In pictures: UPI's most iconic pictures of the 20th century(50 images)

An American soldier with the First Army Division sleeps atop a pillbox bunker during a monsoon downpour following heavy Vietcong sniper and mortar fire near Phuc Vihn, South Vietnam on June 17, 1967. Winner of the 1968 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. Photo by Toshio Sakai/UPI

Music legend Louis Armstrong entertains his wife, Lillian, in front of the Sphinx during a trip to Egypt in 1961. UPI File Photo

The largest manmade object ever to fly, the 800-foot airship Hindenburg erupts in a fireball at Lakehurst, N.J., on its arrival from Europe on May 6, 1937. Static electricity ignited the airship's flammable fabric skin, and 37 seconds later the airship crashed to the ground, killing 35 of its 97 passengers and crew. This spectacle ended the era of the passenger airship. Photo by Sam Shere/INS/UPI

Unemployed bread lines; despite a heavy rain, these poor unfortunates, jobless and moneyless, wait in line at Grand and Christie streets in NYC for nourishment being doled out ca. 1930. Photo by ACME/UPI

(Original Caption) With Jimmy Carter applauding, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat embrace in the East Room of the White House, where the Camp David Summit was concluded Sept. 17, 1978, with the signing of a 'Framework for Peace' in the Middle East. Photo by Darryl Heikes/UPI | License Photo

Chairman of the Japanese Socialist Party, Inejiro Asanuma, attempts to deflect a second strike from his attacker, 17-year-old Otoya Yamagucha, a Japanese ultranationalist, on Oct. 12, 1960. Asanuma died on the way to the hospital. Yasushi Nagao won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Photography for this image, which he captured on his camera's final shot of 4x5 film, becoming the first non-American photographer to be awarded the prestigious prize. Photo by Yasushi Nagao/UPI

(Original Caption) Pres. [Jimmy] Carter slips and almost falls on the ice as he approaches his limousine on the White House grounds 1/26 [Jan. 26, 1977] for a drive to the Justice Department to watch Griffin Bell take his oath as attorney general. Behind Carter is Lt. Comdr. J. Ball Reason, his naval aide. Photo by Dennis Cook/UPI

Two Vietnamese women struggle to keep their children afloat as they cross a river, fleeing a U.S. bombing raid on Qui Nhon on Sept. 7, 1965. Winner of the 1966 Pulitzer Prize for Photography. After receiving his award, Sawada sought out the women in the photograph, giving each a copy of it as well as half of his Pulitzer Prize cash award. Sawada and UPI Phnom Penh bureau manager Frank Frosch were killed four years later after being ambushed by Viet Cong. Photo by Kyoichi Sawada/UPI

(Original Caption) Though this looks like a page from a science fiction book, it may be an accurate preview of things to come. Failure to cope with growing air pollution problems could have adverse affects on the health of every man, woman and child in metropolitan areas. So far, there's no adequate protection for city dwellers against poisonous auto exhausts, industrial gases, a smog and other vaporous impurities. If the situation worsens, as some scientists predict, our only safeguard may be equipping everyone in the family with gas masks for the daily trek to work and to school. Black magic again! UPI File Photo

(Original Caption) President Nixon holds his chopsticks in the ready position as Premier Chou En-lai (left) and Shanghai Communist Party leader Chang Chun-chiao reach in front of him for some tidbits at the beginning of the farewell banquet here. Nixon's historic visit to China took place from Feb. 21-28, 1972. Photo by Dirck Halstead/UPI | License Photo

An American GI patrols a war-torn hill near Firebase Gladiator in Vietnam. "During a lull in the action soldiers grow tense, wondering when the barrage will begin again, and from which direction," photographer David Hume Kennerly says. "The gloomy tableau matched the mood of the men. To me, that was more the war I saw, in terms of the day-to-day scene. It captures the loneliness and desolation of war." Winner of the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. Photo by David Hume Kennerly/UPI

