Life (magazine)

A cover of Life Magazine from 1911

Life has been the name of two notable magazines published in the United States.

Life, the photojournalism magazine

The best known is Life, the photojournalism magazine founded by Henry Luce in 1936 and owned by Time Warner. Its first issue was dated November 23. The publication was a mammoth success. During the magazie's heyday - roughly from its launch until the early 1960s - Life was the most influential and popular magazine in America, with tens of millions of subscribers and readers. Its impact on American public opinion, especially among the exploding suburban middle class in the U.S, was almost incalculable.

Life was published weekly until dwindling circulations for magazines as a whole, coupled with rising advertising rates, caused the magazine to print its final weekly issue in December 1972 (its annual "Year in Review" edition). From there, Life was published quarterly from 1974 to 1978, and was restarted as a monthly magazine in October, 1978. A weekly Life in Time of War was published for a month or two during the first Gulf War. Monthly publication ceased in 2000.

Life's original mission was "to see Life; see the world." The magazine has published some of the most iconic images of events in the United States and the world. Almost every memorable snapshot in history can be traced back to Life, and scores of talented photographers were employed to take the most original and unique views on the world. Life also produced many excellent science serials such as The World We Live In and The Epic of Man.

Life 2004

Starting in October 2004, Life resumed weekly publication, this time as a supplement to U.S. newspapers. At its launch, it was distributed with over seventy newspapers; these had a combined circulation of over 12 million:

Alaska

  • Anchorage Daily News

Arizona

  • East Valley Tribune

California

  • Contra Costa Times
  • The Fresno Bee
  • Los Angeles Times
  • Merced Sun-Star
  • The Modesto Bee
  • Monterey County Herald
  • The Sacramento Bee
  • San Jose Mercury News
  • San Luis Obispo Tribune

Colorado

  • The Denver Post
  • Rocky Mountain News

Connecticut

  • Greenwich Time
  • Hartford Courant
  • Stamford Advocate

Florida

  • Bradenton Herald
  • El Nuevo Herald
  • Orlando Sentinel
  • South Florida Sun-Sentinel
  • St. Petersburg Times
  • Tallahassee Democrat
  • Miami Herald

Georgia

  • Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
  • Macon Telegraph

Illinois

  • Belleville News-Democrat
  • Chicago Tribune
  • Bloomington Pantagraph

Indiana

  • Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
  • Fort Wayne News-Sentinel

Kansas

  • Olathe News
  • The Wichita Eagle

Kentucky

  • Lexington Herald-Leader

Massachusetts

  • Boston Herald
  • Metrowest Daily News

Maryland

  • The Baltimore Sun

Michigan

  • Morning Sun
  • Daily Tribune
  • Macomb Daily
  • Oakland Press
Image:Stamp-ctc-Life-magazine.jpg Life magazine was honored on a stamp. This image, taken by Margaret Bourke-White, is from the cover of the first issue, November 23, 1936, of the Fort Peck Dam under construction in Montana

Minnesota

  • Duluth News Tribune
  • Saint Paul Pioneer Press
  • Star Tribune of Minneapolis

Missouri

  • St. Louis Post-Dispatch
  • The Kansas City Star

Mississippi

  • Biloxi Sun Herald

North Carolina

  • Charlotte Observer
  • The News & Observer

North Dakota

  • Grand Forks Herald

New Jersey

  • Herald News of Passaic County, New Jersey
  • The Record of Bergen County, New Jersey

New York

  • New York Daily News
  • Newsday

Ohio

  • Akron Beacon Journal

Pennsylvania

  • Centre Daily Times
  • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
  • The Morning Call
  • Philadelphia Daily News
  • The Philadelphia Inquirer
  • Times Leader

South Carolina

  • Myrtle Beach Sun News
  • Rock Hill Herald
  • Beaufort Gazette
  • Island Packet
  • The State

South Dakota

  • Aberdeen American News

Tennessee

  • The Commercial Appeal

Texas

  • Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Virginia

  • Daily Press (Newport News)

Washington

  • Tacoma News Tribune
  • Tri-City Herald of Kennewick, Washington

Wisconsin

  • Superior Daily Telegram


Life's ten most important events of the second millennium

The magazine ranked its top ten events of the millennium:

  1. Printing by movable type (Johann Gutenberg, 1455)
  2. Discovery of the New World (Christopher Columbus, 1492)
  3. A new major religion (Martin Luther, 1527)
  4. Steam engine starts industrial revolution (James Watt, 1769)
  5. Discovery that Earth revolves around sun (Galileo Galilei, 1610)
  6. Germ theory of disease (Louis Pasteur, 1864; Robert Koch, 1876)
  7. Gunpowder weapons (China, 1100)
  8. Declaration of Independence (United States) (1776)
  9. Adolf Hitler comes to power (1933)
  10. Compass goes to sea (China, 1117)

This list has been criticised for being overly focused on Western achievements. The Chinese, for example, had invented movable type four centuries before Gutenberg, but with thousands of ideograms, found its use impractical.

