René Croquet [fr], with his riding mechanic. |
| Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney | 15 January 1913 | Baron Adolphe de Meyer | New York City, United States | | |
| Trampled by the Kings Horse | 4 June 1913 | Arthur Barrett | United Kingdom | | Emily Davison is struck by King George's horse, Anmer, and knocked unconscious. She died four days later from a fractured skull. |
| Abstraction, Porch Shadows | 1916 | Paul Strand | Salisbury, Connecticut, United States | Silver-platinum print | |
| Passport of Isadora Duncan | 1916 | Copied by Brad Trent | United States | | |
| Blind Woman, New York | 1916 | Paul Strand | New York City, United States | Large format camera with trick lens and right-angle mirror | |
| Cottingley Fairies | 1917 | Elsie Wright | Cottingley, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom | Glass plate | |
| German Trenches Near Reims | 1918 | Julien Bryan | Reims, France | | |

### 1920s

| Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Format | Notes |
| Armco Steel | 1922 | Edward Weston | Middletown, Ohio, United States | Gelatin silver print | |
| Le Violon d'Ingres | 1924 | Man Ray | Paris, France | Unknown | The photograph depicts Alice Prin, known as Kiki de Montparnasse, from the back and nude to below her waist. Two f-holes are painted on her back to make her body resemble a violin. |
| Movement Study | 1926 | Rudolf Koppitz | Vienna, Austria | Gelatin silver print on carte-postale | |
| Kiki with African Mask | 1926 | Man Ray | Paris, France | Gelatin silver print | |
| Charles Lindbergh, Croydon Aerodrome | 29 May 1927 | Pacific and Atlantic photos inc. | London, England, United Kingdom | | |
| Monolith, the Face of Half Dome | 1927 | Ansel Adams | Yosemite National Park, California, United States | Glass plate | |
| Bricklayer | 1928 | August Sander | Cologne, Germany | Gelatin silver print | |
| The Pastry Cook | 1928 | August Sander | Cologne, Germany | Large format | |
| Woman of Tehuantapec | 1929 | Tina Modotti | Tehuantepec, Mexico | | |

### 1930s

| Image | Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Format | Notes |
| | The Hague | 3 January 1930 | Erich Salomon | The Hague, the Netherlands | | |
| | Al Capone Mug Shot | 8 May 1930 | Miami Police Department | Miami, United States | | |
| | Pepper No. 30 | 2 August 1930 | Edward Weston | Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, United States | 8x10 large format view camera | With carefully crafted tones of light, this photo of a pepper emphasizes third-dimensional depth while defying conventional interpretations of form. |
| | Lynching | 7 August 1930 | Lawrence Beitier | Marion, Indiana, United States | | |
| See article | Larmes | 1930 | Man Ray | Paris, France | Gelatin silver print | The photograph is an extreme close-up of a woman's upturned face with glass droplets placed on her cheeks to imitate tears. |
| | Sleeping Woman | 1930 | Man Ray | Paris, France | | |
| See article | Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare | 1932 | Henri Cartier-Bresson | Paris, France | 35 mm | |
| Bruxelles, BelgiqueImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Brussels | 1932 | Henri Cartier-Bresson | Brussels, Belgium | | |
| Couple, HarlemImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Couple in Raccoon Coats | 1932 | James Van Der Zee | New York City, United States | Unknown | |
| Io + gattoImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Io + gatto (I + Cat) | 1932 | Wanda Wulz | Trieste, Italy | Gelatin silver print | |
| | Lunch atop a Skyscraper | 20 September 1932 | Photographer cannot be attributed with certainty – see article | New York City, United States | | |
| | Bonnie and Clyde | 1933 | Bonnie Parker | United States | | |
| Girl with a LeicaImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Girl with a Leica | 1934 | Alexander Rodchenko | Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Russia | | |
| Adolf Hitler ascending stairs during rally, Buckeberg, 1934Image restricted due to copyright View photograph | Hitler at a Nazi Party Rally | 1934 | Heinrich Hoffmann | Bückeburg, Germany | | |
| Surgeon's PhotographImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Surgeon's Photograph | 1934 | Ian Wetherell | Loch Ness, Scotland, United Kingdom | | |
| | First Wirephoto | 1 January 1935 | Unknown | Adirondack Mountains, New York, United States | | |
| THE LADY MILBANKE AS PENTHESILEA, QUEEN OF THE AMAZONSImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Lady Milbanke as 'Queen of the Amazons' | 1935 | Yevonde Middleton | London, England | | |
| | Migrant Mother | 6 March 1936 | Dorothea Lange | Nipomo, California, United States | Large format | The photograph depicts Florence Owens Thompson, a destitute mother during the Great Depression. |
| | Jesse Owens Salute | August 1936 | Heinrich Hoffmann | Berlin, Germany | Gelatin silver print | |
| See article | The Falling Soldier | 1936 | Robert Capa | Espejo, Spain | 35 mm | The photograph depicts the death of Republican soldier Federico Borrell García in the Spanish Civil War. |
| Fort Peck Dam, MontanaImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Fort Peck Dam | 1936 | Margaret Bourke-White | Fort Peck, Montana, United States | | |
| Goldfish Bowl, Santorini, GreeceImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Goldfish Bowl | 1937 | Herbert List | Santorini, Greece | | |
| The Louisville FloodImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | The Louisville Flood | 1937 | Margaret Bourke-White | Louisville, Kentucky, United States | Large format | |
| Dancing the Lambeth WalkImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | The Lambeth Walk | 1937 | Bill Brandt | London, United Kingdom | | |
| | The Hindenburg Disaster | 6 May 1937 | Sam Shere | Manchester Township, New Jersey, United States | Unknown | The photograph depicts the Hindenburg Zeppelin on fire at the mooring mast of Lakehurst. |
| | Bloody Saturday | 28 August 1937 | H. S. Wong | Shanghai, China | 35 mm | The photograph depicts a baby in bombed-out ruins in Shanghai. |
| See article | Juvisy, France | 1938 | Henri Cartier‐Bresson | Juvisy-sur-Orge, France | Gelatin silver print | |
| | Louis Knocks Out Schmeling | 1938 | Unknown | Bronx, New York, United States | | |
| Mainbocher CorsetImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Mainbocher Corset | 1939 | Horst P. Horst | Paris, France | Large format | |
| A DC-4 FLYING OVER NEW YORK CITYImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Aerial View of Manhattan | 1939 | Margaret Bourke-White | New York City, United States | | |
| "Fiesta" turns into tragedy, body of dead man, lies on street, Mulberry St., Little ItalyImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Mulberry Street | 1939 | Weegee | New York City, United States | | |
| | Anne Frank | May 1939 | Polyfoto | Amsterdam, Netherlands | | |