Coretta Scott King, widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, is consoled by her family following her husband's funeral at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta in April 1968. Her father, Obie Scott, is at left; her daughter Bernice is at right, as is Harry Belafonte. King was assassinated in April 1968 on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. as he prepared to lead a march supporting the predominantly black Memphis sanitation workers' union. Photo by Sam Parrish/UPI

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev shouts, "This is my America!" at a New York cabbie who kept driving past the Russian UN delegation’s headquarters in New York yelling, “Go home, ya Commie!” out his window. Khrushchev was in the United States for the historic 1960 session of the United Nations’ General Assembly. Photo by Gary Haynes/UPI

"Tracks" the kangaroo can hop along comfortably in his size 13 sneaker after the kangaroo's foot was amputated to save it from a deadly infection in 1983. While the photographer would go on to win a Pulitzer prize, "Tracks" is still one of the most published photos of his career. Photo by Tom Gralish/UPI

Tony Kiritsis holds a sawed-off 12 gauge shotgun, wired to the neck of Richard Hall, president of Meridien Mortgage, as he parades in front of newsmen and police in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 10, 1977. Kiritsis kidnapped Hall from his downtown office 63 hours earlier and held him hostage in his apartment. He demanded several million dollars ransom, gave a rambling, obscenity filled statement, then released Hall later. Kiritsis reportedly request prints of the image from the mental institution where he was lodged afterward. This image was winner of the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. Photo by John H. Blair/UPI

Eleven alleged enemies of the Iranian Revolution are executed in Sanandaj, Iran on Aug. 27, 1979. After seeing the photograph published in Ettela’at, an Iranian newspaper, a UPI staffer obtained a copy of the picture and transmitted it worldwide. At the time, the photographer’s name was withheld to protect his identity, however, in December 2006, Joshua Prager, writing in the Wall Street Journal, confirmed that Jahangir Razmi, a staff photographer at Ettela’at, was responsible for taking the award-winning picture. Winner of the 1980 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography, the only photo winner in Pulitzer history not to be (immediately) identified. Photo by Jahangir Razmi/UPI | License Photo

The body of Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara is prepared for public display following his capture and execution by Bolivian troops in October 1967. Photo by Freddy Alborta/UPI

(Original Caption) A Vietnamese soldier threatens a Viet Cong prisoner with a knife [on April 27, 1966] in an effort to force him to reveal the whereabouts of his unit. Twenty Viet Cong were killed and several captured when South Vietnamese troops and U.S. Marines raided Thanh Quit village. Photo by Steve Northup/UPI

Armed police drop into position on a terrace directly above the apartments where between nine and 26 members of the Israeli Olympic team are being held hostage by Arab 'Black September' extremists on Sept. 5, 1972. The extremists raided the Israeli quarters in the early morning hours and shot and killed a wrestling coach as they forced their way in. German negotiators talked the group out of the Olympic Village to a small airport but he rescue plan went awry and all the hostages, a German policeman, and five of the eight terrorists died in a shootout. Photo by Darryl Heikes/UPI

Sen. Robert F. Kennedy lies morally wounded on June 5, 1968, just one day after winning California’s presidential primary, victim of a 28-year-old assassin, Sirhan Sirhan. His wife Ethel pleads for breathing room. In the pandemonium the photographer’s press pass fell to the floor. Recovered later, it was soaked in Kennedy’s blood. Photo by Ron Bennett/UPI | License Photo

Romania's Nadia Comaneci, 14, became an international sensation at the Montreal Olympics in 1976, winning three gold medals and seven perfect scores–the first ever for an Olympic gymnast. This multiple exposure, taken on July 22, records her gold medal performance on the balance beam. Photo by Darryl Heikes/UPI

Father Domingo Lorenzo performs the last rites for Cuban Army corporal Jose Cipriano Rodriguez on Jan. 17, 1959, in Matanzas, Cuba. Rodriguez was executed by firing squad after being found guilty by a military tribunal for the deaths of two brothers. Winner of the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Photography. Photo by Andrew Lopez/UPI

