The Photos That Defined the Decade

GOODBYE 2010s

Sarah Rogers

Kelly Caminero

Art Director

Elizabeth Hunt Brockway

Editorial Visual Director

Lyne Lucien

Art Director

Kristen Hazzard

Photo Editor

Updated Dec. 29, 2019 11:59AM ET / Published Dec. 29, 2019 4:58AM ET

The Daily Beast showcases the best photography that captured a whirlwind decade of protests, political convulsions, and the power of the human spirit.

An Afghan man is detained by U.S. Marines from the First Battalion, Eighth Marines Bravo Company at their base in Talibjan after a battle against Taliban insurgents in Musa Qala district in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province November 7, 2010.

A woman puts her hand near a crack on a wall as she waits for food distribution in Port-au-Prince, Haiti January 27, 2010. A shallow 4.9 magnitude aftershock rattled western Haiti on Tuesday, two weeks after a killer 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Geological Service said.

Shaun White of the United States reacts with fellow American Scott Lago after White wins the gold medal and Lago the bronze in the Snowboard Men's Halfpipe final on day six of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at Cypress Snowboard & Ski-Cross Stadium on February 17, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. White won the gold medal with a score in his previous run.

An elderly Afghan woman shows off her inked finger to the camera after she made it to the polls to cast her vote September 18, 2010 in Kabul, Panjshir, Afghanistan. More than 2,500 candidates will contest for 249 seats in the lower house of the Afghan parliament in the country's second election.The Taliban warned voters to boycott the polls threatening violence to disturb the election process.

An Italian couple sits during lunch as Steve Black of Australia dives past their balcony in the lead up round four of the 2010 Red Bull Cliff Diving world series in Polignano a Mare August 5, 2010.

Miner Osman Araya hugs his wife after arriving as the sixth miner to be hoisted to the surface in Copiapo October 13, 2010. Chile's 33 trapped miners are set to travel nearly half a mile through solid rock in a shaft just wider than a man's shoulders on Tuesday night, as their two month ordeal after a cave-in draws to an end.

Riot police walk in the street as a couple kiss on June 15, 2011 in Vancouver, Canada. Vancouver broke out in riots after their hockey team the Vancouver Canucks lost in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals.

In this July 19, 2011 photo, a leopard attacks a forest guard at Prakash Nagar village near Salugara, on the outskirts of Siliguri, India. The leopard strayed into the village area and attacked several villagers, including at least four guards, before being caught by forest officials, according to news reports.

Houses are swept by water following a tsunami and earthquake in Natori City in northeastern Japan March 11, 2011. A massive 8.9 magnitude quake hit northeast Japan on Friday, causing many injuries, fires and a ten-meter (33-ft) tsunami along parts of the country's coastline.

Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge kiss on the balcony at Buckingham Palace, watched by bridemaids Grace van Cutsem (L) and Margarita Armstrong-Jones and pageboy Tom Pettifer, after their wedding in Westminster Abbey, in central London April 29, 2011.

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President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, along with with members of the national security team, receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House, May 1, 2011.

College student Jajuan Kelley covers his mouth with a Skittles wrapper as he stands in a crowd of thousands rallying at the Georgia State Capitol in memory of slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin on March 26, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. Protests have been nationwide in reaction to the death of Trayvon Martin, the Florida teenager whose shooting by a neighborhood watch captain has led to questions of the "Stand Your Ground" law in Florida and other states.

A roller coaster is seen in the ocean in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in Seaside Heights, New Jersey November 11, 2012.

In this March 26, 2012 photo, Tibetan exile Jamphel Yeshi screams as he runs engulfed in flames after setting himself on fire at a protest in New Delhi, India, against Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to India. Yeshi died two days later while hundreds of other activists were being held without charge before the president's arrival. Hu arrived in New Delhi for a summit with India, Russia, Brazil and South Africa.

Neil Heslin, father of six-year-old Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim Jesse Lewis, wipes tears as he testifies during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee February 27, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing on "The Assault Weapons Ban of 2013.

Isaac Botella Perez of Spain competes in the Artistic Gymnastics Men's Vault final on Day 10 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 6, 2012 in London, England.

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Police officers with their guns drawn near the second explosion down the street. The first explosion knocked down 78-year-old US marathon runner Bill Iffrig at the finish line of the 117th Boston Marathon.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge leave the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's hospital with their newborn son on July 23, 2013 in London, England.

Black Lives Matter supporters at the Peoples Assembly demonstration: No More Austerity - No To Racism - Tories Must Go, July 16, 2013 in London. Tens of thousands of people gathered to protest in a march through the capital protesting against the Conservative Party cuts. Almost 150 Councillors from across the country have signed a letter criticizing the Government for funding cuts and and will be joining those marching in London. The letter followed the recent budget in which the Government laid out plans to cut support for disabled people while offering tax breaks for big business and the wealthy.

Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus perform onstage during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards at the Barclays Center on August 25, 2013 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

Newly elected Pope Francis appears at the window of his future private apartment to bless the faithful, gathered below in St. Peter's Square, during the Sunday Angelus prayer at the Vatican March 17, 2013.

Marina owner Mitzi Richards carries her granddaughter as they walk on their boat dock at the dried up lake bed of Huntington Lake which is at only 30 percent capacity as a severe drought continues to affect California on September 23, 2014. California is in the grip of its third year of severe drought, the worst in decades, threatening to drain underground aquifers and leaving the taps of some 40 million people to run dry. The state's drought affected Central Valley, is the considered the richest food-producing region in the world, where much of America's fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables being grown there

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In this Aug. 13, 2014, file photo Edward Crawford Jr., returns a tear gas canister fired by police who were trying to disperse protesters in Ferguson, Mo.

Debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 is shown smoldering in a field July 17, 2014 in Grabovo, Ukraine near the Russian border. Flight 17, on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur and carrying 295 passengers and crew, is believed to have been shot down by a surface-to-air missile, according to U.S. intelligence officials and Ukrainian authorities quoted in published reports. The area is under control of pro-Russian militias.

Militant Islamist fighters take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. Militant Islamist fighters held a parade in Syria's northern Raqqa province to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighboring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags from cars and holding guns in the air, the SITE monitoring service said.

Anti-government protesters, continue to their clash with police in Independence square, despite a truce agreed between the Ukrainian president and opposition leaders on February 20, 2014 in Kiev, Ukraine. After several weeks of calm, violence has again flared between police and anti-government protesters, who are calling for the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych over corruption and an abandoned trade agreement with the European Union

\Kearston Farr comforts her daughter, Taliyah Farr,5, as they stand in front of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church after a mass shooting at the church that killed nine people of June 19, 2015. A 21-year-old white gunman is suspected of killing nine people during a prayer meeting in the church, which is one of the nation's oldest black churches in Charleston.

A paramilitary police officer investigated the scene before carrying the body of 3-year-old Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi from the sea shore, near the beach resort of Bodrum, Turkey, on Sept. 2, 2015.

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French fire brigade members aid an injured individual near the Bataclan concert hall following fatal shootings in Paris, France, November 13, 2015.

Rainbow-colored lights shine on the White House to celebrate today's US Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage June 26, 2015 in Washington, DC. Today the high court ruled 5-4 that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage in all 50 states.

A batter hits the ball In the final inning against the Chicago White Sox in an empty Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, MD April 29, 2015. The closing of the game to fans follows the unrest related to the death of city resident Freddie Gray who was arrested for possessing a switch blade knife and died while in custody of the Baltimore Police.

Armed gunmen face police officers near the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris on January 7, 2015, during an attack on the offices of the newspaper which left eleven dead, including two police officers, according to sources close to the investigation.

French fire brigade members aid an injured individual near the Bataclan concert hall following fatal shootings in Paris, France, November 13, 2015.

A migrant carrying a child falls after tripping on TV camerawoman (R) Petra Laszlo while trying to escape from a collection point in Roszke village, Hungary, September 8, 2015.

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A demonstrator protesting the shooting death of Alton Sterling is detained by law enforcement near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. July 9, 2016.

US gymnast Simone Biles competes in the qualifying for the women's Beam event of the Artistic Gymnastics at the Olympic Arena during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on August 7, 2016.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton hugs U.S. President Barack Obama as she arrives onstage at the end of his speech on the third night of the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 27, 2016.

A body is seen on the ground July 15, 2016 after at least 30 people were killed in Nice, France, when a truck ran into a crowd celebrating the Bastille Day national holiday July 14.

A displaced Iraqi boy leads his animals to safety after escaping from Islamic State controlled village of Abu Jarboa during clashes with IS militants near Mosul, Iraq November 1, 2016.

Beyonce and Chris Martin of Coldplay perform during the half-time show at the NFL's Super Bowl 50 between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos in Santa Clara, California February 7, 2016.

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Jackeline, 26, holds her son who is 4-months old and born with microcephaly, in front of their house in Olinda, near Recife, Brazil, February 11, 2016. Recent laboratory analyses identified Zika virus infections in three people who died in Brazil last year, the health ministry said on Thursday, although authorities could not confirm that Zika alone was responsible for their deaths.

Peter Cvjetanovic (R) along with Neo Nazis, Alt-Right, and White Supremacists encircle and chant at counter protestors at the base of a statue of Thomas Jefferson after marching through the University of Virginia campus with torches in Charlottesville, Va., USA on August 11, 2017.

U.S. President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, U.S., October 3, 2017.

Photographers help a Rohingya refugee to come out of Nad River as they cross the Myanmar-Bangladesh border in Palong Khali, near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, November 1, 2017.

Emmanuel Macron, head of the political movement En Marche!, or Onwards!, and candidate for the 2017 French presidential election, gestures to supporters after the first round of 2017 French presidential election in Paris, France, April 23, 2017.

