April 2, 1954: A couple are photographed moments after learning that their 19-month-old child had been swept out to sea at Hermosa Beach. On the morning of April 2, 1954, Los Angeles Times photographer John Gaunt was lounging in the front yard of his beachfront home in Hermosa Beach when he heard a neighbor shout, “Something’s happening on the beach!” Instinctively, Gaunt grabbed his Rolleiflex camera and rushed over to see a horrified couple clutching each other....

3rd Squadron Hell’s Angels, Flying Tigers over China, photographed in 1942 by AVG pilot Robert T. Smith. The Flying Tigers are flying in close formation. Every pilot in that picture is looking at the airplane next to him and trying to maintain his position by maintaining the same view of his neighbor. The pilot in front looking at the camera plane is doing the same thing. Planes were much slower and simpler back then....

By the early 1900s, household electricity and running water started to become a norm in the Western world. Industrialization brought the evolution of kitchen design to a new era. Factories mass-produced fixtures, ever-more modern appliances, cabinetry, lighting, and storage units, and gas stoves were introduced. But it wasn’t until the 1930s that the kitchen began to take on its modern shape. The kitchen configuration that we all know now, has its roots, like a lot of modern design, in the German school known as the Bauhaus....

August Landmesser, the man who folded his arms. The photo was taken at the launch of a German army vessel in 1936, during a ceremony that was attended by Adolf Hitler himself. Within the picture, a lone man stood with arms crossed as hundreds of men and women around him held up their arms in salute and allegiance to the Nazi Party and its leader, Adolf Hitler. Everyone in attendance is showing their undying support for Der Führer by throwing out their very best “Sieg Heil”....

Captain Nieves Fernandez shows to an American soldier how she used her long knife to silently kill Japanese soldiers during occupation, 1944. Captain Nieves Fernandez, the only known Filipino female guerilla leader and formerly a school teacher, shows US Army Pvt. Andrew Lupiba how she used her long knife to silently kill Japanese soldiers during the Japanese occupation of Leyte Island. Image taken by Stanley Troutman, 7 November 1944, Mabuhay Las Piñas, Leyte Island, Philippines....

The Darvaza Gas Crater in Turkmenistan is a rare example of an industrial accident transforming into a major tourist attraction. In 1971 (possibly), a Soviet exploratory team searching for natural gas is believed to have triggered a chain reaction that led to the formation of this massive, fiery pit. Over time, it became the country’s most famous landmark, drawing visitors from around the world. Often referred to as the “ Gates of Hell ” or the “ Shining of Karakum ,” the crater is fueled by methane gas escaping through vents in its floor and walls....

Dora Ratjen had been arrested at a train station on suspicion of being a man in a dress. Magdeburg. Born a male but raised as a female, Dora Ratjen competed on the female German track team. He set a world record for the high jump at the 1938 European Athletics Championships but competed as a female at that event. His true identity was discovered while riding on a train headed for Cologne....

Few ancient civilizations evoke as much intrigue and mystique as the Maya. Known for their advanced knowledge, striking architecture, and enigmatic cultural practices, the Maya left behind numerous unanswered questions. Among the greatest mysteries is the sudden abandonment of their grand cities scattered across the lowlands of present-day Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, and Honduras. El Perú, also known as Waka’, is a significant pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site that thrived during the Preclassic and Classic periods (approximately 500 BC to 800 AD)....

French Cavalry observe an Army airplane fly past, 1916. The old and the new in one picture. You can really see the direction warfare was going; only they didn’t know it yet. For the first few months in the war, the French Cuirassiers still wore breastplates and plumed helmets. Soldiers being stuck in the old ways of tactics and equipment whilst the technology that was coming into play would alter the battlefields forever....

James Earl Ray, Martin Luther King’s assassin, being led to his cell in Memphis after his arrest in London, June 8, 1968. The FBI put him in a bulletproof vest, they weren’t going to take any chances after Lee Harvey Oswald. Martin Luther King was shot and killed by a sniper on April 4, 1968, while standing on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. On April 4, 1968, Ray stood in the bathtub of a shared bathroom, balanced his rifle on a window ledge, and shot King as the civil rights leader was standing on a balcony outside of his motel room....

