Migrant Mother (1936) – Dorothea Lange

The younger generations probably don’t have an inkling of how hard it was during the Great Depression, but here is the iconic picture that had become the event’s emblem. Photographer Dorothea Lange was driving past Nipomo when she decided to stop at the Resettlement Administration, where she saw Frances Owens Thompson and her kids.

Lange sold her car’s tires to buy food for the woman and captured this powerful photo. Then the photographer tipped the authorities of the situation, which resulted in 20,000 pounds of food distributed. The Great Depression started on Black Thursday on Oct. 24, 1969, and lasted for a decade.