### 1940s

| Image | Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Format | Notes |
| | Aryan Race Determination Tests | 1940 | Henry Guttman | Germany | | |
| | Saint Paul's During the Blitz | July 1940 | John Topham | London, England, United Kingdom | 35 mm | |
| | Buckingham Palace | 13 September 1940 | Cecil Beaton | London, England, United Kingdom | | |
| | Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico | 1 November 1941 | Ansel Adams | Hernandez, New Mexico, United States | Gelatin silver print, large format | |
| | The Roaring Lion | 30 December 1941 | Yousuf Karsh | Ottawa, Canada | Large format | Winston Churchill |
| GriefImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Grief | 1942 | Dmitri Baltermants | Kerch, Ukraine | 35 mm | |
| | The Tetons and the Snake River | 1942 | Ansel Adams | Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, United States | | |
| | American Gothic | August 1942 | Gordon Parks | Washington, D.C., United States | 35 mm | |
| | Betty Grable | 1943 | Frank Powolny | Los Angeles, California, United States | | |
| The CriticImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | The Critic | 1943 | Weegee | New York City, United States | Unknown | |
| | Warsaw Ghetto boy | 1943 | Unknown | Warsaw, Poland | 35 mm | Originally titled Mit Gewalt aus Bunkern hervorgeholt ("Forcibly pulled out of bunkers") |
| Bodies of three dead American soldiers lying in the sand on shoreline near half sunken landing craft on Buna BeachImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Three American Soldiers Ambushed on Buna Beach | 20 September 1943 | George Strock | Buna, Papua New Guinea | Unknown (likely medium format) | |
| | Into the Jaws of Death | 6 June 1944 | Robert F. Sargent | Omaha Beach, France | | |
| "MAGNIFICENT 11": ROBERT CAPACollection restricted due to copyright View slideshow | The Magnificent Eleven (collection of 11 photographs) | 6 June 1944 | Robert Capa | Normandy, France | 35 mm | |
| | Strange Sculptures on Friable Walls | 1944 | Roger Schall | Paris, France | | |
| | Saipan | 1944 | W. Eugene Smith | Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands | | |
| Tide Pool, Point LobosImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Tide Pool, Point Lobos | 1945 | Edward Weston | Point Lobos, California, United States | | |
| General Douglas MacArthur lands in the Philippines at Lingayen Gulf on Luzon, January 9, 1945Image restricted due to copyright View photograph | Return to the Philippines | 9 January 1945 | Carl Mydans | Lingayen Gulf, Philippines | | |
| | Yalta Conference | February 1945 | U.S. Army Signal Corps | Yalta, Crimea | | |
| | Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima | 23 February 1945 | Joe Rosenthal | Iwo Jima, Japan | Large format | The photograph depicts the raising of the U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima. |
| | Buchenwald | 15 April 1945 | Margaret Bourke-White | Ettersberg, Germany | | |
| | Inside Buchenwald | 16 April 1945 | Private H. Miller | Ettersberg, Germany | | |
| See article | Gestapo Informer Recognized by a Woman She Had Denounced | April 1945 | Henri Cartier‐Bresson | Dessau, Germany | 35 mm | |
| | Benito Mussolini | 29 April 1945 | Vincenzo Carrese | Milan, Italy | | The dead body of Benito Mussolini next to his mistress Claretta Petacci and those of other executed fascists, on display in, in Piazzale Loreto, the same place that the fascists had displayed the bodies of fifteen Milanese civilians a year earlier after executing them in retaliation for resistance activity. |
| | Raising a Flag over the Reichstag | 2 May 1945 | Yevgeny Khaldei | Berlin, Germany | 35 mm | The photograph depicts the raising of the Soviet flag during Battle of Berlin. |
| | Atomic Cloud Rises Over Nagasaki | 9 August 1945 | Charles Levy | Nagasaki, Japan | Unknown | |
| | V-J Day in Times Square | 14 August 1945 | Alfred Eisenstaedt (pictured: same event taken by Victor Jorgensen) | New York City, United States | 35 mm | The photograph depicts a U.S. Navy sailor embracing and kissing a total stranger on Victory over Japan Day. |
| | Hiroshima, Three Weeks After the Bomb | 1945 | George Silk | Hiroshima, Japan | | |
| Residents wander cleared streets bisecting the ruins of buildings reduced to piles of rubble by the atomic bomb, dropped a few months earlierImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Atomic Destruction | 1945 | Bernard Hoffman | Hiroshima, Japan | | The photograph was in the first collection depicting the aftermath of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. |
| Mahatma Gandhi SpinningImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Gandhi at his Spinning Wheel | 1946 | Margaret Bourke-White | India | | The photograph depicts Mahatma Gandhi reading beside his spinning wheel. |
| THE GREAT ISAIAH SCROLLImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | The Dead Sea Scrolls | 1947 | Amit Shabi | Israel | | The photograph depicts the Dead Sea Scrolls, the most important collection of Biblical manuscripts. |
| Cumulus clouds billow above a stretch of Route 66 in ArizonaImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Route 66 | 1947 | Andreas Feininger | Route 66 in Arizona, United States | | |
| Barn Owl flying into a Suffolk Barn, taken using a high speed flash system with a flash duration of 1/10,000th.Image restricted due to copyright View photograph | Barn Owl with Vole | 1947 | Eric Hosking | Suffolk, England, United Kingdom | | |
| | Babe Ruth Bows Out | 13 June 1948 | Nat Fein | New York City, United States | | |
| | Dalí Atomicus | 1948 | Philippe Halsman | New York City, United States | Unknown | |
| | Juris Upatnieks Demonstrating the Hologram | 1948 | Fritz Goro | Michigan, United States | | |
| Country DoctorImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Country Doctor | 1948 | W. Eugene Smith | Kremmling, Colorado, United States | | |
| GWYNED FILLINGImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Career Girl | 1948 | Leonard McCombe | New York City, United States | | |
| Le nu provençalImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Provençal Nude | 1949 | Willy Ronis | Gordes, France | | |
| Sisters at St. Vincent's Hospital in Erie, Penn., watched a program on a new local TV stationImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Nuns Watching Television | 1949 | Ralph Morse | Erie, Pennsylvania, United States | | |
| Portrait of Texas Cowboy Clarence Hailey Long, 1949Image restricted due to copyright View photograph | Clarence Hailey Long | 1949 | Leonard McCombe | Texas, United States | | |

