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Life has been the name of two notable magazines published in the United States. The second of them is still published, and is now owned by Time Warner.
Life 1883 - 1930s
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. The magazine was a forerunner of The New Yorker, with its use of cartoons, poetry, gags, similar cover artists, cultural listing roundups, and high-society élan .
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. Gibson had sold his first professional pen-and-ink drawings years before, in 1886, to magazine founder John Ames Mitchell.
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.
John Held, Jr. was one of the most popular cover artists of the era, known for his depictions of jazz musicians and flappers.
This edition of Life fell victim to the Great Depression, and ceased publication in the early 1930s. The name was then purchased by Henry Luce for use on his Time, Inc. magazine.
Life, the photojournalism magazine
Weekly (1936-1972)
In 1936, Luce reinvented Life as a photojournalism magazine. The publication was a mammoth success. The first issue was dated November 23, with a cover depicting the Fort Peck Dam in Montana photographed by Margaret Bourke-White. Luce pulled a stringer for TIME, Edward K. Thompson, to become assistant picture editor in 1937. From 1949–1961 he was the managing editor and editor in chief, until his retirement in 1970. His influence was significant during the magazine'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.Thompson was known for the free reign he gave his editors, particularly a "trio of formidable and colorful women: Sally Kirkland, fashion editor; Mary Letherbee, movie editor; and Mary Hamman, modern living editor."Hamblin, Dora Jane: "That Was The LIFE", page 161. W.W. Norton & Company, 1977.
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. 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 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 on December 29, 1972, (its annual "The Year in Pictures" edition).
Semi-annual (1973-1978)
Starting in 1973, Life was published semiannually until October 1978.Monthly (1978-2000)
With the October 1978 issue, Life was restarted as a monthly magazine. A weekly Life in Time of War was published for a month or two during the first Gulf War. Monthly publication ceased in May 2000.Weekly (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 with a combined circulation of over 12 million:Arizona
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
Connecticut
Florida
- Bradenton Herald
- El Nuevo Herald
- Orlando Sentinel
- South Florida Sun-Sentinel
- St. Petersburg Times
- Tallahassee Democrat
- Miami Herald
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Massachusetts
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Mississippi
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Pennsylvania
- Centre Daily Times
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- The Morning Call
- Philadelphia Daily News
- The Philadelphia Inquirer
- Times Leader
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin
Life's ten most important events of the second millennium
The magazine ranked its top ten events of the millennium:
- Printing by movable type (Johann Gutenberg, 1455)
- Discovery of the New World (Christopher Columbus, 1492)
- A new major religion (Martin Luther, 1527)
- Steam engine starts industrial revolution (James Watt, 1769)
- Discovery that Earth revolves around sun (Galileo Galilei, 1610)
- Germ theory of disease (Louis Pasteur, 1864; Robert Koch, 1876)
- Gunpowder weapons (China, 1100)
- Declaration of Independence (United States) (1776)
- Adolf Hitler comes to power (1933)
- 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
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)
- Mary Hamman (modern living editor)
- Sally Kirkland (fashion editor)
- Mary Leatherbee (movie editor)
- Lee Miller (photojournalist)
- Gordon Parks (photojournalist)
- Will Lang Jr. (Bureau Head / Chief Regional Bureau Director)
- George Silk (photojournalist)
- Edward K. Thompson (managing editor 1949–1961; editor in chief 1961–1970)
References
External links
- Vintage Life magazine website
- Life magazine website
- Life's Millennium list I
- Life's Millennium list II
- Life to Return as Weekend Magazine
News magazines | Photojournalism | United States magazines | 1936 establishments
"Life (magazine)"