# World's Most Famous Photograph **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 18, 2002, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890 "2002-03-18T16:58:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2002, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/21 "2002-03-18T23:59:48Z")
A few years back one of the big photo magazines published a list of “the 5 most memorable photos” which included: The flag-raising at Iwo Jima Girl screaming over dead body at Kent State Execution of VC prisoner MacArthur’s return to Leyte Gulf Robert Kennedy lying on the floor after being shot (the first photo at [this](http://homepages.tcp.co.uk/~dlewis/photo.htm) site) Personally, I had never recalled seeing the last two photos prior to this list, and have hardly ever seen them since. There were so many cameras watching the WTC attacks, was there any one photo that stands out as most memorable from 9/11? ---
**Author:** ![Neptune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Neptune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptune)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/22 "2002-03-19T00:08:29Z")
The first thing that came to my mind when I saw the thread title is Napalm girl. ☹ I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing the first time I saw that photograph. How many other photos have had that kind of impact. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/23 "2002-03-19T00:24:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hey you! \* > \*\*Let’s not forget > > **Crash of the Hindenberg** > > (yes, it came from a newsreel, so there it’s not technically a single photo, but the still of the zeppelin just catching fire has been used many times) > > Oh the humanity! \*\* Heh heh, I can spot an Onion fan from a mile away. ---
**Author:** ![Ferris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ferris/32/11573_2.png) [@Ferris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferris)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/24 "2002-03-19T00:42:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Upon reflection however, these are all American History related As a non-American, I can tell you that just about the only photos so far mentioned that came to mind were the Hindenberg disaster and the Wright brothers’ flight. Marilyn holding her skirt down over the subway grating? Has that been mentioned yet? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/25 "2002-03-19T00:47:02Z")
The Lunar photos, for certain. Isn’t this more of an IMHO thing? ---
**Author:** ![zyzzyva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@zyzzyva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zyzzyva)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/26 "2002-03-19T00:54:44Z")
I’d put my money on the [Earth photo](http://www.spacepix.net/earth/earth_apollo_17.htm) taken from Apollo 17. It was the first (and possibly still the only) photo where the full sphere is lit by daylight. I’d say a good 90% of the photos you see of the earth are reproductions of this one. Most of the others are composites. Of course, i’d also put Iwo Jima, the Napalm girl, the VC excution, and the Hindenburg up there. As a side note, the Oswald pic always reminds me of [this](http://www.tw-zone.com/cosmo/photoshop/oswald.html). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![CWN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bc79bd/32.png) [@CWN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CWN)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/27 "2002-03-19T01:51:39Z")
I think I will add a recent photo- the firemen raising the flag over ground zero- I don’t know if this photo will stand over time but for the time being it is well known. At least in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/28 "2002-03-19T02:01:48Z")
I wonder if the most famous photograph in the _world_ might be different from that in the US? I think it’s probably very much a individual cultural/national thing. If you want sheer numbers, Mao might be the most famous photo in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/29 "2002-03-19T02:23:44Z")
The first one that came to mind, for me, was Buzz Aldrin on the moon. Here’s another one that hasn’t been mentioned yet: [Albert Einstein - The Tongue](http://www.th.physik.uni-frankfurt.de/~jr/gif/phys/einstein_tongue.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/30 "2002-03-19T02:25:12Z")
In my sick and twisted mind, the first photo that came to mind was the Issue 34 cover of National Lampoon magazine. Take one part firearm and one part dog; sell a lot of magazines and get tons of publicity. The second photo was Iwo Jima, followed closely by the Eddie Adams photo of the Saigon street execution. ---
