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The photograph precipitated a dramatic change in how we perceive history. Amazing old photos like these can make it seem like you were standing right there during that historical moment.
Books and paintings have documented historical events far further back, but there's nothing like a vintage photo to give you the sense that you're looking at something real. Even a famous photo from old times can still misdirect the viewer, but it's still more truthful than a painting or book.
If you know of any cool historical photos we've missed, please add them to this list and vote for your favorite interesting photos!
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#1
A Lone Man Refusing To Do The Nazi Salute, 1936
AlejandroGuerra 11 years ago
This doesn't mean anything. What if he was about to do so, or was the first to stop? What if his arm was tired? We don't know WHY he's not '
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ReubenProwse 11 years ago
Most people don't know an entire generation of Jehovah's Witnesses refused to do this and many consequently went to the concentration camps.
BlancaAcevedo 11 years ago
Yes..you are right about this Reuben..I have read,and seen videos of these concentration camps..Very sad..Not to long ago one was discovered
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BlancaAcevedo 11 years ago
OMG!!! I know he was a smart man to do this but Brave is the word..The punishment for this was not good at all..
RELATED:
#2
Nikola Tesla Sitting In His Laboratory With His "Magnifying Transmitter"
MaureenDaniels 11 years ago
What a brilliant photograph, the way he is just reading quietly with all that going on. Poor old Tesla!
Poptartdiggity 3 years ago
My great great grandfather was actually the man who lended out his land to Tesla to build this tower! Tesla even named it after him, Wardenclyffe!
Poptartdiggity 3 years ago
My great great grandfather was the man who lended out his land to Tesla! The tower was actually named after him, Wardenclyffe tower!
Suzanne Haigh 4 years ago
Tesla is regarded by Americans from what I can read as the inventor of alternating current which he definitely was not.
#3
The Graves Of A Catholic Woman And Her Protestant Husband, Holland, 1888
B. J. Moore 2 years ago
The Roman Catholic Church has done so much to ruin the world. St. Peter would be aghast!! 😢😢
Blanca Acevedo 11 years ago
I really don't understand the meaning of the title but as I see it that these two wanted to always be together..
smalltowngal 11 years ago
They couldn't be buried in the same cemetery because of their opposing religions.
Load More Replies... #4
Austrian Boy Receives New Shoes During WWII
GlynisLailann 11 years ago
This picture brings us back to base. More often than not we forget what is important in our lives.
#5
Race Organizers Attempt To Stop Kathrine Switzer From Competing In The Boston Marathon. She Became The First Woman To Finish The Race, 1967
LindaTeuling-Stuteville 11 years ago
it's better than it was but it's not always what it ought to be
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CécilePemberton 11 years ago
they should also say, it's only the man behind her (the event organiser) who was trying to stop her, her fellow racers defended her
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Linda Wilson 4 years ago
1967 was not that long ago to me. I was unaware of what historic event was happening at that year's Boston Marathon.
Leesha Powers 11 years ago
Jealously among men for achievements of women haven't changed in 47 years.
#6
The Unbroken Seal On Tutankhamun’s Tomb, 1922 (3,245 Years Untouched)
ShaunMcDowell 11 years ago
Dig up the tomb of that was never ment to be disturbed and you are an archeologist. Dig up granddad and yor a grave robber.
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B. J. Moore 2 years ago
And then some axxhole arrogant WHITE MEN decided it was their right to open it!! Like it was THEIR right to enslave others THEY deemed lesser than themselves . Or to come to a new land and take it away from its native people! I’m a white person and I think WHITE MALES are disgusting filth! Arrogant beyond belief!! 👎🏼👎👎🏻👎🏼👎🏾
smalltowngal 11 years ago
There's legend of it having been cursed. Everyone involved ended up dying in coincidentally weird ways.
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#7
Painting The Eiffel Tower, 1932
HeatherHolleque 11 years ago
This was most likely a paint touch up seeing as it is 1932 and the Eiffel Tower was built in 1887/88.
msnanchung 11 years ago
They never tied off like we do today, which is WHY we use safety harnesses and lanyards today. Scary and dangerous.
