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113 Photographs That Show The Sad, Beautiful, And Sometimes Horrific History Of Humanity
Photos have a quiet magic to them… they can pull us out of the present and drop us into another moment in an instant.
This feeling is even stronger when we look at historic pictures taken across different eras and places.
Some of the moments feel so familiar — for example, we all can relate to a mirror selfie that was taken by a couple in the 1920s in Japan. But at the same time, some moments remind us of such strange times — for example, we will never fully understand what a soldier felt while embracing his baby after returning from World War 2.
Let’s travel back in time a bit, and check out this treasure trove from the Hatcher History Instagram page that reveals glimpses from the past.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
A Photo Of Dame Daphne Sheldrick In 1960, At The Orphan Elephant Sanctuary She Set Up In The 1950s, In The Karen District Of Nairobi, Kenya
Toujin C'Thlu 3 hours ago
This sanctuary is still around, and does great work. Look up Sheldrick Trust
RELATED:
#2
A Couple Take A Selfie, In The Reflection Of A Mirror, Japan, 1920s
#3
A Photo Of Nikolai Machulyak, A Russian Arctic Explorer Feeding A Polar Bear And Her Cubs, Off The Coast Of Chukchi Sea, 1976
Multa Nocte 4 hours ago
I like how the cub is nibbling on his leg and he is just so nonchalant about it.
If you can relate even a little, history classes in school used to put me to sleep and all those dates and endless text were really hard to follow. So to keep myself awake, I’d try to lose myself in the blurry images in my textbook and try to make sense of the past in my own way.
That’s why I always believe that photos are a powerful medium to understand history. They bring moments, places and people to life with such clarity that words alone can’t convey.
#4
A Little Girl With Her Pet , Portugal, 1950s
#5
The Last Man Is Taken Off A Shipwrecked Trawler, Off The Coast Of Southern England, 1962
#6
Nothing A Cup Of Tea Won’t Make More Bearable: Blitz London, June 1940
Mel 2 hours ago
I don't know the story behind this picture, but it reminds me of what my grandma told me - it was the simplest things you sought out for comfort. Whenever she was afraid as a kid at the time (she was born in 1938), she used to hide under a blanket and read books (series called Gabra a Málinka, to be specific). Not comparable, but I still have them and read them when I need comfort.
Photos also capture emotions of people which makes us relate a bit more to their experiences.
Much of the emotional and visual context would be lost if we had no photographic evidence capturing the horrors of different wars, or the iconic moments like the suffrage movements or civil rights protests.
They highlighted moments of joy, sadness and victory, letting us connect with events on both personal and social levels.
#7
A Market Girl Shows Off Her Wares, By The Sea, Netherlands, 1940s
#8
A Very Unique Photo Of The Regional Dress For Ladies In Navarre, Spain, And Particularly From The Town Of Ochagavía, Deep In The Basque Region, On The French Border
#9
A Soldier Of The French Foreign Legion's, During The Algerian War, Rescuing A Baby Donkey Found On The Battlefield. He Or She Was Then Adopted And Named Bambi, July Or August 1958
Some photos also help preserve cultural practices, and can act as primary historical sources when understood with context and caution.
Even everyday life and social norms from the past are preserved thanks to portraits and images from our history.
Street scenes that show the fashion of the time, or the early Victorians who were the first generation to see themselves through the camera lens — some pictures show social classes and living conditions from the past that we refer to even today.
#10
A Youngster Practises Her Ballet, On A Rainy Day In Balsall Heath, Birmingham, England, 1968
#11
A Brave Little 3-Year-Old, Eileen Dunne, Sits In Bed With Her Doll At Great Ormond Street Hospital, After Being Injured During An Air Raid On London, During The Blitz Of London By The Luftwaffe, In September, 1940
Multa Nocte 4 hours ago
It's always terrible when the little ones get caught in the squabbles of adults.
#12
This Footprint Captures The Moment, Over 4,000 Years Ago, When Someone Stepped Barefoot On A Mud Brick Left To Dry In The Sun, 2000bc, In The City Of Ur, Mesopotamia
Several pictures here show everyday life that can help us understand the social norms from the past — be it the fashion of the time, the way people worked or how they spent their free time.
Some pictures reveal the social classes and living conditions from the past which historians still refer to today.
For example, experts study studio portraits of wealthy families from the Victorian era and compare them with street scenes of the poor, to understand the stark differences in clothing, housing, and lifestyle at that time.