### 1950s

| Image | Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Format | Notes |
| Les Amants de l'Hôtel de VilleImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | The Kiss at the Hôtel de Ville (French: Les Amants de l'Hôtel de Ville) | 1950 | Robert Doisneau | Paris, France | 35 mm | |
| | Iron Lung Polio Patients | 1950 | Unknown | Downey, California, United States | | |
| | Albert Einstein | 1951 | Arthur Sasse | New York City, United States | 35 mm | |
| | Photo 51 | May 1952 | Raymond Gosling and Rosalind Franklin | London, England | | The photograph depicts an X-ray diffraction image providing key to DNA structure. |
| Los Angeles Development BoomImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Moving to the Suburbs | 1952 | J.R. Eyerman | Lakewood, California, United States | | |
| Announcement of the Death of Stalin, Dynamo Factory, Moscow, March 6, 1953Image restricted due to copyright View photograph | The Announcement of Stalin's Death | 6 March 1953 | Dmitri Baltermants | Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Russia | | |
| Jacqueline Bouvier sitting with her fiance John F. Kennedy on deck of sailboat, Cape Cod, MassachusettsImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Camelot | 1953 | Hy Peskin | Cape Cod, Massachusetts, United States | | |
| | Everest | 23 May 1953 | Sir Edmund Hillary | Mount Everest, Koshi Province, Nepal | | |
| ED HILLARY AND TENZING NORGAY ON SOUTH EAST RIDGE, APPROACHING THE FINAL CAMP AT 8500MImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Atop Mount Everest | 23 May 1953 | Alfred Gregory | Mount Everest, Koshi Province, Nepal | | |
| | Roger Bannister | 6 May 1954 | Norman Potter | Oxford, England, United Kingdom | 35 mm | |
| | Monroe | 9 September 1954 | Matty Zimmerman | New York City, United States | | The photograph depicts Marilyn Monroe while her white dress blows upwards during a shot for a scene in the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch. |
| | Jackie Robinson | 1955 | Ralph Morse | Bronx, New York, United States | | |
| | Emmett Till's mother at his funeral. | 1955 | David Jackson | Chicago, Illinois, United States | | |
| Dovima with Elephants, Evening Dress by Dior, Cirque d'Hiver, ParisImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Dovima with Elephants | 1955 | Richard Avedon | Paris, France | | |
| Trolley—New OrleansImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Trolley – New Orleans | 1955 | Robert Frank | New Orleans, Louisiana, United States | 35 mm | |
| Hot Shot east Bound, Iaeger Drive In, Iaeger, West VirginiaImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Hot Shot Eastbound at Iaeger Drive‐In | 1956 | O. Winston Link | Iaeger, West Virginia, United States | Large format | |
| Elvis on stageImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | The New King | 1956 | Charles Trainor | Miami, Florida, United States | | |
| | Milk Drop Coronet | 1957 | Harold E. Edgerton | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States | 35 mm | Two drops of milk imaged by fast-film stroboscopic photography |
| | First Digital Photo | 1957 | Russell Kirsch | Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States | Photo composite of two binary scans | |
| | Elizabeth Eckford | 1957 | Will Counts | Little Rock, Arkansas, United States | | Eckford as one of the Little Rock Nine who faced opposition while attending a formerly segregated high school. |
| Aspens, Northern New MexicoImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Aspens, Northern New Mexico | 1958 | Ansel Adams | New Mexico, United States | Gelatin silver print | |
| | The Integrated Circuit | 1959 | Robert Noyce | United States | | |
| | First Satellite Image | 14 August 1959 | Explorer VI | 17000 miles above Mexico | | |