#8
First Morning After Sweden Changed From Driving On The Left Side To Driving On The Right, 1967
Thomaswåhlström 11 years ago
Not so chaotic as it seems. Everybody is moving their cars from one side to another at 06.00
Moga Adriana 11 years ago
poate ca nu ar fi o idee prea rea de a schimba din cand in cand sensul de coducere
MogaAdriana 11 years ago
poate ca nu ar fi o idee rea de a schimba din cand in cand sensul de conducere.s-ar mai incetini viteza de conducere
Lotus Buccola 11 years ago
This is what it looks like when British or Japanese try and learn to drive in the US.
#9
Unknown Soldier In Vietnam, 1965
NemanjaSimović 11 years ago
Here's more about him. The identity of the soldier was unknown for many decades until recently when he was identified as Larry Wayne Chaf
#10
Animals Being Used As Part Of Medical Therapy, 1956
JillStanford 11 years ago
I haD polio in 1954 and they out an aquarium on the window sill for me to watch.
BlancaAcevedo 11 years ago
OMG..Looks scary but to see this lil angel smiling,brings a smile to my face also.
smalltowngal 11 years ago
They've done that since the beginning. Just because it's not happening in this picture doesn't mean it wasn't happening at that time.
Load More Replies... #11
The Kiss Of Life – A Utility Worker Giving Mouth-to-mouth To Co-worker After He Contacted A High Voltage Wire, 1967
JosephBreckenridge 11 years ago
Does anyone know if his life-saving efforts were successful? I hope so.
KatiaLettre 11 years ago
He made a full recovery. You can read the details by clicking on the link
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Cole Roberts 9 years ago
Knew a guy got his arm.burned entirely away in such an accident. The pain was so terrible years later that he took his own life
#12
Annette Kellerman Promotes Women’s Right To Wear A Fitted One-piece Bathing Suit, 1907. She Was Arrested For Indecency
hvandegrift 11 years ago
Wow, those people would have a heart attack if they saw bathing suits today!
#13
106-year-old Armenian Woman Guards Home, 1990
AmandaDavies 11 years ago
She's ready for sure!! Look.at the determination on her face.n in her eyes!!
#14
Albert Einstein, Summer 1939 Nassau Point, Long Island, Ny
#15
The Last Known Photo Of The Titanic Above Water, 1912
mslindadale@att.net 11 years ago
Very sad knowing what's going to happen to everyone on board that ship. Terrible shame.
KevinRyan 11 years ago
WOW !!! L@@K ~>> out there on the Bow Railing ~~>> ... I can see Leonardo De Caprio !!
Load More Replies... #16
Grotto In An Iceberg, Photographed During The British Antarctic Expedition, 5 Jan 1911.
#17
Painter Of The Brooklyn Bridge,1914
AlanWilliams 11 years ago
If the men on the wires arranged themselves correctly, they could spell out the first bar and a half of 'Star Spangled Banner'
OmarLakkis 11 years ago
They lie (mostly) on a log-normal curve, a very much used tool in risk-analysis!
#18
Disneyland Employee Cafeteria In 1961
Patty Ramirez 11 years ago
That cafeteria is still there. I've eaten there a few times when I worked there.
#19
Massive Crowds Gather For The First Woodstock, 1969
hvandegrift 11 years ago
And there were no riots, nothing set on fire... back when people, even YOUNG people, weren't as completely narcissistic like they are now
NuClea Bomb 4 years ago
I don't think that's true at all. This generation was the one that rebelled against their parents, and now that they are parents they turn around and rant about the 'state of kids these days'. Whatever happened to peace and love, huh? Besides, do you realise that 'kids these days' are the ones that generation raised?
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Leesha Powers 11 years ago
I was told a friend went and was suffering with an STD, and when Woodstock ended he was cured. Urban legend?
#20
The Real Winnie The Pooh And Christopher Robin, 1927
LeeshaPowers 11 years ago
I received disturbing news about terrible things The Pooh was being accused of. Some people!!
GlynisLailann 11 years ago
Whatever the stories or 'facts', this is still a beautiful photo that touches the heart & is to be appreciated.
#21
Women Delivering Ice, 1918
#22
Hannah Stilley, Born 1746, Photographed In 1840. Probably The Earliest Born Individual Captured On Film
MikeBurchard 10 years ago
she wasn't captured on film; it hadn't been invented yet. she was captured on a photo-sensitive glass or metal plate.
#23
The Beatles Play For 18 People In The Aldershot Club, December 1961. They Were To Become Superstars In One And A Half Year.
SteveScott 11 years ago
A big snow had hit the area and these are the brave souls who defied Mother Nature for a "private" gig with The Beatles.
