--- description: Smooches to remember in time for Valentine's Day title: Valentine's Day: 17 Famous Kisses from Rodin to the Band image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 17 Memorable Kisses Throughout History  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Feb 14, 2014 10:45 AM CUT  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Feb 14, 2014 10:45 AM CUT ### Auguste Rodin’s The Kiss  Rodin's 'The Kiss' from the Musee de Luxembourg. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Hulton Archive/Getty Images One of the most famous depictions of love in art, this marble statue illustrates Paolo Malatesta and Francesca da Rimini, two lovers from Dante’s _The_ _Divine Comedy._ Their kiss is so passionate, you would not know that they were condemned to hell after their affair. The duo was originally part of doors he designed called _The Gates of Hell_ until 1886, “when Rodin decided that this depiction of happiness and sensuality” did not fit, sculpted a separate statue, and exhibited it in 1887, [according to](http://www.musee-rodin.fr/en/collections/sculptures/kiss#sthash.CstGpcL7.dpuf "undefined") the Musée Rodin in Paris. A version of _The Kiss_ was supposed to be displayed in Chicago in 1893, but the couple’s embrace was deemed [too erotic](http://books.google.com/books?id=znSCDQtQ-7UC&pg=PA5&dq=rodin+%22the+kiss%22+erotic&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ExP5UoCAI6fM0wGqo4HgBg&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%20%22the%20kiss%22&f=false "undefined") for public viewing. ### Thomas Edison’s The Kiss In this 1896 film, May Irwin and John Rice, actors in the New York stage comedy _The Widow Jones,_ reenact a 19-second-long kiss from the show. Shot by Edison’s Vitascope cinema projector, it is considered to be the first movie kiss. Not everyone found it romantic, however, like painter John Sloan, who [reportedly wrote](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/15/arts/design/15grey.html "undefined"), “Magnified to Gargantuan proportions and repeated three times over, it is absolutely disgusting.” ### Hershey’s Kisses  in New York, U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010\. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg Bloomberg/Getty Images The tear-drop chocolates date back to 1907, and now Hershey’s plant in West Hershey, Pennsylvania, can produce up to 70 million of them a day. For Valentine’s Day, Hershey’s makes more than 8 million pounds of Hershey’s Kisses and sells more than 800 million individual Hershey’s Kisses. Over the years, the bite-sized treats have been wrapped in [different colors](http://www.hersheys.com/kisses/products.aspx#/KISSES-Milk-Chocolate "undefined") and have been worn like a bra by “I Kissed a Girl” singer Katy Perry on the Jul. 7-21, 2011, [cover](http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/katy-perry-talks-body-image-fame-and-politics-in-rolling-stone-cover-story-20110622 "undefined") of _Rolling Stone._ ### V-J Day in Times Square Kiss  A jubilant Amer. sailor clutching a pretty white-uniformed nurse in a back-bending, passionate kiss as he vents his joy while thousands jam the Times Square area to celebrate the long awaited victory over Japan. Alfred Eisenstaedt / Time & Life Pictures / Getty Images The caption for Alfred Eisenstaedt’s photograph in the August 27, 1945, issue of _LIFE_ was “In the middle of New York’s Times Square a white-clad girl clutches her purse and skirt as an uninhibited sailor plants his lips squarely on hers.” (Read more about the photograph at [LIFE.com](http://life.time.com/history/v-j-day-kiss-in-times-square-and-other-celebrations-august-14-1945/#1 "undefined").) In 2012, [CBS News](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sailor-nurse-from-iconic-vj-day-photo-reunited/ "undefined") identified the sailor and nurse in the photo as George Mendonsa, a retired fisherman from Rhode Island, and Greta Friedman, and brought them together again in Times Square. ### The Kiss of Death  Paramount Some kisses are far from romantic. In _The Godfather Part II_ (1974), mob boss Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) kisses his brother Fredo (John Cazale) in Havana and reveals that he knows Fredo had betrayed him: “I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart.” TIME’s Richard Corliss [called the scene](http://entertainment.time.com/2012/02/14/happy-valentines-day-times-favorite-movie-kisses/ "undefined"), “one