World Photography Day: 5 Iconic Photos That Changed History

August 19 is observed as World Photography Day, a celebration of the photograph and its history. This date commemorates the invention of the Daguerrotype, a process invented in 1837 by the French artist and photographer Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre.

Some photographs are created with long-term recognition in mind, while others gradually rise to the top as historical values are examined and present perspectives shift. On World Photography Day, we look at some images that have demonstrated the power of the moment, captivating the world's attention and influencing history in ways we can still feel today.

The Hindenburg Explosion

The Hindenburg tragedy occurred on May 6, 1937, when the German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed while attempting to dock with its mooring tower at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey.

There were 35 fatalities among the 97 individuals on board (36 passengers and 61 crew), with one casualty among the ground staff.

Sam Shere, a photojournalist with International News Photo, a division of William Randolph Hearst's publishing conglomerate, photographed the explosion of the Hindenburg balloon during its return voyage across the Atlantic. "I had two shots in my big Speed Graphic [his camera], but I didn't even have time to get it up to my eye," he said of the picture. Since everything was over so quickly and there was nothing else to do, I literally "shot" from the hip. He won the Editor and Publisher Award for finest news image in 1937 for his well-known photograph of the Hindenburg disaster.

The Tank Man

The protests at Tiananmen Square in China produced one of the most iconic images of all time in which an unidentified man blocked the path of Chinese tanks. In April 1989, the Chinese capital of Beijing experienced enormous protests at Tiananmen Square, with over a million people gathering to demand greater freedom of speech and less censorship. According to estimates, up to 200,000 Chinese soldiers, as well as hundreds of tanks and military armoured vehicles, were employed to quell the protesters in June. The ultimate image of defiance evolved from here, becoming one of the most iconic photographs of all time. On June 5, an unidentified Chinese guy carrying two shopping bags stopped a convoy of Chinese tanks leaving Tiananmen Square.

He was dubbed "The Tank Man" for standing up to a group of tanks with nothing but two shopping bags.

The photograph, taken by Jeff Widener of The Associated Press, has become an international icon of resistance.

The Depression

An anxious woman clutches a baby while two other children gather close behind her shoulders. This image of a "Migrant Mother" came to represent the hunger, poverty, and hopelessness felt by many Americans during the Great Depression. Dorothea Lange had taken the photograph, along with several others, at a migrant farm worker camp in Nipomo, California. The photograph was exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art in 1940, under the title Pea Picker Family, California. By 1966, it had acquired its current title, "Migrant Mother", Nipomo, California.

Gandhi At The Spinning Wheel

Margaret Bourke-White was the first Western professional photographer allowed into the Soviet Union. She was Life magazine's first female photographer, and World War II's first female war correspondent authorised to work in combat zones. She was also famed for documenting the Partition and for shooting possibly the most famous image of Gandhi at the spinning wheel. The photograph was prominently displayed in a multi-page homage to Gandhi published shortly after his assassination in February 1948. The image, which takes up a half-page at the top of the story, "India Loses Her 'Great Soul,'" serves as a moving visual homage to the man and his beliefs.

Men On The Moon

Neil Armstrong took this classic photograph of Buzz Aldrin on the Moon's surface on July 20, 1969. Not only can you see Aldrin in this photograph, but you can also see the lunar craters, and Armstrong reflected in the helmet's glass. This double portrait was released more frequently than any other photograph from the Apollo programme.