### 1960s

| Image | Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Format | Notes |
| | Guerrillero Heroico | 5 March 1960 | Alberto Korda | Havana, Cuba | 35 mm | The photograph depicts Che Guevara at a funeral for the victims of the La Coubre explosion. The portrait is commonly displayed as a symbol of student protest and revolutionary movements, and has appeared on clothing and other merchandise. |
| | Massacre at Sharpeville | 21 March 1960 | Ian Berry | Sharpeville, South Africa | | |
| Julius Shulman - Case Study House #22, Los Angeles, CaliforniaImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Case Study House no. 22, Los Angeles | 1960 | Julius Shulman | Los Angeles, California, United States | Large format | |
| | Nixon Vs Kennedy TV Debate | 26 September 1960 | Paul Schutzer | Chicago, Illinois, United States | 35 mm | |
| | American Spy Pilot Francis Gary Powers | 16 November 1960 | Carl Mydans | Moscow, Russia | | |
| | Flavio da Silva | 1961 | Gordon Parks | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | | |
| | Leap into Freedom | 15 August 1961 | Peter Leibing | Berlin, Germany | 35 mm | The photograph depicts Hans Conrad Schumann, an East German soldier running away over barbed-wire in Berlin. |
| | Thalidomide | 1962 | Stan Wayman | | | |
| | Cuban Missile Crisis | 25 October 1962 | Neal Boenzi | New York City, United States | | Adlai Stevenson II shows aerial photos of Russian missiles in Cuba to the United Nations Security Council in the presence of USSR ambassador Valerian Zorin. |
| Firefighters aiming high-pressure water hoses at civil rights demonstrators, Birmingham, AlabamaImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Birmingham, Alabama | 3 May 1963 | Charles Moore | Birmingham, Alabama, United States | | Nonviolent civil rights movement student activists sprayed by high-pressure fire hoses during the Birmingham campaign's Children's Crusade. |
| | Woolworth Sit-In | 28, May, 1963 | Fred Blackwell | Jackson, Mississippi, United States | | |
| Nuit de NoëlImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Nuit de Noël (Happy Club) | 1963 | Malick Sidibé | Bamako, Mali | | |
| | The Burning Monk | 11 June 1963 | Malcolm Browne | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | 35 mm | The photograph depicts the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức protesting the persecution of Buddhists under the government of Ngo Dinh Diem by committing self-immolation. |
| TOPSHOT-US-CIVIL RIGHTS-MARTIN LUTHER KING-MARCH ON WASHINGTONImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | I Have a Dream | 28 August 1963 | Agence France-Presse | Washington, D.C., United States | 35 mm | The photograph depicts Martin Luther King Jr. waving to supporters during the March on Washington, where he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, considered the most famous American oration of the twentieth century. |
| Abraham Zapruder filmImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Zapruder film | 22 November 1963 | Abraham Zapruder | Dallas, Texas, United States | 35 mm internegative | The film depicts the most complete view of the assassination of US president John F. Kennedy. |
| | Johnson Is Sworn In | 22 November 1963 | Cecil W. Stoughton | Dallas, Texas, United States | | Lyndon B. Johnson taking the oath of office aboard Air Force One at Love Field Airport two hours and eight minutes after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Dallas, Texas. Jackie Kennedy (right), still in her blood-soaked clothes, looks on. |
| | Jack Ruby Shoots Lee Harvey Oswald | 24 November 1963 | Robert H. Jackson | Dallas, Texas, United States | 35 mm | The photograph depicts the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby while Oswald was being escorted by police two days after he had assassinated US president John F. Kennedy. |
| | The Beatles Arrive | 1964 | Harry Benson | New York City, United States | | |
| Beatles' Pillow Fight, George V Hotel, ParisImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Pillow Fight | 1964 | Harry Benson | Paris, France | | |
| | Selma March | 7 March 1965 | James H. Karales | Alabama, United States | | |
| Living 18-week-old fetus shown inside its amniotic sac — placenta is seen at rightImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | New View of Life, Fetus 18 Weeks | 1965 | Lennart Nilsson | Stockholm, Sweden | Unknown | |
| Muhammad Ali vs Sonny ListonImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston | 1965 | Neil Leifer | Lewiston, Maine, United States | Medium format | |
| A young chimp named Flint reaches for ethologist Jane Goodall. Flint was the first infant born in Gombe after Jane's arrival.Image restricted due to copyright View photograph | Jane Goodall Greets Baby Chimp | 1965 | Hugo van Lawick | Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania | | |
| | Chairman Mao Swims in the Yangtze | 1966 | Hou Bo | Wuhan, Hubei, China | | |
| Reaching Out, Mutter Ridge, Nui Cay Tri, October 5, 1966, printed 1987Image restricted due to copyright View photograph | Reaching Out | 5 October 1966 | Larry Burrows | Mutter's Ridge, Vietnam | 35 mm | |
| Twiggy In PinkImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | The Mini Moment | 3 December 1966 | Popperfoto | | | |
| | The Boston Marathon | 19 May 1967 | Harry Trask | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | | Runner Kathrine Switzer attacked by race official Jock Semple while running in the 1967 Boston Marathon. |
| Jimi Hendrix, Monterey Pop Festival, 1967Image restricted due to copyright View photograph | The Jimi Hendrix Experience | 18 June 1967 | Jim Marshall | Monterey, California, United States | | |
| | Twiggy | 1 March 1967 | Bernard Gotfryd | London, England, United Kingdom | | |
| | Unidentified Flying Object | 1967 | Ralph Ditter | Zanesville, Ohio, United States | | |
| | Patterson-Gimlin Film | 20 October 1967 | Roger Patterson | Pacific Northwest, United States | 16 mm | |
| See article | Flower Power | 21 October 1967 | Bernie Boston | Washington, D.C., United States | 35 mm | |
| | Saigon Execution | 1 February 1968 | Eddie Adams | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | Unknown | |
| | Massacre of Villagers in My Lai | 16 March 1968 | Ronald L. Haeberle | Sơn Mỹ, Vietnam | | |
| | My Lai | 16 March 1968 | Ronald L. Haeberle | Sơn Mỹ, Vietnam | 35 mm | A group of civilian women and children before being killed by the U.S. Army. |
| Body of Martin Luther King Jr., Lorraine Motel, Memphis, TennesseeImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. | 4 April 1968 | Joseph Louw | Memphis, Tennessee, United States | | |
| See article | Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy | 5 June 1968 | Bill Eppridge | Los Angeles, California, United States | 35 mm | |
| | Chicago Democratic Convention Protest | August 1968 | Perry C. Riddle | United States | | |
| Warsaw Pact troops invasion. Prague, Czechoslovakia. August, 1968Image restricted due to copyright View photograph | Invasion of Prague | August 1968 | Josef Koudelka | Prague, Czechia | | |
| | Bratislava Tank Man | August 1968 | Josef Koudelka | Bratislava, Slovakia | | |
| | 1968 Olympics Black Power Salute | 16 October 1968 | John Dominis | Mexico City, Mexico | | |
| | Earthrise | 24 December 1968 | William Anders | The Moon | Medium format | The photograph depicts the Earth and Moon's surface from Apollo 8. |
| BiafraImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Albino Boy, Biafra | 1969 | Don McCullin | Biafra, West Africa | | |
| | Canadian Seal Hunt | 1969 | Duncan Cameron | Northumberland Strait, Canada | | |
| | One Weeks Dead | 28 May - 3 June 1969 | Life Magazine | Various | | |
| | Aerial View of Woodstock Festival | August 1969 | Burk Uzzle | Bethel, New York, United States | | |
| Woodstock Festival #1Image restricted due to copyright View photograph | Woodstock | August 1969 | Bill Eppridge | Bethel, New York, United States | | |
| | Buzz Aldrin on the Moon | 21 July 1969 | Neil Armstrong | Sea of Tranquility, the Moon | 70 mm lunar surface camera | Buzz Aldrin during Apollo 11, the first crewed Moon landing |
| | Apollo 11 Bootprint | 21 July 1969 | Buzz Aldrin | Sea of Tranquility, the Moon | 70 mm lunar surface camera | |
| See article | Altamont | 6 December 1969 | Unknown | Altamont Speedway, California, United States | | |