Life's 100 most important people of the second millennium

Animated sequence in the film Victory Through Air Power, of a women at a barber's shop, reading an issue of Life magazine. Life would later name animation company head Walt Disney as one of the most important people of the 2nd millennium.

The magazine also published a list of the "100 Most Important People in the Last 1000 Years":


This list, too, was criticized for focusing on the West. Also, Edison's number one ranking was challenged since there were others whose inventions (combustion engine, car, electricity-making machines, for example) which had greater impact than Edison's. The top 100 list was further criticised for mixing world-famous people, such as Newton and Einstein and Pasteur and da Vinci, with numerous Americans largely unknown outside of the United States (18 Americans compared to 13 Italians and French, 12 English).

Well-known employees

  • Margaret Bourke-White (photojournalist)
  • Robert Capa (photojournalist)
  • Alfred Eisenstaedt (photojournalist)
  • Clay Felker (sportswriter, founder of New York Magazine)
  • Dirck Halstead (photojournalist)
  • Lee Miller (photojournalist)
  • Gordon Parks (photojournalist)
  • Will Lang Jr. (Bureau Head / Chief Regional Bureau Director)
  • George Silk (Photojournalist)

Life 1883 - 1930s

1922 cover, "The Flapper" by F. X. Leyendecker

The first "Life Magazine" was a weekly humor publication put out by the Life Publishing Company of Manhattan, New York City. It was known for its energetic cartoons, pin up girl art, humorous pieces, and reviews of theater and cinema. By current norms, much of its content seems racist and ethnocentric, frequently playing on stereotypes in cartoon and verse.

In 1908 Robert Ripley published his first cartoon in Life, later becoming first publisher of Charles Schulz of Peanuts fame.

Norman Rockwell's first cover for Life, Tain't You, was published May 10, 1917. Rockwell's paintings were featured on Life's cover 28 times between 1917 and 1924.

In 1918 Charles Dana Gibson, the famous illustrator, became the magazine's president. The famed Gibson girls originally appeared in the magazine.

Among the contributors to this version of Life were:

  • Robert Benchley, who was drama editor
  • Dorothy Parker, who kicked in poems and stories
  • Franklin Pierce Adams who wrote verse
  • Robert E. Sherwood, the first silent film critic on the magazine before he became a playwright.

All were members of the Algonquin Round Table.

John Held, Jr. was one of the most popular cover artists of the era, known for his depictions of jazz musicians and flappers.



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. Maternity is the social and legal acknowledgment of the parental relationship between a mother and her child. was one of the most popular cover artists of the era, known for his depictions of jazz musicians and flappers. John Held, Jr. All were members of the Algonquin Round Table.

Among the contributors to this version of Life were:. The famed Gibson girls originally appeared in the magazine. In 1918 Charles Dana Gibson, the famous illustrator, became the magazine's president. Rockwell's paintings were featured on Life's cover 28 times between 1917 and 1924.

Norman Rockwell's first cover for Life, Tain't You, was published May 10, 1917. In 1908 Robert Ripley published his first cartoon in Life, later becoming first publisher of Charles Schulz of Peanuts fame. By current norms, much of its content seems racist and ethnocentric, frequently playing on stereotypes in cartoon and verse. It was known for its energetic cartoons, pin up girl art, humorous pieces, and reviews of theater and cinema.

The first "Life Magazine" was a weekly humor publication put out by the Life Publishing Company of Manhattan, New York City. The top 100 list was further criticised for mixing world-famous people, such as Newton and Einstein and Pasteur and da Vinci, with numerous Americans largely unknown outside of the United States (18 Americans compared to 13 Italians and French, 12 English). Also, Edison's number one ranking was challenged since there were others whose inventions (combustion engine, car, electricity-making machines, for example) which had greater impact than Edison's.
This list, too, was criticized for focusing on the West.

The magazine also published a list of the "100 Most Important People in the Last 1000 Years":. The Chinese, for example, had invented movable type four centuries before Gutenberg, but with thousands of ideograms, found its use impractical. This list has been criticised for being overly focused on Western achievements. The magazine ranked its top ten events of the millennium:.


