The 1960s: A catalyst for and visual record of change

In the 1960s, AP Wirephotos became a vital chronicler of a decade defined by seismic cultural shifts. As the civil rights movement gained momentum, AP photographers captured defining moments such as the March on Washington, bringing the fight for equality into the global spotlight. The photos documented the intensifying Cold War, from the Cuban Missile Crisis to the Vietnam War, offering stark, unfiltered glimpses into conflict zones, as well as the assassinations of J.F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King.

Amidst turmoil, AP celebrated humanity’s achievements, including the space race’s crowning moment: the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969 and the so-dubbed British Invasion of the Beatles’ emergence. These contrasting images of triumph and struggle shaped public discourse, uniting audiences through shared visual narratives.

Award-winning coverage of conflicts and more

The AP has won 36 of our 59 Pulitzer Prizes for photography. In the 1960s, these prizes were awarded for pictures of President Kennedy and former President Eisenhower at Camp David, for the harrowing photographs from the Vietnam War, and for a picture of civil rights activist James Meredith after he’d been shot in Mississippi.

Nguyen Ngoc Loan, Nguyen Van Lem, Bay Lop
** EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT ** South Vietnamese Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan, chief of the national police, fires his pistol into the head of suspected Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem (also known as Bay Lop) on a Saigon street Feb. 1, 1968, early in the Tet Offensive. (AP Photo/Eddie Adams)
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