AbiezerCelzo224352 11 years ago
If this photo was taken today, all you can see are kissing and ***ing.
#24
The First Ever Underground Train Journey, Edgware Road Station, London, 1862
Anne Welch 4 years ago
Those are called top hats, and were made of real beaver skin.
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#25
Woman With A Gas-resistant Pram, England, 1938
smalltowngal 11 years ago
Yes. Poor baby whose parents are trying to protect him or her from chemical warfare.
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#26
Elvis In The Army, 1958
Wendy Mcalpine 11 years ago
But such a sad expression. Like he knew that "doing the right thing" would end the best part of his career.
#27
Customers At A London Music Store, 1955
#28
Baby Cages Used To Ensure That Children Get Enough Sunlight And Fresh Air When Living In An Apartment Building, 1937
KarenRitchel 11 years ago
At least they got fresh air. Though not the safest contraption I've ever seen.
LadyÉmilieCharlotte 11 years ago
It may seem a stupid idea now, but in the context of the time it might have been perceived as an innovation.
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#29
Measuring Bathing Suits, If They Were Too Short, Women Would Be Fined, 1920’s
GlynisLailann 11 years ago
That is men for you.... trying to 'protect' themselves.
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Wanda Fooca 11 years ago
if someone touched my knee with a tape measure, it might have been all i could do not to kick him where it hurts to be kicked
#30
Salvador Dali Kisses The Hand Of Raquel Welch After Finishing His Famous Portrait Of Her, 1965
#31
Little Girl With Her Doll Sitting In The Ruins Of Her Bombed Home, London, 1940
Caroline Murphy 8 years ago
Yet if she's still alive a lot of young people would say "people like her are ruining this country, stupid old people." People born around the World Wars went through more than our generation ever will
#32
Georges Blind, A Member Of The French Resistance, Smiling At A German Firing Squad, 1944
AnaRetoAlburqueque 11 years ago
All that hate is petty much wasted energy, it takes him only one smile to be "immortal".
Sean Middleton 7 years ago
This was a mock execution attempting to get the resistance fighter, Georges Blind, to talk. It didn’t work. Georges did not divulge any information. It’s interesting how they’ve placed him at the corner of the building rather than against the stereotypical flat wall. It must make ricochet injuries to the firing squad members much less likely. Of course this was a mock execution, but most likely they used the same site for real executions. Georges Blind was eventually forwarded to a concentration camp, where he was selected for termination on arrival, dying some time in late November 1944.Blind was executed by firing squad in October 1944. The exact date of his death is not known. He gained fame when a photo of him standing against a wall in the camp smiling with Nazi marksmen pointing their weapons at Blind. A German soldier took the photo seconds before his death. The image was published across the world mostly in newspapers and magazines
BrianSmith 10 years ago
10 soldiers to kill one unarmed, tied-up man. So much for German efficiency. And which one said "fromage"?
#33
“wait For Me Daddy,” By Claude P. Dettloff In New Westminster, Canada, October 1, 1940
AbiezerCelzo224352 11 years ago
the father's like saying, "Don't worry son, you'll join me later as soon as you grow up and join the military. You know where to find me"
#34
Sailor Kissing Nurse, Times Square, August 14, 1945.
Final score:
66points
RhondaThissen 11 years ago
I recently read about an interview with the woman some years later in which she said she did NOT want to be kissed. She was mortified.
Emma Stecheson 11 years ago
This is creepy because he was a total stranger to her. She wasn't into it.
JamesMorley 10 years ago
What do I think? I think you stop flaunting copyright and at least attribute this to the photographer, Alfred Eisenstaedt
#35
Audrey Hepburn Shopping With Her Pet Deer “ip” In Beverly Hills, Ca, 1958
KarenRitchel 11 years ago
Celebrities and their selfish ways. I'm sure the deer enjoyed shopping.
Anne Welch 4 years ago
She was in a movie with him, producers wanted her to bond with him.
