Photographer Page

Bettmann

There weren't any laws against abortion in the U.S. until the 19th century—and as those laws grew more restrictive, many women sought abortions in secret. Surgeon George T. Strother, shown at right with a patient, defied Virginia's law against abortion and was arrested in 1954. The man with his back to the camera is a doctor who accompanied the police on a raid of Strother's medical facility.

In 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr., killed his father, mother, two brothers, and two sisters in this home in Amityville, Long Island, New York. The mass murder inspired the book and film versions the The Amityville Horror.

In this photo taken on Christmas Eve 1960, a 20-year-old Bruce Chatwin examines antiques in Sotheby’s upstairs warehouse.

In 1968, American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists in the Black Power salute from the medal podium at the Olympic Games in Mexico City.

Members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade celebrate their arrival in New York in 1938 after fighting for the anti-fascist side in the Spanish Civil War.

In the 75 years since the first successful test of a plutonium bomb, nuclear weapons have changed the face of warfare. Here, troops in the 11th Airborne division watch an atomic explosion at close range in the Las Vegas desert on November 1, 1951.

On their way to break the record for transcontinental flight in 1930, Anne and Charles Lindbergh pose on an airfield in California. The newlyweds landed in New York 14 hours, 23 minutes, 32 seconds after taking off.

Mary Mallon (foreground) didn't show symptoms of typhoid, but spread the disease while working as a cook in the New York City area. She is pictured after having been institutionalised in a hospital on North Brother Island, where she stayed for more than a quarter century.

In a sketch, Semmelweis washes his hands in chlorinated lime solution. Although his work led to safer medical practices, it was not recognised until after his death in 1865.

President Woodrow Wilson addresses a crowd in St. Louis, Missouri while on a speaking tour to promote the League of Nations in 1919. Despite his efforts, the treaty was not approved by Congress and the United States did not join the league.