. Wisconsin. Washington. Virginia.

Texas. Tennessee. South Dakota. South Carolina.

Pennsylvania. Ohio. New York. New Jersey.

North Dakota. North Carolina. Mississippi. Missouri.

Minnesota. Michigan. Maryland. Massachusetts.

Kentucky. Kansas. Indiana. Illinois.

Georgia. Florida. Connecticut. Colorado.

California. Arizona. Alaska. At its launch, it was distributed with over seventy newspapers; these had a combined circulation of over 12 million:.

newspapers. Starting in October 2004, Life resumed weekly publication, this time as a supplement to U.S. Life also produced many excellent science serials such as The World We Live In and The Epic of Man. Almost every memorable snapshot in history can be traced back to Life, and scores of talented photographers were employed to take the most original and unique views on the world.

Life's original mission was "to see Life; see the world." The magazine has published some of the most iconic images of events in the United States and the world. Monthly publication ceased in 2000. A weekly Life in Time of War was published for a month or two during the first Gulf War. From there, Life was published quarterly from 1974 to 1978, and was restarted as a monthly magazine in October, 1978.

Life was published weekly until dwindling circulations for magazines as a whole, coupled with rising advertising rates, caused the magazine to print its final weekly issue in December 1972 (its annual "Year in Review" edition). Its impact on American public opinion, especially among the exploding suburban middle class in the U.S, was almost incalculable. During the magazie's heyday - roughly from its launch until the early 1960s - Life was the most influential and popular magazine in America, with tens of millions of subscribers and readers. The publication was a mammoth success.

Its first issue was dated November 23. The best known is Life, the photojournalism magazine founded by Henry Luce in 1936 and owned by Time Warner. . Life has been the name of two notable magazines published in the United States.

Sherwood, the first silent film critic on the magazine before he became a playwright. Robert E. Franklin Pierce Adams who wrote verse. Dorothy Parker, who kicked in poems and stories.

Robert Benchley, who was drama editor. George Silk (Photojournalist). (Bureau Head / Chief Regional Bureau Director). Will Lang Jr.

Gordon Parks (photojournalist). Lee Miller (photojournalist). Dirck Halstead (photojournalist). Clay Felker (sportswriter, founder of New York Magazine).

Alfred Eisenstaedt (photojournalist). Robert Capa (photojournalist). Margaret Bourke-White (photojournalist). Compass goes to sea (China, 1117).

Adolf Hitler comes to power (1933). Declaration of Independence (United States) (1776). Gunpowder weapons (China, 1100). Germ theory of disease (Louis Pasteur, 1864; Robert Koch, 1876).

Discovery that Earth revolves around sun (Galileo Galilei, 1610). Steam engine starts industrial revolution (James Watt, 1769). A new major religion (Martin Luther, 1527). Discovery of the New World (Christopher Columbus, 1492).

Printing by movable type (Johann Gutenberg, 1455). Superior Daily Telegram. Tri-City Herald of Kennewick, Washington. Tacoma News Tribune.

Daily Press (Newport News). Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The Commercial Appeal. Aberdeen American News.

The State. Island Packet. Beaufort Gazette. Rock Hill Herald.

Myrtle Beach Sun News. Times Leader. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia Daily News.

The Morning Call. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Centre Daily Times. Akron Beacon Journal.

Newsday. New York Daily News. The Record of Bergen County, New Jersey. Herald News of Passaic County, New Jersey.

Grand Forks Herald. The News & Observer. Charlotte Observer. Biloxi Sun Herald.

The Kansas City Star. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Star Tribune of Minneapolis.

Saint Paul Pioneer Press. Duluth News Tribune. Oakland Press. Macomb Daily.

Daily Tribune. Morning Sun. The Baltimore Sun. Metrowest Daily News.

Boston Herald. Lexington Herald-Leader. The Wichita Eagle. Olathe News.

Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Bloomington Pantagraph. Chicago Tribune.

Belleville News-Democrat. Macon Telegraph. Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. Miami Herald.

Tallahassee Democrat. Petersburg Times. St. South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Orlando Sentinel. El Nuevo Herald. Bradenton Herald. Stamford Advocate.

Hartford Courant. Greenwich Time. Rocky Mountain News. The Denver Post.

San Luis Obispo Tribune. San Jose Mercury News. The Sacramento Bee. Monterey County Herald.

The Modesto Bee. Merced Sun-Star. Los Angeles Times. The Fresno Bee.

Contra Costa Times. East Valley Tribune. Anchorage Daily News.