Photos From History That Will Make You Look Twice
History is made up of the moments that pass without our realizing it. When it comes to recent history, well at least for the last 200 hundred years or so, the majority of the most iconic and historical moments have been caught on camera. This is a collection of photographs that you’ve probably never seen before because most schools don’t even know about these unique photographs and their stories.
This collection covers photos from Hollywood to the brave men and women who fought in the most difficult wars of our time. It shows the world we’ve lived in through the lenses of people who may have never lived to see their photographs become a part of the history it is now. This collection covers big names like Albert Einstein and Malcolm X, and it also covers the lives of men whose names we will never know. It is a compilation of art, emotion, nostalgia for some, and history in its richest form. If you’ve never been a history buff or enthusiast, you can still scroll these images at your own pace, because regardless of what you’re into, these images will blow your mind.
When you look through this gallery you can’t help but wonder if you should be taking your own photos on a daily basis. If it were me standing in front of you when you asked that question, my answer would be a massive “yes!” We might not know it, but all photographs will inevitably become a part of history. And even if they don’t make it into the “big books,” they will definitely serve as a heap of history just in your own life. So on that note, snap away and let’s get started.
Bombshell Bardot
Young Brigitte Bardot had people’s attention with her captivating stare. The French actress started out as a brunette, but later became a blonde bombshell who would skyrocket to fame.
Bombshell Bardot
Iceberg Grotto
No, you’re not hallucinating – this is a real photograph! The famous Terra Nova Expedition of Antarctica provided this breathtaking image of a frozen grotto on January 5th, 1911.
Iceberg Grotto
Face Of War
This could easily look like a photo shot for a magazine cover. However the reality is that this soldier from the 173rd Airborne Brigade Battalion, is living his own version of hell while being deployed in Vietnam in 1965.
Face Of War
Marilyn Monroe
Famous photographer and film producer, Sam Shaw, managed to get some beautiful black and white photographs of Marilyn Monroe while in New York City in 1956. We’ve all seen heaps of photos of Marilyn Monroe, but this specific picture of her husband Arthur Miller and her weaving through the streets of NYC in a 1956 Ford Thunderbird convertible is rarely shown.
Marilyn Monroe
The Beatles
We all know the famous picture of the legendary Beatles crossing the road for their Abbey Road album. But this is actually the group preparing for that iconic photo – the one that would be recreated again and again by fans throughout history.
The Beatles
Changing Landscapes
This image speaks an echo of history. The year is 1868 and this Native American stands atop a hill overlooking the Transcontinental Railroad in Nevada. This massive project would change not only the landscape of the area, but the future of Native Americans and their livelihood since massive numbers of bison were killed while the project was underway.
Changing Landscapes
Horse Play
When you think of the Victorian era, is this what you picture? History of the era would not exactly be a woman making funny faces, but life isn’t always so serious. Does this constitute as the earliest “duck face” pose?
Horse Play
Coming To The Surface
Just like submarines, this photograph just came out of nowhere. During the Cold War, the USS Queenfish Balao-class submarine was one of the most impressive subs around. This picture of the submarine surfacing and a crew member on top is one rare photo that never ever really got circulation.
Coming To The Surface
A Surfing Elephant
Here is another photograph that you will never see today. “Queenie” was a water wonder in the 1950’s. She was especially famous for her skiing tricks that garnered lots of attention.
A Surfing Elephant
Hellen Keller
This is a moment in history that cannot be fully captured in a photograph, and those in the picture can agree. On November 3rd, 1953, Hellen Keller met with President Dwight Eisenhower with an introduction like no other. Getting to ‘meet someone’ for Keller was a little bit different from others.
Hellen Keller
Great Oil Crisis
During the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Arab countries which exported petroleum decided to launch an oil embargo. The countries that they targeted were those that helped Israel during the war – the Netherlands, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan. This highway in the Netherlands was adopted for a picnic while cars were garaged.
Great Oil Crisis
First Selfie
We’re all under the impression that “selfies” are a thing of the 21st century. But before we had hand-held mobile phones with built-in cameras, there were just good ol’ stand-set cameras. This woman possibly took the first ever selfie back in the early 1900’s.
First Selfie
Truthful Advertising
How could you say no to the “10,000 Calorie Sundae”? Well, quite easily actually. Blair Parson’s ice-cream store used it as an advertising gimmick in Lynchburg, Virginia in the 1950’s. For a mere 35 cents, 10,000 calories probably couldn’t come any cheaper.
