Hunter S. Thompson snaps a portrait of himself in Tijuana in the early 1960s. Thompson worked as a foreign correspondent during his early career; in Puerto Rico, as depicted in The Rum Diary, as well as in Brazil and as a stringer in several other Carribbean countries.
Thompson's press pass for the Jersey Shore Herald (in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania), where he worked as a sports editor after he was honorably discharged from Air Force duty in 1958; his commanding officer recommended his leave, writing that Thompson "will not be guided by policy."
The writer makes a phone call in an undated Polaroid used in the documentary Gonzo: The Life & Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.
Wielding a gun on his ranch in Aspen, Colorado in 1976. Thompson was a longtime gun enthusiast, keeping several at his Aspen ranch which he periodically used for target practice.
Thompson speaks with democratic presidential candidate George McGovern in 1972. Thompson wrote about the senator's presidential campaign for Rolling Stone that year, and his infamy as a critic of Richard Nixon came to the fore in his portrayals of McGovern's ultimately successful opponent.
Sitting at his IBM Selectric typewriter (with which Thompson was commonly associated) at his Aspen ranch in 1976. An early Thompson legend describes him repeatedly typing out F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby while working at TIME as a copy boy; he was later fired for insubordination.
Thompson walks on his Aspen ranch, nicknamed Owl Farm, in 1976.
Oxford-educated novelist V.S. Naipaul accompanies Thompson while both report on the U.S. invasion of Grenada in 1983. Thompson was on assignment for Rolling Stone, but would not discuss the trip until he published his autobiographical collection of writings, Kingdom of Fear in 2003.
Driving a convertible in a photo taken circa 1990. The "Great Red Shark," a Chevrolet convertible he rented in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, became an iconic Thompson vehicle and was referenced in press coverage of the journalist's exploits.
Thompson and actor Johnny Depp pose for a picture in New York in 1998. Depp portrayed Thompson that year in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but the two became good friends prior to the film, during Depp's four-month stay at Thompson's ranch in 1997.
An undated portrait of Thompson, with his signature cigarette holder, taken later in life. Remembered for his wild personality and lifestyle as much as his contribution to literature, Thompson commit suicide in 2005, his death commemorated by a ceremony of Thompson's own design.