### 1970s

| Image | Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Format | Notes |
| See article (cropped) | Kent State Shootings | 4 May 1970 | John Paul Filo | Kent, Ohio, United States | Unknown | |
| | Elvis Meets Nixon | 21 December 1970 | Oliver F. Atkins | Washington, D.C., United States | | |
| See article | Tomoko and Mother in the Bath | 1971 | W. Eugene Smith | Kyūshū, Japan | | |
| Jackie Onassis, New YorkImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Windblown Jackie | 1971 | Ron Galella | New York City, United States | | |
| | President Richard Nixon and Mao Zedong | 21 February 1972 | Unknown | Beijing, China | | |
| | Nixon in China | 26 February 1972 | Oliver F. Atkins | Beijing, China | | |
| | Napalm attack | 8 June 1972 | Nick Ut | Trảng Bàng, Vietnam | 35 mm | The photograph depicts a crowd of Vietnamese people running from napalm, among them a girl (later identified as Phan Thi Kim Phuc) who survived by tearing off her burning clothes. |
| Germany Israel Olympics AttackImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Munich Massacre | 5 September 1972 | Kurt Strumpf | Munich, Germany | 35 mm | |
| | The Blue Marble | 7 December 1972 | Ronald Evans or Harrison Schmitt | Space | Medium format | |
| Bullet through Candle FlameImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Bullet Passing through a Candle Flame | 1973 | Doc Edgerton | United States | | |
| 1974 Photo Contest, World Press Photo of the YearImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Allende's Last Stand | 11 September 1973 | Orlando Lagos | Chile | 35 mm | |
| | Patty Hearst Surveillance | 15 April 1974 | Hibernia Bank Surveillance Camera | San Francisco, California, United States | Surveillance camera still | Patty Hearst, during the April 1974 Hibernia bank robbery. |
| 9th AUGUST 1974 Washington D. C. USA. President Richard Nixon of the United States gives the V-sign with both hands before boarding the Presidential helicopter to leave the White House for the last time after his resignation speech following the WatergateImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Nixon Resignation | 9 August 1974 | Rolls Press | Washington, D.C., United States | | |
| Water Towers (Wassertürme)Image restricted due to copyright View photograph | Water‐Towers | 1974–2009 | Bernd and Hilla Becher | Various locations across Europe and the United States | Large format | |
| Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pours soil into the hand of traditional land owner Vincent LingiariImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Prime Minister Gough Whitlam Pours Soil into the Hand of Traditional Gurindji Landowner Vincent Lingiari | 1975 | Mervyn Bishop | Daguragu, Northern Territory, Australia | | |
| | Helicopter Evacuation of the US Embassy, Saigon | April 1975 | Thai Khac Chuong | Nha Trang, Vietnam | 35 mm | |
| See article | Fire Escape Collapse | 22 July 1975 | Stanley Forman | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | | |
| The death of Hector PietersonImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Soweto Uprising | 16 June 1976 | Sam Nzima | Soweto, Gauteng, South Africa | 35 mm | |
| | The Red Planet | 21 July 1976 | Viking 1 | Chrysa Planitia, Mars | | |
| | Boat of No Smiles | 1977 | Eddie Adams | Gulf of Siam | | |
| Untitled Film StillsImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Untitled Film Stills | 1977–1980 | Cindy Sherman | New York City, United States | Unknown | |
| | Cambodia | 1979 | Jay Ullal | Cambodia | | |
| Brian Ridley and Lyle HeeterImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Brian Ridley and Lyle Heeter | 1979 | Robert Mapplethorpe | New York City, United States | | |
| | Peace Treaty | 26 March 1979 | Yaakov Saar | Washington, D.C., United States | | The triple handshake in the peace treaty signing between Israel and Egypt on the White House lawn |
| See article | Molotov Man | 16 July 1979 | Susan Meiselas | Estelí, Nicaragua | | |
| | Firing Squad in Iran | 27 August 1979 | Jahangir Razmi | Kurdistan province, Iran | | |