Paul McCartney shows Ed Sullivan his guitar during a rehearsal for the debut of the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday, Feb. 9, 1964. UPI File Photo

President George H.W. Bush takes a dip in the Pacific during a holiday to Honolulu on Oct. 27, 1990. The UPI photographer was invited to swim along and brought his Nikon Action Touch waterproof camera for the exclusive picture. Photo by Joe Marquette/UPI

Sebastian Coe of Great Britain wins the Olmpic 1500 meters gold medal in 3 minutes and 38.40 seconds on Aug. 1, at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. East Germany's Jurgen Straub (338) took the silver and Steve Ovett finished third (279). The win avenged Coe's defeat to Ovett in the 800 meters. Photo by Joe Marquette/UPI

(Original Caption) Colonel Antonio Tejero De Molina, a pistol in his hand, stands on the podium in the Spanish Parliament beside President Landalino Larilla here, after Tejero lead an armed takeover of the chamber [on Feb. 23, 1981], as its members were voting for a new Premier. Photo by Hugo Peralta/UPI

John F. Kennedy Jr., who turns three today, salutes as the casket of his father, the late President John F. Kennedy, is carried from St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 25, 1963. Photographer Stanley Stearns was in a crowd of photographers when on "a hunch," he put on a 200mm telephoto lens. Moments later, Jacqueline Kennedy whispered to her young son, and he saluted the casket of his fallen father. Photo by Stan Stearns/UPI

President-elect Harry S. Truman laughs heartily as he holds an early edition of the Chicago Tribune for Nov. 4, 1948, with the headline “Dewey Defeats Truman.” The newspaper, whose headline jumped to an erroneous conclusion as early election returns came in, was shown to Truman as he stopped in St. Louis, Missouri, during his victorious return trip to Washington, D.C. Photo by Frank Cancellare/UPI | License Photo

Danella Bryant, in tears, kneels in prayer after police stopped her group on their way to church because they did not have a "parade permit" in Birmingham, Ala., on May 5, 1963. Ms. Bryant would later state, "I didnt realize at the time how dangerous the situation was. The only thing I was concerned with was that I wanted my freedom." Photo by Gary Haynes/UPI

First lady Patricia Nixon winks at Vice President Spiro Agnew during a speech by her husband, President Richard Nixon, in 1973. Photo by Darryl Heikes/UPI

(Original Caption) Blind Helen Keller runs her sensitive fingers over the face of President Dwight Eisenhower here during her visit to the White House [Nov. 3, 1953]. The 73-year-old woman, a pioneer in aiding the handicapped, has been blind, deaf and virtually mute since infancy. By means of a manual sign language, Miss Keller later told her companion, Polly Thompson, that the president had "courage and a gentle smile." Miss Keller is in Washington to receive the Order of the Southern Cross from the Brazilian government. Photo by Charles Corte/UPI | License Photo

Anger in Little Rock, Ark.: Johnny Gray, 15, lashes out at one of the two white boys who tried to force him and his sister Mary from the sidewalk as they walked to school on Sept. 16, 1958. The argument ended with Johnny chasing the white boys down the block. Photo by Charles McCarty/UPI | License Photo

Flanked by Jackie Kennedy (R) and his wife, Ladybird, Vice President Lyndon Johnson is sworn in as president of the United States of America by Dallas Federal District Judge Sarah T. Hughes (L) on November 22, 1963. They were aboard the presidential airplane Air Force One returning from Dallas to Washington following President Kennedy's assassination. Photo by Cecil Stoughton/UPI | License Photo

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Dr. Ralph Abernathy (left, behind King) pray with fellow demonstrators protesting for the right to vote in February 1965, Selma, Ala. Photo by Gary Haynes/UPI

(Original Caption) Washington: President and Mrs. Kennedy entertained May 24, 1961, at a small White House luncheon for Prince Rainier of Monaco and his former movie star wife, Princess Grace [pictured]. The two couples posed for photographers outside the White House following the lunch. Photo by James Atherton/UPI | License Photo

