The ecstatic sailor shown kissing a woman in Times Square, New York City spontaneously celebrating the end of World War II has died.

George Mendonsa was 95.

Mendonsa’s daughter, Sharon Molleur, told The Providence Journal that Mendonsa fell and had a seizure on Sunday at the assisted living facility in Middletown, Rhode Island, where he had lived with his wife of 70 years.

Mendonsa was shown kissing Greta Zimmer Friedman, a dental assistant in a nurse’s uniform, on Aug. 14, 1945.

Known as V-J Day, it was the day Japan surrendered to the United States.

The photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt became one of the most famous photographs of the 20th century.

The image, often referred to as Kissing Sailor—although its real title is V-J Day in Times Square—has inspired many imitators and tributes in film, photography, fine art—and even in real life.

It was years before Mr Mendonsa and Ms Friedman were confirmed to be the young man and woman in the widely published vintage image.

Ms Friedman died in 2016 at the age of 92.

Mr Mendonsa died two days before his 96th birthday.

But aside from this image which forever unites the pair, they were not actually a couple.

What isn’t often mentioned about the photo is that Mendonsa is not actually kissing his girlfriend.

With victory over Japan about to be declared, Mendonsa, who was in New York City to go on a date, suddenly decided to kiss the closest woman to him as the happy news broke in the streets and folks waited for US president Harry Truman to make the official victory speech.

The young woman, Ms Friedman, was not prepared for the kiss and later admitted that she didn’t even see Mendonsa coming.

But Life magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt was on hand to capture a moment between strangers that expressed everyone’s surprise and relief that a long and horrible world war was finally over.