of the most powerful kisses in movies: the kiss that kills.” ### KISS  FEBRUARY 18: (L-R) Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of the rock and roll band Kiss pose for a portrait for the cover of their self-entitled first album "Kiss" which was released on February 18, 1974\. (Photo by Ginny Winn/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) Ginny Winn—Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Between the band members’ “signature makeup, explosive stage show and anthems like “Rock And Roll All Nite” and “Detroit Rock City,” they are the very personification of rock stars,” The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [wrote](http://rockhall.com/inductees/kiss/bio/#sthash.WWNIZAjX.dpuf "undefined") about 2014 inductee KISS. Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley started rocking out in 1972 and became one of the most popular bands of the 1970s. While Peter and Ace peeled off in the 80s, the band continued to rock out at Super Bowl XXXIII, the 2002 Winter Olympics, the _American Idol_ finale in 2009, and even graced the cover of _Playboy_ magazine in 1999\. Still performing today, KISS claims to have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide over a 40-year career. ### World Leaders Kiss  BER6 Berlin, East Germany, Oct. 4, 1979 - Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev and East German leader Erich Honecker change kisses after Brezhnev was honored with the title "Hero of the German Democratic Republik" and the "Karl Marx Medal". Brezhnev participates in the celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the East German State\`s foundation. (AP Photo/Helmuth Lohmann/stf) Helmuth Lohmann—AP In honor of the 30th anniversary of the German Democratic Republic in 1979, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and East German President Erich Honecker shared a “fraternal kiss” (also once referred to as a [“Kremlin kiss”](http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-888684.html "undefined")) — an expression of solidarity exchanged between Eastern Bloc pols when the Soviet Union existed. There was a Dmitri Vrubel [mural](http://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/02/opinion/keep-a-shadow-of-the-wall.html "undefined") of this moment on the Berlin Wall captioned “God help me to survive this deadly love affair.” ### Al and Tipper Gore Kiss  377784 02: Vice President Al Gore kisses his wife Tipper Gore after accepting the democratic nomination for President of the United States on the the fourth and final night of the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, CA, August 17, 2000\. (Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Liaison Robert Nickelsberg—Liaison/Getty Images The Vice President Al Gore made headlines when he hugged his wife Tipper tightly and kissed her for three whole seconds — which felt like forever — at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 17, 2000\. Back then, TIME [wrote](http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,53459,00.html#ixzz2sxvEUj1u "undefined"), “The sheer carnality of the kiss — the can’t-wait-to-get-back-to-the-hotel-room urgency, the sexual electricity flowing south — was riveting.” Political commenters called the kiss both a calculated attempt to humanize Gore and a statement of monogamy intended to show that he was his own man and not like his boss, Bill Clinton, who had an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Gore did not win the 2000 presidential election, however, and the couple separated a decade later. ### Ray Bourque’s Stanley Cup Kiss  9 Jun 2001: Ray Bourque #77 of the Colorado Avalanche kisses the Stanley Cup as an Avalanche in Denver, Colorado after 22 seasons in pursuit of the NHL Stanley Cup Championship. DIGITAL IMAGE. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr/ALLSPORT Brian Bahr—Allsport/Getty Images After more than 20 years in the NHL, Ray Bourque kissed and cradled the Stanley Cup for [the first time](http://www.hhof.com/htmlinduct/ind04bourque.shtml "undefined") on June 9, 2001, after helping the Colorado Avalanche defeat the New Jersey Devils before he retired that summer. ### Britney and Madonna Kiss  Britney Spears and Madonna perform at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards (Photo by John Shearer/WireImage) John Shearer—WireImage / Getty Images Britney Spears and Madonna shocked the world by French-kissing — or playing [“tonsil