Truthful Advertising
Famous Lion
Who doesn’t know Leo the Lion? Well the truth is that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) actually used a number of different lions for their famous roaring opener. The first talking movie for MGM was 1928’s White Shadows in the South Seas, but perhaps it was the first time a lion’s roar was heard on screen.
Famous Lion
Final Flight
This is the last recorded photograph of the launch of the American Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter jet. The date is July 18th, 2006 and the plane is seen taking off from the USS Theodore Roosevelt.
Final Flight
The Gas War
It’s no secret that the First World War was the stage for some of the worst gas attacks in history. Here a troop of British soldiers prepare for a game of football in 1916, and they are all too ready for an attack in northern France.
The Gas War
New Uniforms
The uniform that flight attendants wear is iconic. What flight staff wear on planes today is not what they used to wear 60 years ago. This a unique photo of Brigitta Lindman, a Swedish airline flight attendant and her fellow stewardesses donning their new uniforms. News that airlines would begin adopting similar uniforms spread across Sweden in 1959.
New Uniforms
Disco
Even though roller skating was invented in the 1930’s, it only came to life in the 1970’s. This picture perfectly shows the disco culture and how the craze overtook the scene of youngsters across the world.
Disco
Jamie Lee Curtis
In the 1988 drama/romance “Perfect”, Jamie Lee Curtis made more than just a few heads turn. Alongside John Travolta playing a Rolling Stone reporter, Curtis’ aerobic instructor role burned her a place in history and in the minds of fans for years to come.
Jamie Lee Curtis
Down Time
Hollywood great, Marlon Brando and British actress, Vivien Leigh take a moment to relax while on the set of A Streetcar Named Desire – a 1951 classic. It was this movie that turned Brando’s name to the history books of Hollywood.
Down Time
Louis Armstrong
Modern and ancient history come together in this beautiful masterpiece in Egypt. Louis Armstrong plays his heart out at the base of the Great Sphinx in Giza, Egypt. To add a little flavor, an Egyptian man captures the moment for himself.
Louis Armstrong
Fidel Castro
He was a revolutionary figure in the 1960’s and 1970’s. It was his leadership that drew Cuba away from America and western influence. Here he plays basketball in Krakow, Poland, in 1972.
Fidel Castro
Forbidden Photo
Taking photographs in the Supreme Court is an absolute no-no. But in 1937 a young woman managed to sneak a camera in by cutting a hole in her handbag big enough for the camera to snap this rare photograph.
Forbidden Photo
Albert Einstein
He was one of the greatest minds of the last century and here he is sunbathing with a pipe in his mouth. This photo shows the genius relaxing in Palm Springs in California on January 11th, 1932.
Albert Einstein
U.S.S. Enterprise
Only fans will know that we’re not talking about an aircraft carrier. This is the earliest known photograph of the U.S.S. Enterprise model. It’s a small and grainy photo, but this 1965 picture from Los Angeles is a touch of television history.
U.S.S. Enterprise
Hitler And Eva Braun
Adolf Hitler’s relationship with his mistress, Eva Braun was not public knowledge. In fact the two of them got married just before the Allies swept into Berlin at the end of the Second World War. Their marriage didn’t last long as they both committed suicide shortly after their marriage in order to evade capture by the Allies. This photograph shows them taking tea in 1937.
Hitler And Eva Braun
Neil Armstrong
There’s no doubt that space is food is nothing special, but your last meal before a trip to the moon can be. This is Neil Armstrong enjoying his last meal on Earth before becoming the first man to set foot on the moon in 1969.
Neil Armstrong
Pearl Harbor
The Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor will remain in American history forever. The attack aimed to disable the Americans in the Pacific, even though America was not formally a part of World War II. This is the USS Shaw exploding during that devastating December morning in 1941.
Pearl Harbor
The Great Flood
This is hardly the image of Paris we’re familiar with. After the Great Flood of 1910, the streets of Paris overflowed with water, turning the city of love into a series of rivers.
The Great Flood
Lunch Break
Disneyland in 1961 at lunch time looks like its out of a movie in itself. Disneyland actually had a code of conduct for employees who had to ensure that it was “the happiest place on Earth”.
Lunch Break
Fighting The High Seas
Being one of the world’s greatest and toughest naval vessels means that it can take on the roughest seas across the planet. This is the $13 billion USS Gerald Ford working through turbulent seas as part of its readiness trial. The ship was commissioned in July 2017.