Kandy Freeman participates in a Black Lives Matter protest in front of Trump Tower in New York City, U.S. January 14, 2017.

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People gather for the Women's March in Washington U.S., January 21, 2017.

Attendees partake in the inauguration ceremonies to swear in Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2017.

U.S. President Donald Trump (L-R), joined by Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Vice President Mike Pence, senior advisor Steve Bannon, Communications Director Sean Spicer and National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S. January 28, 2017.

Myeshia Johnson, wife of U.S. Army Sergeant La David Johnson, who was among four special forces soldiers killed in Niger, kisses his coffin at a graveside service in Hollywood, Florida, October 21, 2017.

A two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained near the U.S.-Mexico border on June 12, 2018 in McAllen, Texas. The asylum seekers had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents before being sent to a processing center for possible separation. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is executing the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy towards undocumented immigrants. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions also said that domestic and gang violence in immigrants' country of origin would no longer qualify them for political asylum status.

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People are brought out of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after a shooting at the school that reportedly killed and injured multiple people on February 14, 2018 in Parkland, Florida.

Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh arrives for testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill September 4, 2018 in Washington, DC. Kavanaugh was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the vacancy on the court left by retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Participants arrive for the March for Our Lives Rally in Washington, DC on March 24, 2018.Galvanized by a massacre at a Florida high school, hundreds of thousands of Americans are expected to take to the streets in cities across the United States on Saturday in the biggest protest for gun control in a generation.

Meghan Markle walks down the aisle in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, in Windsor, on May 19, 2018 during her wedding to Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.

A Pro-European Union protester holds Union and European flags in front of the Victoria Tower at The Palace of Westminster in central London on September 13, 2017, ahead of a rally to warn about the terms of Brexit, by EU nationals in Britain and UK nationals in Europe.

One hundred cardboard cutouts of Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg stand outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, April 10, 2018.

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In this photo provided by the German Government Press Office (BPA), German Chancellor Angela Merkel deliberates with US president Donald Trump on the sidelines of the official agenda on the second day of the G7 summit on June 9, 2018 in Charlevoix, Canada. Also pictured are (L-R) Larry Kudlow, director of the US National Economic Council, Theresa May, UK prime minister, Emmanuel Macron, French president, Angela Merkel, Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japanese deputy chief cabinet secretary, Shinzo Abe, Japan prime minister, Kazuyuki Yamazaki, Japanese senior deputy minister for foreign affairs, John Bolton, US national security adviser, and Donald Trump. Canada are hosting the leaders of the UK, Italy, the US, France, Germany and Japan for the two day summit.

White House Communications Director Hope Hicks leaves the U.S. Capitol after attending the House Intelligence Committee closed door meeting in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2018.

Film producer Harvey Weinstein arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, U.S., May 25, 2018.

Players from USA lift the FIFA Women's World Cup Trophy following her team's victory the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France Final match between The United State of America and The Netherlands at Stade de Lyon on July 07, 2019 in Lyon, France.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence applaud U.S. President Donald Trump at the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol Building on February 5, 2019 in Washington, DC. President Trump's second State of the Union address was postponed one week due to the partial government shutdown.

The bodies of Salvadoran migrant Oscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his nearly 2-year-old daughter Valeria lie on the bank of the Rio Grande in Matamoros, Mexico, on June 24, 2019, after they drowned trying to cross the river to Brownsville, Texas. Martinez' wife, Tania told Mexican authorities she watched her husband and child disappear in the strong current.

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Democratic presidential candidates (L-R) Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), billionaire Tom Steyer, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former tech executive Andrew Yang, former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and former housing secretary Julian Castro at the start of the Democratic Presidential Debate at Otterbein University on October 15, 2019 in Westerville, Ohio. A record 12 presidential hopefuls are participating in the debate hosted by CNN and The New York Times.

A man watches the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral burn, engulfed in flames, in central Paris on April 15, 2019. A huge fire swept through the roof of the famed Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris on April 15, 2019, sending flames and huge clouds of grey smoke billowing into the sky. The flames and smoke plumed from the spire and roof of the gothic cathedral, visited by millions of people a year. A spokesman for the cathedral told AFP that the wooden structure supporting the roof was being gutted by the blaze.

A pro-democracy activist holds a yellow umbrella in front of a police line on a street in Mongkok district on November 25, 2014 in Hong Kong. The Mong Kok protest site is scheduled for clearance by bailiffs this week after Hong Kong's high court authorized police to arrest protesters who obstruct bailiffs on the three interim restraining orders.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, pose with their newborn son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor during a photocall in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle on May 8, 2019 in Windsor, England.

Flames are reflected on a LA City fire truck on Sepulveda Blvd. in the Sepulveda Pass as the Getty fire as it burns in Los Angeles, Calif., on Oct. 28, 2019.