9. Evelyn McHale tragically jumped to her death and photography student snapped a shot of the aftermath. The media called it the “most beautiful suicide”.
Photography student Robert Wiles took this infamous photo just four minutes after Evelyn McHale had committed suicide by jumping from the Observation Deck on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. Times magazine called it the “most beautiful suicide.” The day before, McHale had travelled by train to celebrate her fiancé’s birthday on April 30th, 1947. Afterward, McHale was said to be in “good spirits” as she departed. (Some reports suggest that McHale had, in fact, ended their relationship the previous day.)
McHale left a suicide note at the Observation Deck which stated: “My fiance asked me to marry him in June. I don’t think I would make a good wife for anybody. He is much better off without me. Tell my father, I have too many of my mother’s tendencies.”
McHale stated in her suicide note that she did not want “anyone in or out of my family to see any part of me” and asked, “Could you destroy my body by cremation.” Wiles infamous photo and its subsequent publication in Life and Times magazine denied McHale her wish. The photo also inspired a print by Andy Warhol, entitled Suicide, (Fallen Body).