Load More Replies... #36
African Americans Protest Against The War In Vietnam During The Harlem Peace March, 1967
#37
Three Men Run In The Marathon At The First Modern Olympic Games, 1896
#38
Harley Davidson’s First Factory, 1903
#39
The First 5 Mbyte Hard Disk Loaded To A Panam Plane, 1956
AbiezerCelzo224352 11 years ago
If this photo was taken today, they would have sending it through flash drives
#40
View From The Top On The Opening Day Of The Empire State Building, 1931
#41
Charlie Chaplin At The Age Of 27, 1916
AbiezerCelzo224352 11 years ago
To all magicians (cardicians), he looks like the twin Dan and Dave Buck. lol
#42
The Normandy Descent
Final score:
52points
#43
Newspaper Boy Ned Parfett Sells Copies Of The Evening Paper Bearing News Of Titanic’s Sinking The Night Before, April 16, 1912
Meghan McPartland 1 year ago
5 years on since this post…. Time flies :( still remember it well
#44
Painting Wwii Propaganda Posters, Port Washington, New York, 8 July 1942
AbiezerCelzo224352 11 years ago
posters before worth millions today posters today worth the simple cannon printer
#45
Coca-Cola Comes To France, 1950
Final score:
51points
#46
Factory Workers Race On The Roof (test Track) Of The Fiat Factory In Turin, Italy, 1923
#47
Titanic Departure, Southampton, Uk, 1912
Final score:
48points
Rhonda Whisenhunt 11 years ago
Wouldn't think that a ship this big and, on it's first voyage, could ever have any problems. It looks great in this picture.
#48
Mother Hides Her Face In Shame After Putting Her Children Up For Sale, Chicago, 1948
Brigid Flannery 2 years ago
Words can't fully express the heartbreak of this photo... Sad beyond words.
#49
Lunch Atop A Skyscraper
Final score:
47points
Peťo Mydliar 4 years ago
A guy on the right is Slovak named Gustáv Popovič (read Gustaav Popovich). Loot at his bottle. This photo is taken from prohibition. Guess who drinks anyway :)
#50
Bird’s Eye View Of Jfk’s Funeral In The Capitol Building, November, 1963
#51
The Glasses John Lennon Wore When He Was Assassinated, 1980
tied2gether 11 years ago
Yoko shared this photo to help raise awareness around gun control. This photo is worth more then a thousand words.
MacKaroni 11 years ago
What else would it be? Who would have thought that a simple photo of some glasses could be so powerful?
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Times Square, 1947
#53
Dressing The Bride, 1890s
#54
Norway Receive Their First Ever Shipment Of Bananas,1905
#55
Early Morning Train, Japan, 1964
#56
Che Guevara And Fidel Castro Fishing, 1960
#57
East German Soldier Jumping Barbed-wire Fence 1961
Final score:
40points
#58
Street Life In London, 1876
DebbieBurton 11 years ago
By the looks of his shoes he would have been born with hip dysplasia. Glad they can do something about it these days.
AbiezerCelzo224352 11 years ago
everyone sees the man's shoes. but no one noticed how bizzare selling lozenges along the streets
#59
Broadway At The United States Hotel Saratoga Springs, N.y. Ca 1900-1915
CarrieConrad 11 years ago
I used to work as a bartender at the Old Bryan Inn, so this is especially poignant!
#60
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev As A Young Gentleman, 1986
AbiezerCelzo224352 11 years ago
He is more like having the glasses as his natural eyes. Goes with the facial emotion
#61
Arnold Schwarzenegger In New York For The First Time In 1968
AbiezerCelzo224352 11 years ago
How did he do selfie while looking up. Can't figure why he did this.
SebastianBeszczyński 11 years ago
Arni had his own camera, and somebody who was with had his camera, and took a picture of Arnold with it. Two people, two cameras, no selfies
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#62
Women At Work During Ww2, 1942
SimeonBerbatov 11 years ago
How is that "stepped on"?! Are you some r******d feminist? See? Ever before the 60s women were working.
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B. J. Moore 2 years ago
Men will NEVER see nor appreciate what women do and add to society!! Too busy making rules to enslave them. Seeking POWER, sex and $$$$!!
Shahid Suleman 9 years ago
This pic looks more like they're working on the Death Star than from the WW2 period.
#63
Interior Of A London Pub, 1898
Anthony Gudkov 5 years ago
I see it! Probably what Wilshere is doing himself nowadays
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#66
Children Exercising In A School-yard, 1900
MichaelDaRe 11 years ago
If children today were made to exercise today parents would try to sue the school for abuse...