In 1900s England, a mother-of-four named Mary Ann Bevan developed acromegaly and took up the title of being “the ugliest woman in the world” as a way to provide for her children. This is her tragic story, a reminder of how cruel the world can be. The World’s Homeliest Woman wasn’t always the epitome of ugliness. Bevan was actually an attractive woman in her early years before she suffered from acromegaly....

In the swinging 1960s, England was a hotbed of change, especially for its young people. The baby boomers were coming of age, and they were unlike any generation before them – adventurous, rebellious, and eager to carve out their own identities. This era saw the rise of two iconic youth groups: the mods and the rockers. It was a clash of cultures, leather-clad rockers facing off against the stylish mods....

Known for her captivating beauty and remarkable talent, Heather Locklear quickly became a prominent figure in the entertainment industry, leaving an indelible mark on the hearts of many. With her youthful charm, undeniable beauty, and undeniable talent, Locklear left an indelible mark on the landscape of Hollywood and the hearts of millions. Heather Deen Locklear embarked on her journey into stardom in a California that was buzzing with excitement and change....

In pre-war Germany in the 1930s, there was great interest in all kinds of rocket-propelled vehicles; cars, airplanes, boats, motorcycles, and skates (roller and ice). However, one of the strangest and least promising applications of rocket propulsion was by using one in a bicycle. In 1931, German engineer Herr Richter attached rockets to his bicycle to create his Raketenrad (rocket-bike). With twelve black powder solid-fuel rockets attached to the rear of his bicycle and a battery hanging from the top tube acting as the ignition system, Richter set off down the Avus race track in Berlin reportedly reaching a top speed of 55 miles per hour before losing control and being thrown from the bicycle....

Survivor Robert McGee was scalped as a child in 1864 by Sioux. Photo taken in 1890. Robert McGee is one of the few people in American frontier history to survive having his flesh ripped from his skull. In 1890, photographer E.E. Henry took this rare photograph of Robert McGee displaying his scalping scars. This is the story of how Robert McGee was scalped in the summer of 1864 by Sioux Indian warriors and lived to tell the tale....

Shanina in 1944, holding an 1891/30 Mosin–Nagant with the 3.5x PU scope. (Colorized photo). Roza Shanina was a Soviet sniper during World War II who was credited with fifty-nine confirmed kills, including twelve soldiers during the Battle of Vilnius. Shanina volunteered for the military after the death of her brother in 1941 and chose to be a marksman on the front line. Praised for her shooting accuracy, Shanina was capable of precisely hitting enemy personnel and making doublets (two target hits by two rounds fired in quick succession)....

The political “thaw” in the Soviet Union during the 1960s brought about a similar shift in photography. Official propaganda images took a backseat to vibrant, candid moments of real life. Vladimir Lagrange , who had a passion for photography from a young age, captured friends, family, and random strangers through his lens. In 1959, at just 20 years old, he started his career as a photojournalist for TASS, the country’s main news agency....

On Christmas Day in 1968, the Apollo 8 crew of Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders were delighted to find a surprise in their food locker: a specially packed Christmas dinner, complete with red and green ribbons. This “home-cooked” meal, as close to a traditional holiday feast as NASA could muster for space travel, lifted the crew’s spirits and whet their appetites. Beyond its culinary appeal, this meal also marked a significant moment in the evolution of space food....

Making propaganda posters, Port Washington, New York, 1942. A room full of women are working hard at emulating the “real danger” present in the master poster hanging in the background. It looks like some kind of class, like a high school or college art class. They may be all working on the same poster because they’re making multiple prints at the same time. To be honest, having that many people working on that many prints at the same time may be faster and more efficient than having a machine do it with the technology of the day....

Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980. The volcano, located in southwestern Washington, used to be a beautiful symmetrical cone about 9,600 feet (3,000 meters) above sea level. The eruption, which removed the upper 1,300 feet (396 meters) of the summit, left a horseshoe-shaped crater and a barren wasteland. The eruption (a VEI 5 event) was the only significant volcanic eruption to occur in the contiguous 48 U.S. states since the 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak in California....