V-J Day in Times Square

1945 photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt

2 min read

Why this is trending

Interest in “V-J Day in Times Square” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-02-25.

Categorised under History, this article fits a familiar pattern. Historical topics gain renewed attention when tied to commemorations, documentaries, or current events that echo past episodes.

GlyphSignal tracks these patterns daily, turning raw Wikipedia traffic data into a curated feed of what the world is curious about. Every spike tells a story.

2026-01-27Peak: 1,6662026-02-25

30-day total: 21,176

Key Takeaways

V-J Day in Times Square is a photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt that portrays a U.
The photograph was published a week later in Life magazine, among many photographs of celebrations around the United States that were presented in a 12-page section entitled "Victory Celebrations".
, Kansas City, and Miami, opposite the Eisenstaedt photograph that was given a full-page display on the right hand side.
President Harry S.
Eisenstaedt said that he did not have an opportunity to get the names and details, because he was photographing rapidly changing events during the celebrations.

V-J Day in Times Square is a photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt that portrays a U.S. Navy sailor kissing a total stranger after grabbing her—a dental assistant—on Victory over Japan Day ("V-J Day") in New York City's Times Square on August 14, 1945. The photograph was published a week later in Life magazine, among many photographs of celebrations around the United States that were presented in a 12-page section entitled "Victory Celebrations". A two-page spread faces a montage of three similar photographs of celebrators in Washington, D.C., Kansas City, and Miami, opposite the Eisenstaedt photograph that was given a full-page display on the right hand side.

Eisenstaedt was photographing a spontaneous event that occurred in Times Square during keen public anticipation of the announcement of the end of the war with Japan (that would be made by U.S. President Harry S. Truman at seven o'clock). Eisenstaedt said that he did not have an opportunity to get the names and details, because he was photographing rapidly changing events during the celebrations. The photograph does not clearly show the face of either person involved, and numerous people have claimed to be the subjects. The photograph was shot just south of 45th Street looking north from a location where Broadway and Seventh Avenue converge. Donald W. Olson and his investigative team estimate that the photograph was taken at 5:51 p.m. ET. In their history pages, Life has noted that the Eisenstaedt photograph was taken with a Leica IIIa camera.