### 1980s

| Image | Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Format | Notes |
| Yoko Ono; John LennonImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | John Lennon and Yoko Ono | 1980 | Annie Leibowitz | New York City, United States | | |
| Usa Hockey, 1980 Winter Olympics Sports Illustrated CoverImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Miracle on Ice | 1980 | Heinz Kluetmeier | Lake Placid, New York, United States | | |
| | Starving Boy and Missionary | 1980 | Mike Wells | Uganda | | |
| Self-Portrait with Wife and Models, 'Vogue' Studios, Paris, 1980Image restricted due to copyright View photograph | Self‐Portrait with Wife and Model | 1981 | Helmut Newton | Paris, France | | |
| Princess of Wales with her BridesmaidsImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Diana with Bridesmaids in Buckingham Palace | 1981 | Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield | London, England | | |
| Bengt hits Elisabeth for being a disobedient wife and hiding drugs, which she did hoping to save their marriage, Saddle River, New JerseyImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Behind Closed Doors | 1982 | Donna Ferrato | Saddle River, New Jersey, United States | | |
| Androgyny (6 Men + 6 Women)Image restricted due to copyright View photograph | Androgyny (6 Men + 6 Women) | 1982 | Nancy Burson | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States | | |
| | Ken Moody and Robert Sherman | 1984 | Robert Mapplethorpe | New York City, United States | | |
| | Milk Carton | 1984 | Robert Frieder | Detroit, Michigan, United States | | |
| Michael JordanImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Michael Jordan | 1984 | Co Rentmeester | Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States | | |
| | Hole in the Ozone | 3 October 1985 | NASA | Greenbelt, Maryland, United States | | |
| | Challenger Disaster | 28 January 1986 | Michele McDonald | Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States | | |
| Ken Meeks, Patient with AIDS, Being Cared for by a Friend, San Francisco, CaliforniaImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Ken Meeks, Patient with AIDS, Being Cared for by a Friend, San Francisco, California | 1986 | Alon Reininger | San Francisco, California, United States | | |
| 1988 Photo Contest, Science & Technology, 2nd prizeImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | The First Heart Transplant in Poland | 1 January 1987 | James L. Stanfield | Zabrze, Poland | | |
| See article | Immersion (Piss Christ) | 1987 | Andres Serrano | United States | Medium format | |
| Gary Hart & Donna RiceImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Monkey Business | 1987 | National Enquirer | Bimini, the Bahamas | | |
| See article | Willie Horton | 1987 | Unknown | Maryland, United States | | |
| | Dukakis and the Tank | 1988 | Michael E. Samojeden | Detroit, Michigan, United States | | The infamous photo of Michael Dukakis taken as part of his presidential campaign. |
| 'The Slam Dunk' Michael Jordan, Chicago, IL 1988Image restricted due to copyright View photograph | Air Jordan | 1988 | Walter Iooss | Chicago, Illinois, United States | Medium format | |
| Untitled (cowboy)Image restricted due to copyright View photograph | Untitled (Cowboy) | 1989 | Richard Prince | United States | Composite | |
| | Exxon Valdez Oil Spill | 24 March 1989 | John S. Lough | Alaska, United States | | |
| See article | Tank Man | 5 June 1989 | Jeff Widener | Beijing, China | | The photograph depicts an unidentified protestor confronting column of Chinese military tanks. |
| BerlinWallImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | The Wall Falls | November 1989 | Robert Maass | Berlin, Germany | | |
| | Nicolae Ceausescu | December 1989 | Christopher Pillitz | Romania | | |

