Photographs that stunned the world: vintage Pulitzer winners

Faith and Confidence (1957) … William C Beall, of the Washington Daily News, won in 1958 for this photograph of a policeman and a two-year-old boy trying to cross a street during a parade
Photograph: William C Beall

Jack Ruby Shoots Lee Harvey Oswald to Death, Dallas (1963) … Robert H Jackson, of the Dallas Times-Herald, won in 1964 for his image of Lee Harvey Oswald just moments after he was shot by Jack Ruby. The shot killed Oswald, who was the alleged assassin of President John F Kennedy
Photograph: Robert H Jackson

Near Collision at Air Show (1949) … Bill Crouch, of the Oakland Tribune, was awarded the prize in 1950 for this picture. Pilot Chet Derby was carrying out a loop-the-loop in a biplane, before a crowd of 60,000. Three B-29 Superfortresses were supposed to fly through Derby's smoke trail, but the B-29s came in too early and the biplane came within five feet of hitting the B-29's wing
Photograph: Bill Crouch

Serious Steps (1961) … Paul Vathis, of the Associated Press, won in 1962 for this photograph of President John F Kennedy and former president Dwight D Eisenhower at the presidential retreat at Camp David. Kennedy had apparently just asked Eisenhower about the Bay of Pigs invasion
Photograph: Paul Vathis

Tarawa Island (1943) … Frank Filan, of the Associated Press, won in 1944 for an image of the aftermath of a bloody battle in the Pacific between Japanese soldiers and US Marines who both suffered devastating losses. The photo shows the brutal aftermath of the fight, and Filan almost lost his life while capturing it
Photograph: Frank Filan

Water! (1942) … Frank Noel, of the Associated Press, was awarded the Pulitzer in 1943 for this image. Noel, who was covering British troops in Singapore, was on a freighter in the Indian Ocean when it was hit by a Japanese torpedo. The ship went down, and Noel boarded a life vessel with 27 passengers. While drifting, they came across another lifeboat that had lost their water supply. Despite being ill with malaria, Noel took the photo at the exact moment this sailor realises there is no water to spare
Photograph: Frank Noel

Condemned former Batista army corporal José Rodríguez receives last rites from a priest at Matanzas, Cuba (1959) … Andrew Lopez, of United Press International, won in 1960 for his series of four photographs of a corporal, formerly of dictator Fulgencio Batista's army, who was executed by a Fidel Castro firing squad. The prosecutor demanded that Lopez stop taking photos and turn over his film, but Lopez kept hold of the roll
Photograph: Andrew Lopez

Bomber Crashes in Street (1955) … Staff of the New York Daily News won in 1956 – the first time a Pulitzer had been awarded to a collective entry – for consistently excellent news picture coverage in 1955. One standout example was this image by staff photographer George Mattson, who flew over a crashed B-26 bomber in Long Island just as firemen arrived on the scene. Mattson had noticed the smoke and directed his pilot to the scene. Once on the ground, he phoned the newspaper, which sent more photographers to the plane wreck. Both people on the plane were killed
Photograph: George Mattson

Flight of Refugees Across Wrecked Bridge in Korea (1950) … Max Desfor, of the Associated Press, won in 1951 for his coverage of the Korean war. He took this on 4 December 1950 on the Taedong river, while travelling with troops on the front line
Photograph: Max Desfor