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Jayne Mansfield (born in 1933) was an American actress, singer, nightclub entertainer best known for her bombshell curves and film roles during the 1950s and 1960s. A sex symbol while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Mansfield was known for her well-publicized personal life and publicity stunts. Her film career was short-lived, but she had several box-office successes and won a Theatre World Award and a Golden Globe Award....

Holiday Inn Hotel in Beirut, Lebanon, damaged by the Lebanese Civil War. The Lebanese Civil War was both an internal Lebanese affair and a regional conflict involving a host of regional and international actors. It revolved around some of the issues that dominated regional politics in the Middle East in the latter part of the 20th century, including the Palestine-Israel conflict, Cold War competition, Arab nationalism, and political Islam....

Organizer Gurdit Singh Sandhu (front left) and other passengers pose for a photo. On May 23, 1914, the SS Komagata Maru, a steamship carrying 376 passengers of Punjabi passengers – largely Sikhs but also some Hindus and Muslims – arrived on the west coast of the Dominion of Canada. Based on laws implemented to limit the immigration of Indians, Canadian officials deemed the passengers illegal arrivants , and consequently, the ship and its passengers were refused entry and detained for two months on Vancouver Harbour....

Jack Ruby ready to shoot at Lee Harvey Oswald, as he was escorted to the Dallas city jail via the underground garage of the Dallas police headquarters. On November 24, 1963, two days after Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, he was brought to the basement of the Dallas police headquarters on his way to a more secure county jail. A crowd of police and press with live television cameras rolling gathered to witness his departure....

On September 16, 1920, as hundreds of Wall Street workers headed out for lunch, a horse-drawn wagon parked in front of J. P. Morgan Bank — the world’s most powerful banking institution. Inside the wagon, 100 pounds (45 kg) of dynamite with 500 pounds (230 kg) of heavy, cast-iron sash weights exploded in a timer-set detonation, sending the weights tearing through the air. The horse and wagon were blasted into small fragments, but the driver was believed to have left the vehicle and escaped....

On Christmas Eve in 1971, Juliane Koepcke, who was just 17 years old at the time, was the sole survivor of LANSA Flight 508, which was traveling from Lima, Peru’s capital, to Panguana. Despite an exhaustive 10-day search operation, eventually abandoned due to the absence of any signs of the flight, Juliane defied the odds. After 11 days of solitary survival in the rainforest, she was rescued by local fishermen, emerging as the sole survivor of the tragic incident....

From miniskirted hostesses to clear suggestive lines, companies have a long history of using women to sell air travel. This was the time when flying was both the literal and figurative height of sexiness. While “sex sells” is one of those universally-known truths that just seem so obvious, there are studies that show that it’s not always the case. However, sex in airline advertising was used heavily during the 1960s and 1970s in a push to attract the men clientele....

These pictures of Las Vegas strip in the 1950s were taken by LIFE photographer Loomis Dean and capture the nightlife and the long-gone sights of Sin City. The 1950s were a defining era for Las Vegas. It was the decade that saw the rise of the Riviera, the Sands, and the Dunes, where the likes of Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Sammy Davis flocked to the Strip along with millions of other tourists....

“Halbstarke” describes a vibrant subculture of postwar youth that burst onto the scene in 1950s Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. These teenagers, often from working-class backgrounds, were known for their bold, rebellious behavior, making a statement in a world grappling with change. The term “Halbstarke” literally translates to “the half-strong” and has fascinating roots. It originates from a manufacturing process called Walken, meaning to tumble or mill, and its synonym Halbgewalkte, or “half-tumbleds....

In the 1920s and 1930s, sheep were routinely introduced into London parks to keep the grass under control and reduce mowing costs. Shepherds competed for the privilege of grazing their flocks on Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Clapham Common, and other pastures around the city. Sheep are like a lawn care multi-tool. As they cut your grass, they also aerate the lawn with their hooves and spread fertilizer in the form of urine and manure....