hockey,”](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1005623,00.html "undefined") as TIME’s Joel Stein described it — at the MTV Video Music Awards on August 28, 2003\. Critics compared it to Michael Jackson smooching Lisa Marie Presley at the 1994 ceremony. The image was apparently so appalling to some people that _The Atlanta Journal-Constitution_ had to [apologize](http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,626676,00.html "undefined") for placing it on the front page of the newspaper. And viewers who saw Miley Cyrus twerk on stage at the awards a decade later will chuckle at [The _Los Angeles_ _Times_](http://articles.latimes.com/2003/aug/30/entertainment/et-cromelin30 "undefined") description of the Britney-Madonna kiss: “The fact that this yawn-worthy Madonna shock tactic became the central topic of the show’s post-mortems indicates how low the once-essential showcase has sunk.” ### Post-Stanley Cup Riots Kiss  <> on June 15, 2011 in Vancouver, Canada. Rich Lam—Getty Images The fiery riots in Vancouver, Canada, could not subdue the [fiery passion](http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/06/17/make-love-not-riots-vancouver-kiss-steals-the-internets-hearts/ "undefined") between Australian native Scott Jones and Alexandra Thomas, who were photographed making out on the ground in the middle of the street during the chaos that broke out on June 15, 2011, after the Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final. In the picture, taken by Getty Images photographer Rich Lam, Jones was trying to calm Thomas down after the two had been overwhelmed by the surge of police, [_The Toronto Star_](http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2011/06/17/woman%5Fin%5Fkissing%5Fcouple%5Fphoto%5Fwas%5Fknocked%5Fdown%5Fby%5Fpolice.html "undefined")reports. Jones’s father Brett summed up the moment best on his Facebook page: “How’s that for making love, not war?” ### World Leaders Don’t Kiss  Picture taken on November 17, 2011 in Paris, shows a Benetton clothing store window covered by posters as part of the launch of a provocative publicity campaign with photo montages showing the pope Benedict XVI kissing on the lips Egypt's Ahmed el Tayyeb, imam of the Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, and US president Barack Obama smooching his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao. The posters, part of an advertising campaign entitled "UNHATE", have appeared in Benetton stores across the globe as well as in newspapers, magazines and on Internet websites. Benetton backed down and pulled the photo montage showing the pope kissing a leading imam after the Vatican issued a stern condemnation. The company, which is no stranger to controversy over its advertising campaigns, said it was "sorry that the use of the image had so hurt the sensibilities of the faithful". AFP PHOTO / MARTIN BUREAU (Photo credit should read MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images) Martin Bureau—AFP/Getty Images Presumably inspired by the Brezhnev-Honecker kiss, the clothing company United Colors of Benetton’s 2011 [ad campaign](http://lightbox.time.com/2011/11/16/fantasy-by-benetton-feuding-world-leaders-get-to-first-base/#1 "undefined") for its UN_HATE_ Foundation featured digitally manipulated [images](http://www.benettongroup.com/archive/press-release/unhate-worldwide-campaign "undefined") of world leaders kissing, including Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel locking lips with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, President Barack Obama with Chinese President Hu Jintao, and Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-il with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. The image of Pope Benedict XVI kissing a high-profile Egyptian imam Ahmed el-Tayeb was removed after the Vatican condemned it as “offensive” to the Pope and Catholics in general. In a [statement](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/16/benetton-ad-withdrawn%5Fn%5F1098031.html "undefined"), the company defended the campaign as “symbolic images of reconciliation – with a touch of ironic hope and constructive provocation.” ### The Obamas on The Kiss Cam Barack and Michelle Obama are pros at posing for the cameras, yet they did not expect to appear on the “Kiss Cam” at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. during an Olympic men’s exhibition basketball game between Team USA and Brazil on July 16, 2012\. The first couple did