25 iconic photos of presidents throughout the last 100 years

Max KalnitzOct 9, 2020, 21:17 IST

Nixon salutes his staff members with peace signs after resigning from the presidency in 1974.Bob Daugherty/AP

Throughout the last 100 years, there have been countless pictures snapped of presidents. Here are 25 of the most powerful.
Lyndon B. Johnson is the first and only president to take the presidential oath on a plane after he was inaugurated on Air Force One following President John F. Kennedy's assassination.
Numerous celebrities have snapped their picture with presidents, including Michael Jackson and President Reagan in 1984 and Elvis Presley and President Nixon in 1970.

Regardless of who wins the 2020 election on November 3, there will be striking photos taken to mark the occasion. Throughout the last century, there have been dozens of iconic pictures taken of the president of the United States.

From celebratory and historic shots to somber candids, here are 25 iconic pictures of presidents taken in the last 100 years.

Almost a century ago, President Warren Harding was pictured shaking hands with Babe Ruth at Yankee Stadium.

President Warren Harding and baseball legend Babe Ruth shake hands. Bettmann/Getty Images

Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover shared a car ride to Hoover's inauguration in 1929.

Calvin Coolidge, left, and Herbert Hoover, right, ride in the back seat. Bettmann/Getty Images

Franklin Delano Roosevelt happily announced the end of German occupation in Rome during a radio broadcast in 1944.

FDR addressing the nation in 1944. Bettmann/Getty Images

Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin met after World War II.

Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin. Hulton Archive/ Getty Images

A gleeful Harry Truman held up a misprinted edition of the Chicago Daily Tribune saying he'd lost the 1948 election.

Truman holds a misprinted newspaper on election night, 1948. Underwood Archives/Getty Images

President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth II had a strong relationship and met several times, like here in 1957.

President Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth II. Keystone/Getty Images

President John F. Kennedy watched his children John J. and Caroline in the Oval Office in 1962.

JFK and his children. Smith Collection/Gado/AP

Bill Clinton, then just 16, was photographed shaking hands with President Kennedy during a White House visit in 1963.

A young Bill Clinton shakes hands with President Kennedy. Arnold Sachs/Getty Images

Lyndon B. Johnson accepted the presidency immediately following Kennedy's death, becoming the only president to take the oath of office on a plane.

President Lyndon B. Johnson being inaugurated after President John F. Kennedy's assassination. Bettmann Archive/ Getty Images

President Johnson met with Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders at the White House in 1963.

Martin Luther King Jr. (left) with President Lyndon B. Johnson and other leaders of the Civil Rights movement. UniversalImagesGroup/Getty Images

Elvis Presley met with President Richard Nixon in December 1970.

President Nixon and Elvis Presley. National Archives/Getty Images

Nixon gestured the peace sign after resigning from the presidency in 1974.

Richard Nixon boarding a helicopter after his resignation in 1974. Bob Daugherty/AP

Gerald Ford spent some time with his wife, Betty, during her recovery from surgery in this personal shot from 1975.

President Gerald Ford and his wife, Betty. David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images

President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan welcomed Michael Jackson to the White House in 1984.

The Reagans and Michael Jackson. Jack Kightlinger/Getty Images

President Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev are pictured signing the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987.

Gorbachev and Reagan. Bettmann/Getty Images

President George H.W. Bush spent Thanksgiving with troops in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield in 1990.

Troops welcome President George H.W. Bush in Saudi Arabia. Bob Daugherty/AP

President Bill Clinton took a jog with South Korean President Kim Young-sam in 1993.

US President Bill Clinton and South Korean President Kim Young-sam (gesturing). Doug Mills/AP

President Clinton is seen grinning following the signing of the Mideast Accord between Israel and Palestine in 1995.

President Bill Clinton with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat. Doug Mills/AP

President George W. Bush learned of the September 11 terrorist attacks while he was visiting an elementary school in Florida.

Chief of Staff Andy Card tells President Bush about the attacks on 9/11. Doug Mills/AP

Former President George H.W. Bush celebrated his 80th birthday by skydiving with the Army Golden Knights.

Former President George H.W. Bush skydiving. Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images

Five presidents united in 2009 for Barack Obama's welcome to the White House.

George Bush, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter in the Oval Office in 2009. David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images

President Obama honored the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches in Selma, Alabama, in 2015.

From L to R: First Lady Michelle Obama, Rep. John Lewis, President Barack Obama, and Amelia Boynton Robinson. Saul Loeb/Getty Images

President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were photographed in the Situation Room with members of the national security team during the 2011 mission to kill Osama Bin Laden.

President Obama and Vice President Biden during the mission to kill Osama Bin Laden. The White House/Getty Images

President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were photographed in the Situation Room with members of the national security team during the 2011 mission to kill Osama Bin Laden.

President Donald Trump held up a copy of the Washington Post after he was acquitted of two articles of impeachment in February 2020.

Trump holds a copy of The Washington Post reporting his acquittal. The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images

A lightning bolt stretched across the sky as President Trump departed Air Force One in 2020.

President Donald Trump exits Air Force One to stormy weather. Evan Vucci/AP

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25 iconic photos of presidents throughout the last 100 years

Almost a century ago, President Warren Harding was pictured shaking hands with Babe Ruth at Yankee Stadium.

Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover shared a car ride to Hoover's inauguration in 1929.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt happily announced the end of German occupation in Rome during a radio broadcast in 1944.

Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin met after World War II.

A gleeful Harry Truman held up a misprinted edition of the Chicago Daily Tribune saying he'd lost the 1948 election.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth II had a strong relationship and met several times, like here in 1957.

President John F. Kennedy watched his children John J. and Caroline in the Oval Office in 1962.

Bill Clinton, then just 16, was photographed shaking hands with President Kennedy during a White House visit in 1963.

Lyndon B. Johnson accepted the presidency immediately following Kennedy's death, becoming the only president to take the oath of office on a plane.

President Johnson met with Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders at the White House in 1963.

Elvis Presley met with President Richard Nixon in December 1970.

Nixon gestured the peace sign after resigning from the presidency in 1974.

Gerald Ford spent some time with his wife, Betty, during her recovery from surgery in this personal shot from 1975.

President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan welcomed Michael Jackson to the White House in 1984.

President Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev are pictured signing the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987.

President George H.W. Bush spent Thanksgiving with troops in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield in 1990.

President Bill Clinton took a jog with South Korean President Kim Young-sam in 1993.

President Clinton is seen grinning following the signing of the Mideast Accord between Israel and Palestine in 1995.

President George W. Bush learned of the September 11 terrorist attacks while he was visiting an elementary school in Florida.

Former President George H.W. Bush celebrated his 80th birthday by skydiving with the Army Golden Knights.

Five presidents united in 2009 for Barack Obama's welcome to the White House.

President Obama honored the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches in Selma, Alabama, in 2015.

President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were photographed in the Situation Room with members of the national security team during the 2011 mission to kill Osama Bin Laden.

President Donald Trump held up a copy of the Washington Post after he was acquitted of two articles of impeachment in February 2020.

A lightning bolt stretched across the sky as President Trump departed Air Force One in 2020.