Books in Captured Science History series

On and off the field, Jackie Robinson never backed down from a challenge. The baseball legend broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947, changing the sport forever. It was eight years later that a photo of him stealing home during the 1955 World Series became one of the most famous images from his historic career. The iconic photo of his daring base running seemed to sum up the way Robinson lived his life. He acted on his own, doing what he thought was right. He took risks. He used his talents the best way he knew how. And he made baseball―and the world―a better place.

It didn't seem possible. Four college students shot dead May 4, 1970, by Ohio National Guardsmen during a protest against the Vietnam War. The shootings at Kent State University would shock the nation and spark a mass student strike across the country, the only one in U.S. history. A photojournalism student's photograph of a teen girl crying in anguish over a victim's dead body would win the Pulitzer Prize and become a symbol of the antiwar movement.

Frederick Douglass, abolitionist, writer, political activist, reformer has been called the most important African-American of the 1800s. He was also the most photographed American of the 1800s. Douglass, who escaped enslavement to work tirelessly on behalf of his fellow African-Americans, realized the importance of photography in ending slavery and achieving civil rights. The many portraits of Douglass showed the world what freedom and dignity looked like.

In the mid-1860s, as the Union Pacific Railroad headed westward from Nebraska, another company, the Central Pacific, pushed eastward from California. Their goal was to meet somewhere in between, forming a single railway line that would bridge the continent. That historic meeting took place in May 1869 in northern Utah, and photographer Andrew J. Russell was there to document the historic event. His work resulted in one of the most important photos of the 19th century and probably the most famous railroad image of all time. The photo, often called “East and West,” was viewed by a worldwide audience and affirmed that railroads were at the cutting edge of transportation technology. The continent was now linked.

The mighty Soviets were the favorites to win hockey gold at the 1980 Winter Olympics. But a team of U.S. college players had other ideas. The stunning upset of the Soviet hockey team by the young Americans has been called the greatest moment in international hockey. And to many people the victory was about much more than sports. Americans had gone through difficult times at home and abroad. Beating the best hockey team in the world―and its major Cold War rival―gave Americans a sense of pride. One iconic photo captured the impact of that “miraculous” historic event.

Mathew Brady recognized that the new art of photography could be more than just a means of capturing people's likenesses in portraits. Beginning with the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861 and continuing through the entire Civil War, Brady and his employees chronicled the long, bloody conflict, bringing images of war directly to the people. Brady knew the photos would create valuable historical records for later generations. More than any other photographer of his generation, Brady understood photography's great potential and through his influence, he taught others to understand it as well.

The tragic events of September 11, 2001 sent shockwaves around the globe that are still felt today. Nearly 3,000 people died in the terrorist attacks and thousands more were injured. On the afternoon of the attacks, three firefighters paused in their rescue work to raise an American flag at Ground Zero in New York City. In the midst of horror and despair, the iconic photo of the men would remind Americans that they were far from beaten. It represented the country's strength, courage, decency, and its hope for the future.

By February 1945 the United States had been fighting World War II for more than three years. Soldiers were worn down from battle, and civilians were drained by sacrifice. But a photograph of Marines raising an American flag on Japanese soil gave a wearied nation a renewed sense of pride and hope. This powerful image of strength and determination became the most famous image of the war. It not only captured a moment of victory against a strong foe. It also represented the effort every member of the armed forces had made and offered Americans the promise of victory and an end to conflict.

The world was shocked and frightened when President John F. Kennedy was gunned down by an assassin's bullet in 1963. What would happen to the government of the most powerful nation on Earth? When Kennedy's vice president, Lyndon Baines Johnson, took the presidential oath of office on Air Force One just hours after the assassination, the White House photographer was there. Cecil Stoughton's iconic photo showed the world that the smooth and orderly transfer of power called for in the U.S. Constitution had occurred. His photo helped ease the shock, tension, and fear in an anxious country.