### 1990s

| Image | Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Format | Notes |
| See article | The Face of AIDS | 1990 | Therese Frare | Columbus, Ohio, United States | | |
| 1992 Photo Contest, World Press Photo of the YearImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Operation Desert Storm | 27 February 1991 | David Turnley | Iraq | 35 mm | |
| 1992 Photo Contest, General News, 1st prizeImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Camels in the Oil Fields | 1 March 1991 | Steve McCurry | Burgan field, Kuwait | | |
| | L.A. Police Beating Rodney King | 3 March 1991 | George Holiday | Los Angeles, California, United States | | |
| See article | More Demi Moore | 1991 | Annie Leibovitz | Culver City, California, United States | | |
| Famine in SomaliaImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Famine in Somalia | 1992 | James Nachtwey | Baidoa, Somalia | | |
| See article | Dead Troops Talk | 1992 | Jeff Wall | Muqur District, Ghazni, Afghanistan | Large format lightbox transparency | |
| The PhotographImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Bosnia | 2 April 1992 | Ron Haviv | Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina | 35 mm | |
| See article | The Vulture and the Little Girl | March 1993 | Kevin Carter | Ayod, Sudan (now South Sudan) | 35 mm | |
| | Beauty Out of Damage | 1993 | Matuschka | United States | | Matuschka's controversial self portrait baring her mastectomy combined with her face. The photo covered the New York Times Sunday Magazine and helped spark debate about breast cancer around the US and the world |
| | Rwandan Children | 1994 | Seamus Conlan and Tara Farrell | Rwanda | | |
| The 1996 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Spot News PhotographyImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Oklahoma City Bombing | 19 April 1995 | Charles Porter IV | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States | | |
| | Giant Iceberg | 1995 | Dr. Hans Oerter | Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica | | |
| | Pillars of Creation | 1995 | Hubble Space Telescope / NASA | Low Earth orbit | Wide field and planetary camera | The photograph depicts a region of star formation. |
| Bill Clinton and Monica LewinskyImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Bill Clinton hugs Monica Lewinsky | 1996 | Dirck Halstead | Washington, D.C., United States | 35 mm | |
| | First Cell-Phone Picture | 11 June 1997 | Philippe Kahn | Santa Cruz, California, United States | Cell phone | |
| | Chinese Baby | 1997 | Jeff Abelin | Fuyang, Anhui, China | | |
| See article | 99 Cent | 1999 | Andreas Gursky | Los Angeles, California, United States | chromogenic print face-mounted to acrylic | |
| Agim ShalaImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Kosovo Refugees | 3 May 1999 | Carol Guzy | Kukës, Albania | | |
| USA Brandi Chastain, 1999 World CupImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | World Cup Winners | 1999 | Robert Beck | Pasadena, California, United States | | |

## 21st century
### 2000s

| Image | Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Format | Notes |
| 2001 Photo Contest, Spot News, 2nd prizeImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Elian Gonzalez Federal Raid | 2000 | Alan Diaz | Miami, Florida, United States | | |
| Surfing HipposImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Surfing Hippos | 2000 | Michael Nichols | Loango National Park, Gabon | | |
| | The First Plane Hits the World Trade Center | 11 September 2001 | Jules Naudet | New York City, United States | | A screenshot of the Jules Naudet footage that is included in the Naudet brothers' documentary film 9/11, originally broadcast on March 10, 2002, on CBS, and later released on DVD. |
| Sept 11 Bush ClassroomImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | President George W. Bush Learns of the September 11th Attacks | 11 September 2001 | Doug Mills | Sarasota, Florida, United States | | |
| See article | The Falling Man | 11 September 2001 9:41:15 A.M. | Richard Drew | New York City, United States | | |
| The Moment The Towers FellImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | New Yorkers watch the collapse of the South Tower of the World Trade Center | 11 September 2001 | Patrick Witty | New York City, United States | | |
| Father Mychal Judge is carried from the rubble of the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001.Image restricted due to copyright View photograph | Father Judge | 11 September 2001 | Shannon Stapleton | New York City, United States | | |
| See article | Raising the Flag at Ground Zero | 11 September 2001 | Thomas E. Franklin | New York City, United States | | |
| | Toppling the Statue of Saddam Hussein | 9 April 2003 | Goran Tomasevic | Baghdad, Iraq | 35 mm | |
| | The Pencil Nebula | 5 June 2003 | Hubble Space Telescope / NASA | Low Earth orbit | Wide field and planetary camera | |
| | The Hooded Man | 4 November 2003 | Ivan Frederick | Abu Ghraib, Iraq | | The photograph depicts Abdou Hussain Saad Faleh, an Abu Ghraib prisoner, being subjected to torture. |
| The washing of the body at the burial of the eight-month-old Sakura LisiImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Sakura Lisi | 2004 | Marcus Bleasdale | Mongbwalu, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo | | |
| Coffin banImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Coffin Ban | 2004 | Tami Silicio | Kuwait International Airport, Farwaniya Governorate, Kuwait | | |
| U.S. Troops Mistakenly Kill Iraqi CiviliansImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Iraqi Girl | 18 January 2005 | Chris Hondros | Tal Afar, Iraq | | |
| HURRICANE KATRINA REFUGEESImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | 3 September 2005 | Eric Gay | New Orleans, Louisiana, United States | | |
| A man clings to the top of a vehicle before being rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard from the flooded streets of New OrleansImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Hurricane Katrina | 4 September 2005 | Robert Galbraith | New Orleans, Louisiana, United States | | |
| Residents are rescued by helicopter fromImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Hurricane Katrina | 2005 | David Phillip | New Orleans, Louisiana, United States | | |
| Final SaluteImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Jim Comes Home | 2005 | Todd Heisler | Aurora, Colorado, United States | | |
| Oded Balilty of Associated PressImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | The Power of One | 1 February 2006 | Oded Bality | Amona, West Bank | 35 mm | |
| 2008 Photo Contest, Contemporary Issues, 1st prizeImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Gorilla in the Congo | July 2007 | Brent Stirton | Virunga National Park, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo | 35 mm | |
| Award of ExcellenceImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery | 27 May 2007 | John Moore | Arlington, Virginia, United States | | |
| Troops ReturnImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Homecoming | 2007 | Louie Favorite | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | | |
| Swimming, 2008 Summer OlympicsImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Photo Finish | 16 August 2008 | Heinz Kluetmeier | Beijing, China | 35 mm | |
| Newsom Political FutureImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Married at Last | 2008 | Marcio Sanchez | San Francisco, California, United States | | |
| Barack Obama Holds Election Night Gathering In Chicago's Grant ParkImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | The New First Family | 2008 | Win McNamee | Chicago, Illinois, United States | | |
| June 26, 09. At New Journey Ministries Church, in Hawthorne, Edward J. Cobbin (center) is comfortedImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Funeral of Edwin Cobbin | 2009 | Barbara Davidson | Hawthorne, California, United States | | |
| See article | Diego Frazão Torquato | 2009 | Marcos Tristao | Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | | |
| | Hair Like Mine | 2009 | Pete Souza | Washington, D.C., United States | | |
| The Death of NedaImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | The Death of Neda | 2009 | Unknown | Tehran, Iran | | |

