Experience LIFE's visual record of the 20th century by exploring the most iconic photographs from one of the most famous private photo collections in the world.

Here, LIFE.com celebrates Gypsy Rose Lee’s life and her career with a selection of pictures by George Skadding, a LIFE staffer far better known for photographing presidents (he was long …

At its height, LIFE magazine’s incomparable images and essays reached 1 of 3 American readers. The original prints, negatives, and associated manuscripts remain in Dotdash …

With news of the Supreme Court's decision in favor of same-sex marriage, LIFE presents photos of the early days of the gay rights movement.

Explore World War II within the LIFE photography vault, one of the most prestigious & privately held archives from the US & around the World.

The following is adapted from the introduction to LIFE’s newcspecial issue 100 Photographs: The Most Important Pictures of All Time and the Stories Behind Them, available at newsstands …

Learn about Robert W. Kelley, one of the many photographers for LIFE who captured some of the most iconic pictures from the US & around the World.

As a weekly magazine LIFE covered it all, with a breadth and open-mindedness that looks especially astounding today, when publications and websites tailor their coverage to ever …

Early’s battle to get on the track was chronicled for LIFE by photographer Bob Gomel. When Penny Ann Early attempted to compete at Churchill Downs, male jockeys were so opposed …

Here, LIFE.com presents pictures made in the Nevada desert by photographer Loomis Dean shortly after a 1955 atomic bomb test. These are not “political” pictures.