<P> On May 10, 1950, the council of ministers in Cairo banned Life from Egypt forever . All issues on sale were confiscated . No reason was given, but Egyptian officials expressed indignation over the April 10, 1950, story about King Farouk of Egypt, entitled the "Problem King of Egypt". The government considered it insulting to the country . </P> <P> Life in the 1950s earned a measure of respect by commissioning work from top authors . After Life's publication in 1952 of Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, the magazine contracted with the author for a 4,000 - word piece on bullfighting . Hemingway sent the editors a 10,000 - word article, following his last visit to Spain in 1959 to cover a series of contests between two top matadors . The article was republished in 1985 as the novella, The Dangerous Summer . </P> <P> In February 1953, just a few weeks after leaving office, President Harry S. Truman announced that Life magazine would handle all rights to his memoirs . Truman said it was his belief that by 1954 he would be able to speak more fully on subjects pertaining to the role his administration played in world affairs . Truman observed that Life editors had presented other memoirs with great dignity; he added that Life also made the best offer . </P> <P> In November 1954, the actress Dorothy Dandridge was the first African - American woman to be featured on the cover of the magazine . </P>

Who has been on the cover of life magazine the most