Go Pierzch 11 years ago
Wtedy były szkoły dla chłopców i dziewczynek, a poza tym to szkoła w stoczni. Wówczas dziewczynki nie chodziły do takich szkół
Load More Replies... #67
Bondi Bay, Australia, C. 1900
#68
A Flight Simulator In 1942
genewilson 11 years ago
And to think that was enough for someone to say "ok I'm ready. Let's go 1000 feet high and I'll bring it down safely"
Shahid Suleman 9 years ago
Is Ryan Gosling training for the role of a fighter pilot along with Zayn Malik in his first film appearance? Lol
#69
Elton John At The Piano Bar Aboard His Private Plane, 1976
Darla Williams 11 years ago
I had that photo in one of many of my Elton John commemorative books. He was an important part of my years growing up. My preteen/teen idol.
#70
Elijah Wood & Macaulay Culkin, 1993
#71
Barack Obama With His Junior Varsity Basketball Team,
RoseMarieMorgan 11 years ago
Out of the 9 shown, 4 would be considered white. This is likely MORE culturally diverse given than today would be. Diversity means many represented
Load More Replies... #72
Cutting The Big Trees
Final score:
25points
BeniciodelPilitch 11 years ago
poor tree - it must have been around for hundreds of years ! :'(
#73
Django Reinhardt Plays For Duke Ellington .
Final score:
22points
#74
The Original Ronald Mcdonald, 1963
#75
The World's First Female Fighter Pilot
Final score:
21points
#76
An Injured Survivor Of The Hindenburg Smokes As He Is Carried To Safety, 6 May, 1937
Jude Samson 3 years ago
Always wondered why that moment happened to be caught on camera when it already did over 60 flights. Why did the news cameras just happen to be there this time in particular?
#77
People Swimming Around The Kaaba, The Holy Place Of The Muslims, After A Heavy Rain.
Final score:
14points
#78
Fifth Solvay International Conference
Final score:
12points
JosephGarza 11 years ago
Auguste Piccard, Emile Henriot, Paul Ehrenfest, Edouard Herzen, Theophile de Donder, Erwin Schrodinger, Jules-Emile Verschaffelt
JosephGarza 11 years ago
Arthur Compton, Louis de Broglie, Max Born, Niels Bohr, Irving Langmuir, Max Planck, Marie Curie, Hendrick Lorentz, Albert Einstein
JosephGarza 11 years ago
Wolfgang Pauli, Werner Heisenberg, Ralph H. Fowler, Leon Brillouin, Peter Debye, Martin Knudsen, William Bragg, Hans Kramers, Paul Dirac
#79
Russian Occupation, August 21st 1968; Venceslas Square, Prague, Czech Republic
Final score:
12points
#80
Unknow Finnish Soldiers After Sauna, Continuation War
Final score:
8points
HannaAro 10 years ago
No, it's a thing called vihta or vasta (birch whisk used in sauna) look it up. We don't use swimsuits in a sauna. Seriously, i would know, I'm finnish.
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#81
First Ever Elephant In Bulgaria, Named Nal, Intended For The Sofia Zoo, Used As A Cattle Here.
Final score:
8points
#82
"the Most Beautiful Suicide". Evelyn Mchale Jumped From The Empire State Building, 1947
Final score:
8points
#83
Debbie Reynols Entertains Troops In Korea 1954
Final score:
7points
#84
Louis And Lola,only Children To Be Rescued From Titanic (real Names:michel And Edmond Navratil)
Final score:
4points
Angel Pecica 5 years ago
That's incorrect... Millvina Dean (2 February 1912 – 31 May 2009) was the last survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on 15 April 1912. At two months old, she was also the youngest passenger aboard...
LaurentCampo 10 years ago
Not a correct description! There were many children that survived the Titanic disaster.
#85
First Picture Showing A Human Being. Paris, 1838
Final score:
2points
#86
Circus Hippo Pulling A Cart, 1924
Nancy Hodges 1 year ago
You have missed. two of my favorite photographs: the crying Frenchman watching German troops marching under the Arc de Tromphe and the crying baby is the ruins of Nanking after the Japanese. have come. I never see these photographs any where even though I can't seem to get them out of my mind.
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What do you think ?
NancyBowles 11 years ago
These are really great photos. Amazing to me that the high workers; painters, iron workers, etc. didn't even tie off up there in the air.
StewartPark 11 years ago
As the wee man in the long grass in Rowan & Martin tv show used to say "Very Interesting!"
NancyBowles 11 years ago
These are really great photos. Amazing to me that the high workers; painters, iron workers, etc. didn't even tie off up there in the air.
StewartPark 11 years ago
As the wee man in the long grass in Rowan & Martin tv show used to say "Very Interesting!"
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