**Author:** ![Threadkiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@Threadkiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Threadkiller)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/31 "2002-03-19T16:02:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor \* > …Isn’t this more of an IMHO thing? … I had hoped to have a fairly firm factual answer but it looks as though no one has a firm answer (thanks for the great ideas though). As I mentioned in the OP “famous” is a nebulous concept. I guess “most widely distributed,” “most reproduced” or “most recognized” would be better criteria. **China Guy** also makes a good point in that nearly all the photos mentioned are closely tied to US history (no doubt this is, at least in part, reflective of the SDMB makeup). If the moderators feel so inclined please bounce this to IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Pergau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7c8e57/32.png) [@Pergau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pergau)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/32 "2002-03-19T17:09:56Z")
China Guy hit the nail on the head, most of the photos are US centered and there’s a whole world out there apart from the USA. My bet would go for Che Guevara shot. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the photo of the girl playing tennis with no knickers on. Both are student icons! ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/33 "2002-03-19T17:10:25Z")
Since this thread has already turned into an IMHO, here’s my list of Famous Photographs: - Einstein and his tongue; 1950s - Che Guevara (taken by Korda in 1960) - Russian soldier attaches Soviet flag on Berlin Reichstag building, 1945 - Spanish soldier in the moment he’s hit by a bullet during the Civil War (1930s) - Vietnamese girl running out of napalmed village ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/34 "2002-03-19T17:35:33Z")
Most sites I visited on google think that the Iwo Jima photograh, fake as it was, is the most widely reproduced photograph in the world, though they offer no evidence, which is why I can’t be bothered citing them. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/35 "2002-03-19T17:48:52Z")
Another vote for [AS17-148-22727](http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/mirrors/images/images/pao/AS17/10075945.htm) . This has to be the single most reproduced image of anything. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/36 "2002-03-19T18:21:59Z")
I tend to agree that the Earth photo from Apollo 17 is probably the most famous. Just to add a couple that haven’t been mentioned yet: [The Self-Immolation of Thich Quang Duc](http://www.uwec.edu/academic/curric/greidebe/BMRB/culture/student.work/hicksr/) [Muhammed Ali Standing Over Sonny Liston](http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0201/nl01.htm) (which may be the most famous _sports_ photo ever) The funny thing is, the best photos in the world have a huge luck element to them. If the Iowo Jima photographer had snapped the shutter a second later, the soldiers in the back of the “pile” would have just been standing there. Same for the Ali photo: supposedly a second later, Ali went to a neutral corner. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Dave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/46a35a/32.png) [@Great\_Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Dave)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/37 "2002-03-19T19:36:40Z")
Having just returned from S. America, I’d say that Che is much more famous than one would suspect. He’s everywhere- on t-shirts, and CD covers (a bit ironic) mostly. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/38 "2002-03-19T20:09:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dewey Cheatem Undhow \* > **I tend to agree that the Earth photo from Apollo 17 is probably the most famous.** I’ll grant that the Apollo 17 picture is of a “full earth”, with none of it in shadow. But do you really think that that one is more famous than the Apollo 8 picture of the earth rising over the lunar horizon? ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/39 "2002-03-19T20:54:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ElvisL1ves \* > \*\*Tom Crouch’s _The Bishop’s Boys_, a biography of the Wright brothers, says the picture of their first flight at Kitty Hawk is the world’s most-_reproduced_ photo. \*\* Although I have no cite, I recall many years ago reading that the most reproduced photograph of all time was the picture on the **Kraft** Macaroni and Cheese box. (But that’s just a serving suggestion :)) ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890/40 "2002-03-19T22:13:38Z")
Having read the others listed in this thread, I have to admit there are more universally “famous” ones than this, but the image of firefighter Chris Fields carrying 1-year-old Baylee Almon from the Oklahoma City bombing (which won a 1996 Pulitzer Prize) is the first one that sprang to my mind for some reason. [http://www.geocities.com/everwild7/neverforget.html](http://www.geocities.com/everwild7/neverforget.html) “The photo was widely distributed by _The Daily Oklahoman_ and the Associated Press and quickly became recognized around the world.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-famous-photograph/98890.md?page=3)