In 1950, LIFE reported on a years-long effort undertaken beneath the staggeringly ornate public realms of the Vatican, as teams of workers meticulously excavated the myriad tombs and other long-sealed, centuries-old chambers far underground.
There’s nothing quite like charting the ascent of a major new Hollywood player, and as the premier pictorial weekly of its era, LIFE magazine was uniquely positioned to feature more than a few famous faces early in their careers, well before they became bona fide stars.
The images are chilling, bordering on surreal: On December 18, 1941, as World War II rages and the horrors of the Third Reich’s “final solution” grow ever clearer — killing operations at the Chełmno death camp, for instance, began less than two weeks earlier — Adolf Hitler presides over a Christmas party in Munich.
Here is a tribute to 10 of the most iconic LIFE covers.
Here are some rare photos of Ellis Island from the 1950s that were never published in LIFE magazine.
Here are some incredible photos of the first two atomic bomb tests open to the press.
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