Who photographed the famous V-J Day kiss in Times Square for Life magazine?

Alfred Eisenstaedt photographed the famous V-J Day kiss in Times Square for Life magazine. His image shows a U.S. Navy sailor kissing a woman in a white uniform amid celebrations in New York City on 14 August 1945.

Eisenstaedt was a German-born American photojournalist who worked for Life. He captured the moment in four frames with a Leica camera. One frame became an iconic image of the celebrations that followed news of Japan’s surrender announcement in the United States.

The woman was later identified as Greta Zimmer Friedman, a dental assistant, and the sailor was identified as George Mendonsa after years of competing claims. The photograph was widely interpreted as a romantic celebration, although Friedman later explained that the sailor had grabbed and kissed her without her choosing it.

A second photographer, Navy photojournalist Victor Jorgensen, captured the same moment from another angle. His photograph was published in The New York Times under the title “Kissing the War Goodbye.” The two images are often confused, but Eisenstaedt took the better-known Life photograph.