Refugees from the cargo ship Vlora in Bari’s port (Italy) on 8 August 1991. The fall of communism in Albania taking place in the early 1990s gave way to a major economic collapse (with severe food shortages) amid widespread political and social unrest in the country. This incited many Albanians to try to leave the previously secluded nation. People felt overwhelmed by hopelessness and although their knowledge of other countries was based solely on what they had heard, or seen on Italian television, they long for the opportunity to start a new life abroad....

A woman lying on the pavement in the Warsaw ghetto, starving to death, 1941. On 2 October 1940, Ludwig Fischer, Governor of the Warsaw District in the occupied General Government of Poland, signed the order to officially create a Jewish district (ghetto) in Warsaw. It was to become the largest ghetto in Nazi-occupied Europe. All Jewish people in Warsaw had to relocate to the area of the ghetto by 15 November 1940....

These are the inspiring stories of dogs who have made a lasting impact on history. From an English Pointer honored for bravery in World War II to a loyal Newfoundland who joined the Lewis and Clark expedition, these canines have become legends in their own right. Balto, the sled dog who helped save Nome, Alaska, during a diphtheria outbreak, stands out among them. Zanjeer, an Indian bomb-sniffing dog, is also remembered for his heroic efforts during the 1993 Mumbai terrorist attacks....

It’s always surprising to hear about celebrity couples with major age gaps, but what’s even more shocking is how young some stars were when they first crossed paths with their future partners, sometimes still in their teens while the other was already well into adulthood. Many of these early encounters happened under unusual circumstances, whether through work, family connections, or mentorship, and looking back at them makes it hard not to do a double-take at just how much younger one partner was....

South Bronx in 1970. In the 1970s, New York City was a broken, ungovernable metropolis barreling into anarchy. New Yorkers remember this decade as the bleakest, most crime-ridden, and most uncertain time the city has ever faced. It was a time of economic, criminal, and cultural shifts occurring at once that changed the city’s prospects. These street photographs taken by Camilo José Vergara, document the gritty neighborhoods of the South Bronx and Lower East Side during a period of economic stagnation, poverty, and urban decay....

Brazil beat England 1-0 in the group stages, the game featuring a number of personal battles between Moore and Brazilian superstar Pele. This exchange between the two after the match says it all about their mutual respect. This picture was taken during the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, where England, the 1966 champion, lost the trophy. Brazil won the match, 1-0, in Guadalajara and went on to win the tournament, fielding perhaps the finest soccer team ever....

German soldiers in the flooded trenches, Soviet Union, 1943. The cheerful German soldiers in the trenches filled the autumn rains spread the food for their comrades. Water is pumped out of the trench using a mechanical pump. Photo taken during Battle for Velikiye Luki, October 1943. With the advent of mechanized warfare, soldiers occupying trenches to conduct long-term combat operations were largely obsolete. Relatively little use was made of trenches in the mobile warfare of World War II in Europe....

“Has the day at school left you a little tired and stiff? With a little torso-stretching, you’ll soon feel revitalized.” The use of mechanical means for the application of exercise in therapeutics was first systematized and employed in a complete way by Dr, Gustav Zander, of Stockholm, about 1857. Zander’s vision of regular exertion using machines to honor health and well-being was certainly a novel idea in an age when the rising industrialization and mechanization moved millions of people into a more sedentary life....

Pope John Paul II visits his would-be assassin Mehmet Ali Ağca in prison. On Wednesday, May 13, 1981, Mehmet Ali Agca pulled a gun and shot Pope John Paul II during a procession in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City, Italy. Though critically wounded, the Pope survived four gunshot wounds to his abdomen. Following the shooting, Pope John Paul II asked people to “ pray for my brother…whom I have sincerely forgiven ”....

Hugo Sperrle, Commander-in-Chief West, 1940. Hugo Sperrle was a German field marshal of the Luftwaffe during World War II. His forces were deployed solely on the Western Front and the Mediterranean throughout the war. By 1944 he had become Supreme Commander of the Luftwaffe in the West. It is often tempting to ascribe personality traits to people on the basis of their photographs and this can of course at times be very misleading....