Fighting The High Seas
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln in our minds is a man with a beard and a tall top hat. Here he is a young man with nothing more than a face of youngster. This is considered to be the earliest photo, taken around 1840.
Abraham Lincoln
Overstepping The Mark
A Saudi airline Boeing 747-368 befell a harsh malfunctioning while taxiing on the runway. The idea was to move the plane to a safe area so that passengers could disembark from the aircraft, however that wasn’t successful. The plane overstopped in a ditch, causing the nose to dip and the entire from of the airplane to be damaged.
Overstepping The Mark
Joseph Stalin
It must be difficult to imagine a man like Joseph Stalin as a family man. This photograph from 1935 shows Stalin with his son Vasily and his daughter Svetlana.
Joseph Stalin
Kim Jong Un
One thing is for sure, the Kermit Kingdom’s leader, Kim Jong Un, is something else. Here the North Korean head of state rides a horse with the intention of inspecting a training ground for a division of the Korean People’s Army.
Kim Jong Un
The Avengers
After the Nazis orchestrated the worst genocide in modern history, namely the Holocaust, Nazi officers went into hiding. A group of Jewish assassins who labelled themselves as “The Avengers” went after those Nazi officers. Their modus operandi was to hunt them down and then assassinate them.
The Avengers
XB-70 Valkyrie
This piece of epic machinery is the 6-engine Valkyrie prototype. Its intended purpose was to penetrate deep inside enemy territory and bomb enemy sites, namely with nuclear weapons. This plane was able to reach Mach 3.1 speed. It was eventually retired in 1969.
A rare photo of the 6-engine Valkyrie prototype. It was mean’t to be a nuclear-armed, deep-penetration strategic bomber for the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command, but the USAF eventually gave up fighting for its production and the B-70 program was retired in 1969. Fun fact, it was able to reach Mach 3.1!
XB-70 Valkyrie
High Risks
Even though this is a photograph, if you’re afraid of heights this can make your skin crawl. This ballsy high-wire walker strategically moves across a wire in Cologne, Germany in 1946.
High Risks
America Joins The War
Here you can see the wreckage left by the Japanese attack on America at Pearl Harbor in December 7th, 1941. This attack would lead the world to an inevitable global war. America declared Japan, Japan on America, Germany on America, and then America on Germany.
America Joins The War
Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi, the leader who led India to a country that can call itself independent can be seen in this photo. He assumes the cross-legged position, beside him a spinning wheel – a symbol of the Indian struggle for independence.
Mahatma Gandhi
Grand Central
This beautiful shot of Grand Central Terminal in New York is a flash of history. We will never see the sun shine through those windows like this because since 1929 large building have popped up surrounding the station.
Grand Central
War On America
This is the moment that Adolf Hitler announced that Germany was officially at war with the United States. Although the original photo from 1941 was in black and white, it burst into color by Mads Madsen.
War On America
Statue Of Liberty
Maybe you didn’t notice, but that is actually a huge section of the Statue of Liberty. The giant structure was a gift from France to America and here you can see men working on it.
Statue Of Liberty
Jackie Chan
The brilliant Jackie Chan poses for a photo in front of the Hollywood sign in 1996. He prepared for a climb to the famous Hollywood sign where he would become known as an actor who performed all of his own stunts – sometimes breaking some bones.
Jackie Chan
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
A very rare photograph shows the Archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand. It was his assassination that sent the world into the devastating First World War. The photo has been colorized, bringing it to life in a way that we’ve never seen before.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
History: World War I
Soldiers of the Australian 4th Division cross a precarious track in Ypres, Belgium. The site is the bombed-out Chateau Wood. The Australians came to the war under obligation of being a British colony.
World War I
Labor Boys
The year is 1911 and you’re looking at a group of boys who aren’t on a field trip at this coal mine. In actual fact these young boys worked at this local coal mine in Pennsylvania.
Labor Boys
Malcolm X
Two very iconic black figures – Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali. Only here Ali’s name was still Cassius Clay, and here he is having a good time in Miami after defeating rival, Sonny Liston.
Malcolm X
Tsar Nicholas II
This rare photograph shows Tsar Nicholas II with his wife Alexandra. They are accompanied by their daughters Ol’ga, Tat’jana, Marija e Anastasia and Aleksej.
Tsar Nicholas II