### 2010s

| Image | Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Format | Notes |
| testImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | First Instagram Photo | 16 July 2010 | Kevin Systrom | Mexico | Cell phone | Kevin Systrom (co-founder of Instagram), the BBC, Time, and Life magazine claim the photograph to be the first shared on Instagram, however The Economic Times and The Guardian claim the first photograph posted to the social media to be a picture of San Francisco's South Beach harbor by Mike Krieger, also co-founder. Time later claimed the post of the harbor was the first shared. |
| | The Situation Room | 1 May 2011 | Pete Souza | Washington, D.C., United States | 35 mm | Barack Obama and his national security team, in the White House Situation Room during the killing of Osama bin Laden |
| US – ATTACKS – 911 – ANNIVERSARYImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | 9/11 Memorial | 11 September 2011 | Justin Lane | New York City, United States | | |
| Mideast Fleeing SyriaImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Aida | 12 March 2012 | Rodrigo Abd | Idlib, Syria | | |
| FASHION-NEWYORKImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Fashion Week | 7 September 2012 | Lucas Jackson | New York City, United States | | |
| Shootings as RoutineImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Shootings as Routine | 14 December 2012 | Jessica Hill | Newtown, Connecticut, United States | | The photograph shows Carlee Soto using a phone to ask about her sister, Victoria Soto, a teacher at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, after gunman Adam Lanza opened fire on the school, killing 26. |
| Connecticut State Police lead students from the Sandy Hook Elementary School to safety after a mass shooting on Dec. 14, 2012Image restricted due to copyright View photograph | Sandy Hook | 14 December 2012 | Shannon Hicks | Newtown, Connecticut, United States | | |
| CHINA-SOCIAL-SUICIDEImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | China Social Suicide | 27 February 2013 | Agence France-Presse | Wuhan, Hubei, China | | |
| North KoreaImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | North Korea | 2013 | David Guttenfelder | Pyongyang, North Korea | | |
| Explosions At 117th Boston MarathonImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Boston Marathon Bombing | 2013 | John Tlumacki | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | | |
| See article | Final Embrace | April 2013 | Taslima Akhter | Savar Upazila, Bangladesh | | |
| Massacre at Westgate MallImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Nairobi Mall Attack | 21 September 2013 | Tyler Hicks | Nairobi, Kenya | | |
| If only Bradley's arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscarsImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Oscars Selfie | 2 March 2014 | Bradley Cooper | Los Angeles, California, United States | Cell phone | The photograph is a selfie taken at the 2014 Oscars. The image shows Ellen DeGeneres, Meryl Streep, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Channing Tatum, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Lupita Nyong'o, and her brother, Peter Nyong'o. |
| TURKEY-MINE-BLASTImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Turkey Mine Blast | 13 May 2014 | Bülent Kılıç | Soma, Manisa Province, Turkey | | |
| See article | Alan Kurdi | 2 September 2015 | Nilufer Demir | Bodrum, Muğla Province, Turkey | Unknown | |
| Turkish coast guard rescues refugees in Turkey's AydinImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Turkish Coast Guard Rescue | 2016 | Emin Menguarslan | Aydın, Aydın Province, Turkey | | |
| Yarmouk RefugeesImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Yarmouk Refugees | 26 January 2017 | UNRWA | Damascus, Syria | | |
| WALKING ON THIN ICE.Image restricted due to copyright View photograph | Climate Change | 2018 | Sergio Pitamitz | Svalbard, Norway | | The photograph depicts a polar bear standing on a melting ice sheet. |

### 2020s

| Image | Title | Date | Photographer | Location | Subject |
| ABD'de Trump destekçileri polis barikatını aşarak Kongre binasına girdiImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | The Capitol Under Attack | 6 January 2021 | Tayfun Coskun | Washington, D.C., United States | January 6 United States Capitol attack |
| | Out of Afghanistan | 29 August 2021 | Alexander Burnett | Kabul, Afghanistan | Chris Donahue, becoming the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan before the Fall of Kabul |
| Shooting of Donald TrumpImage restricted due to copyright View photograph | Donald Trump raised-fist photographs | 13 July 2024 | Evan Vucci | Butler, Pennsylvania | Donald Trump, after surviving an assassination attempt |