not kiss when the camera zoomed in on them during the first half of the game — which reportedly [prompted boos](http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/07/17/watch-obamas-redeem-themselves-after-failed-kiss-cam/ "undefined"). But when it came around in the second half, the President kissed the First Lady so passionately that NBC’s Al Roker [joked](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmbcINFXC4s "undefined"), “Mr. President, get a stadium!” ### The Fastest Runner Kiss  BEIJING - AUGUST 20: Usain Bolt of Jamaica kisses the track after breaking the world record with a time of 19.30 seconds to win the gold medal in the Men's 200m Final at the National Stadium during Day 12 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 20, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Bob Thomas/Getty Images) Bob Thomas—Getty Images World champion Jamaican runner Usain Bolt kisses the track after [winning](http://usainbolt.com/bio/ "undefined") the 100m and 200m races in record times at the London Summer Games on Aug. 9, 2012–a first in Olympic history. “I am a living legend,” [he told](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/10/sports/olympics/olympic-mens-200-meters-bolt-and-blake.html?pagewanted=1&%5Fr=2&hp "undefined") The New York _Times_. ### The Longest Kiss  Thai couple Ekkachai (R) and Laksana Tiranarat (L) kiss in a competition for the "World's Longest Continuous Kiss" during Valentine?s Day in Pattaya resort on February 14, 2013\. Ekkachai and Laksana make the new World's Longest Continuous Kiss at 58 hours 35 minutes 58 seconds. AFP PHOTO/PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL (Photo credit should read PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL/AFP/Getty Images) Pornchai Kittiwongsakul—AFP/Getty Images The [Guinness World Record](http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/1/longest-kiss "undefined") for the longest kiss is 58 hours, 35 minutes and 58 seconds, achieved by Ekkachai Tiranarat and Laksana Tiranarat at a _Ripley’s Believe It Or Not_ event in Pattaya, Thailand, between February 12-14, 2013\. They won a $3,300 cash prize and two diamond rings. ### TIME Covers of Same-Sex Couples Kisses:  Peter Hapak for TIME Two Apr. 8, 2013, [TIME](http://lightbox.time.com/2013/03/28/behind-the-covers-portraits-of-the-gay-marriage-revolution-by-peter-hapak/ "undefined") covers featuring the line “Gay Marriage Already Won” superimposed on portraits of same-sex couples kissing instantly went viral and sparked a lively debate. Illustrating an article on the public support for gay marriage leading up to the Supreme Court’s decision on the Defense of Marriage Act, the magazine [argued](http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2139700,00.html#ixzz2t8WaCu6W "undefined") the cover images “symbolized the love that is at the heart of the idea of marriage,” while commentary on _The Wire_ argued, “that same-sex couples kissing on a magazine cover is still cause for surprise, for shock, for discussions and reactions and double takes, that it would even _be_ a cover, means in fact we’re _not_ quite all the way there.” ### Speed Skaters Kiss  Brian Snyder—Reuters Canadian speed skater Charles Hamelin skated over to his girlfriend, speed skater Marianne St-Gelais, and planted a big one on her while straddling the track barrier after winning a gold medal in the 1,500m short track on Feb. 10, 2014 at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The embrace was [an encore](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/10/speed-skater-kiss-charles-hamelin-photos%5Fn%5F4762958.html?utm%5Fhp%5Fref=sports "undefined") of their kiss at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/8429/17-memorable-kisses-throughout-history/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/8429/17-memorable-kisses-throughout-history/"},"headline":"17 Memorable Kisses Throughout History","datePublished":"2014-02-14T10:45:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:48:48.559Z","description":"Smooches to remember in time for Valentine's Day","url":"https://time.com/8429/17-memorable-kisses-throughout-history/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Barack Obama","History","olympics","Sochi","Times Square","Vancouver","Valentine's Day","kiss","Usain Bolt"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/8429/17-memorable-kisses-throughout-history/","name":"17 Memorable Kisses Throughout History"}}]}] ```