Secret Service agents tend to Presidential Press Secretary James Brady and a wounded police officer after subduing would-be assassin, John Hinckley Jr. (right background), who fired six rounds at President Ronald Reagan on March 30, 1981. The President was injured in the attack and immediately rushed to a nearby hospital. Photo by Don Rypka/UPI | License Photo

Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau arrives for a garden party in 1973 with son Justin tucked under his arm. The youngster appears to be fixated with the salute of the nearby Royal Canadian Mountie. This photograph won Canada's national 1973 Best Feature Photo award. Photo by Rod Maclvor/UPI

A member of the CIA helps evacuees up a ladder onto an Air America helicopter on the roof of 18 Gia Long Street on April 29, 1975, shortly before Saigon fell to advancing North Vietnamese troops. Photo by Hugh Van Es/UPI | License Photo

Rosa Parks sits up front on a Montgomery, Ala., bus on December 21, 1956, the day the Supreme Court ruled segregated transit unconstitutional. Behind her is Nicholas Chriss, a United Press (UP) reporter who arranged and posed for the symbolic picture. One year earlier Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man and was arrested. UPI File Photo

A furious James Brock, manager of the St. Augustine, Fla., Monson Motor Lodge, dumps muriatic acid, a pool chemical, into his hotel’s swimming pool on June 18, 1964, after Civil Rights demonstrators jumped in. When the fracas was over, 34 people, including the swimmers and other Civil Rights advocates who stayed dry, had been arrested and taken to jail. Photo by Bill Lyon/UPI

(Original Caption) This scene at the Nazi concentration camp at Belsen, shows part of the endless pile of corpses of some 60,000 civilian prisoners awaiting burial. Following the arrival of British 2nd Army troops, who forced the German SS guards to dig graves and bury their unfortunate victims. Despite the frantic efforts of British medical units, hundreds of diseased and tortured civilians, jammed into the over crowed camp by the Nazis, died hourly. UPI File Photo

In 1958, Elvis Presley was inducted into the U.S. forces, and two years later he ended his tour, flashing a smile, while braving this March 1960 snowstorm. While stationed in Germany, Presley met 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, daughter of another military man. They married in 1967. Photo by Joel Landau/UPI

Jesse Owens, 22, wins a gold metal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Next to him, Germany's Luz Long gives the Nazi salute. UPI File Photo

John Lennon and new wife, Yoko Ono, stage a "bed-in for peace" after their March 1969 wedding, a performance art honeymoon to protest the Vietnam War. Photo by UPI

Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and Gen. Yoshijiro Umezu of Japan sign the "complete capitulation of Japan" on Sept. 2, 1945 aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, under the watchful eye of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Photo by Ed Hoffman/UPI

Queen Elizabeth II delights President Ronald Reagan with a genteel complaint about the wet and dreary weather California was experiencing during her 1983 visit to the United States. “I knew before we came that we had exported many of our traditions to the United States. But I had not realized before that weather was one of them.” The pair were seated together at a state dinner on March 3, 1983, at San Francisco's M.F.de Young Museum. Photo by Don Rypka/UPI | License Photo

Charles Manson is taken into custody at the Los Angeles jail in 1969 after being charged, and later convicted, with the murders of actress Sharon Tate and her unborn child along with several of her friends. Photo by Ernie Schwork/UPI

Thousands of antiwar protesters clash with military police and U.S. marshals in Washington, D.C. on the second day of the "Pentagon March" in October 1967. UPI File Photo

Michael Tripp, exhausted, finds a quiet moment in a village church following a heavy North Vietnamese mortar attack in May 1967. The Marines, forced to use the An Hoa Peace Church as a hospital and morgue, feared they would be overrun. They gave the photographer a .45 automatic and two magazines just in case, but no attack came. Photo by Frank Johnson/UPI

President Ricard M. Nixon prepares to depart the White House after resigning office in August 1974. Photo by Ron Bennett/UPI