Buzz
Introduced in 1942, the Pulitzer Prize for Photography has recognized some of the most impactful and iconic images in modern history. Since 1967, it has been divided into two categories: feature photography and breaking news photography. Below are ten extraordinary photographs along with the stories that define them:
10. American Soldiers Dragging Viet Cong Kyoichi Sawada, 19 August 1966
Captured in South Vietnam following the Battle of Long Tan, this image depicts the aftermath of a night assault by the Viet Cong on Australian troops. The Viet Cong soldier shown here was among those who lost their lives in the conflict.
The photograph starkly illustrates the desensitization to violence often experienced by those entrenched in war. Its widespread circulation dealt a heavy blow to pro-war sentiments and morale in the West.
9. Serious Steps Paul Vathis, 1962
President John F. Kennedy and former president Dwight D. Eisenhower stroll through Camp David during winter. Kennedy has just inquired about Eisenhower's thoughts on the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion. According to Vathis, both leaders had been walking confidently just moments before the question was posed.
8. The Johnny Bright Incident Don Ultang and John Robinson, 20 October 1951
A series of six photographs captured the intentional on-field attack on Johnny Bright, an African-American football player for the Drake Bulldogs.
Although the referee dismissed the violent tackles as part of the game, the photos revealed the truth. The sequence clearly shows the rival player’s deliberate actions. The motive was clear and reprehensible, but even more shocking was the lack of accountability from Oklahoma A & M, the rival player’s university. Despite the widespread attention the photos garnered, the offending player faced no consequences.
7. Fatal Hollywood Drama Anthony Roberts, 1973
Roberts was passing through a Hollywood parking lot one afternoon when he heard a woman’s screams. He discovered a man assaulting her, trying to overpower her with punches and slaps. Armed only with his camera, Roberts shouted at the man, warning him that his actions had been captured on film.
The assailant yelled back that he didn’t care and continued attacking the woman as Roberts stood by, unable to intervene. The disturbance eventually drew the attention of a security guard, who ordered the man to stop. When the man ignored the warning and kept assaulting the woman, who was pleading for her life, the guard aimed his pistol over a car roof and shot the man in the head, killing him instantly. Roberts’ final image captures the moment just before the guard fired the fatal shot.
6. Lone Jewish Woman Oded Balilty, 1 February 2006
This image was captured in Amona, located in Israel’s West Bank. The Israeli government deemed Amona a settlement of illegal occupants, regardless of their citizenship, and dispatched 10,000 police officers to forcibly evacuate its residents.
A lone Jewish woman stands resolutely, defying a large contingent of riot-gear-clad police officers. They are trying to push her aside to plant demolition charges on the homes behind her. Eventually, she was knocked backward and almost trampled as the officers advanced. Balilty recounts that the woman briefly struggled with some of the officers before running after them, hurling Hebrew curses.
5. The Shooting of James Meredith Jack Thornell, 6 June 1966
James Meredith, a key figure in the civil rights movement, was leading a protest march when he was shot in the back with birdshot. The assailant, Aubrey Norvell, allegedly yelled, “I only want James Meredith!”
Remarkably, none of the sixty-three birdshot pellets hit a vital organ or damaged Meredith’s spine, despite the wounds covering his body from head to buttocks.
In the photograph, Meredith is seen writhing in pain on the road, calling out, “Isn’t anyone going to help me?” No one stepped forward, but Thornell, the photographer, urged him to remain calm, assuring him that an ambulance was en route. Meredith was hospitalized, where the pellets were removed, and he recovered sufficiently within two days to rejoin and complete the march before it reached Jackson. Norvell admitted guilt and later expressed regret in prison for not using buckshot.
4. Saigon Execution Eddie Adams, 1968
This photograph is among the most notorious ever captured. Eddie Adams, the photographer, later expressed regret for being present, as his image ultimately ruined the lives of the shooter and his family. The gunman was Nguyễn Ngọc Loan, a Major General in the South Vietnamese Army and the National Chief of Police.
The photograph does not reveal the reason behind Loan’s execution of the prisoner. The victim is believed to be Nguyễn Văn Lém, a Viet Cong officer who led a group of assassins targeting local police officers in Saigon. He orchestrated drive-by shootings and hit-and-run attacks, killing dozens of officers and, when they were unreachable, their families.
When Lém was finally captured and brought before Loan, the Chief of Police calmly drew his revolver and shot him in the temple, killing him instantly. Adams had no prior knowledge of the context when he took the photo. He later stated that this image single-handedly eroded American support for the war.
3. The Kiss of Life Rocco Morabito, 1967
This image captures two power linemen, Randall Champion and J. D. Thompson, atop a utility pole. While conducting routine maintenance, Champion accidentally made contact with a high-voltage line at the pole’s peak. These lines emit a distinct electrical hum. Over 4000 volts surged through Champion’s body, instantly stopping his heart (an electric chair typically uses around 2000 volts).
Champion’s safety harness kept him from falling, and Thompson, who was climbing below, swiftly reached him and began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Due to the precarious position, CPR was impossible, but Thompson continued breathing into Champion’s lungs until he detected a faint pulse. He then unfastened Champion’s harness and carried him down the pole on his shoulder. On the ground, Thompson and another worker performed CPR, partially reviving Champion by the time paramedics arrived. He eventually recovered fully.
2. The Soiling of Old Glory Stanley Forman, 5 April 1976
The desegregation of buses in Boston, Massachusetts, was mandated in 1965—but by 1974, opposition to this change had escalated into a significant and widespread issue. In 1976, Stanley Forman captured a photograph that encapsulated the crisis: it depicts Theodore Landsmark, a black lawyer and civil rights activist, being assaulted by Joseph Rakes, a white teenager wielding an American flag.
1. Ford Strikers Riot Milton Brooks, 1941
In 1941, employees at the Ford Automobile Plant in Detroit, Michigan, initiated a strike. The workers demanded higher wages, but the plant management refused. A strikebreaker attempting to disperse the crowd was surrounded and severely beaten by the workers, who forced him to cover his face with his coat for protection.
Milton Brooks captured the moment on camera before swiftly concealing his equipment and fleeing the scene. He later recounted that the strikers continued to assault the man before pushing him aside to resume their protest.