#13
A Beaming New Dad Is Pictured Giving His Newborn Child Thumbs-Up From Outside A Window. Soviet Union 1977
Following a long convention, maternity wards typically enforced strict separation between mothers, newborns, and visiting family.
Credit: archaeo adventure
#14
A Soldier Returning From War, Meets His Child For The First Time, Location Unknown, Ww2
Jerome Lenovo 4 hours ago (edited)
[joking mode ON] back from three years of war, he finally meets his one year old son [joking mode OFF]
While clicking away on their cameras, photographers do much more than just document memories. They capture stories that future generations might one day study.
“We capture images that will someday become part of history in some small way. Whether we mean to or not, as photographers, we become historians as well,” photographer Lawrence Lazare writes in the Medium.
“That is why we document the world around us, so we can pass along our images to others when those photos are needed most,” he adds.
#16
This Is A Mugshot Of 12 Year Old Jane Farrell, Sentenced To 10 Days Of Hard Labour, For The Theft Of A Pair Of Boots, Served At Newcastle Gaol, North Of England, 1874
#17
Recycling In London, During The War, Out Of Necessity, Hornsey, London, England, 1943
#18
A Photo Of Stunned And Disoriented Birds, During The Total Solar Eclipse, Taken In Chiapas, Mexico, July 1991
Many pictures here also show the history of specific people, some we know and some we won’t ever read about in history books.
They are remarkable because they tell us so many different stories, and they let us feel what life was really like for people in the past.
Everyday experiences and lifestyle such as clothes, expressions of kids, and interactions between people — all these images bring past lives to life.
#19
A Portrait Of Life In London’s Famous Portobello Road, London, 1954
#20
A Group Of Orphans In Their Winter Coats, With A Nun From Margaret House, Hammersmith, London, 1929
#21
A Young Girl Looks After Her Baby Sister, In The Poverty Of Cholera Ravaged Streets Of Spitalfields, In The East End Of London, 1886
#22
A Pair Of Roman Shoes Discovered During The Excavation Of A Maritime Site At Thérouanne, Pas-De-Calais, Northern France, 2023
#23
A Beautiful Portrait Of A Sicilian Fisherman, Brooding About His Days At Sea, Sicily, Italy, 1870
#24
After The Berlin Wall Was Put Up By The Communists, A Family In West Berlin Show Their Children To Their Grandparents Stuck In East Berlin, 1961
#25
A Photograph Of An Italian Lady In Front Of The Colosseum, Rome, Italy, Taken In 1897
#26
The Rear-Front Memorial, A Bronze And Granite Monument Erected In Steel City Of Magnitogorsk, Russia, Sculpted By Lev Golovnitsky, In 1979
Multa Nocte 4 hours ago
The statue on the left looks like Clark Kent. Wait - sorry - no glasses. I mean Superman.
#27
Portrait Of A Sicilian Girl, Italy, Early 20th Century
#28
A Little Girl Collecting Water, Sardinia, Italy, 1954
#29
Hms Vidal Riding The Crest Of A Wave, Durian The Second World War, 1940
#32
An Artist In The Rain Paints, With The Sacre Coeur In The Background, Paris, France, 1946
#33
A Little Girl With A Grizzly Bear, Location Unknown, Mid 20th Century
#34
Irish Children Sit Outside And Eat Potatoes And Milk With Their Grandmother , Location Unknown, Ireland, 1915
#36
Two Nannies With Their Charges, London, 1950s
#37
The World’s Oldest Surviving Toy, Dating Back To The Chalcolithic Period Around 5500-3000 Bc, Is Exhibited At The Mardin Museum, Turkey
#38
A Suffragette Is Arrested In A Park, London, C1910
#39
Female Pilots From The British Air Transport Auxiliary (Ata), Recruited To Work As Ferry Pilots And Deliver Military Airplanes From Factories To Aerodromes In World War II, England, 1939-45
#41
The Discovery Of The Ancient Statue Of Antinous, Which Was Dug Up At A Site In Delphi, Greece, During An Excavation In 1894
#42
A Farmer In Central France Surveys His Domain, C1961
#43
A Lady Plays A Game Of Petang/Petanque, In The South Of France, 1970s
#44
Fisherman In Sou’westers, Off The Coast Of Cornwall, England, Early 20th Century
#45
A Mother And Daughter Watch A Tall Ship Navigate The Thames In London, 1880
Multa Nocte 4 hours ago
I forgot that London used to look quite manky back in the day, like any large city.
#46
This Photo Of The 17 Year Old Helen Konek Walking Into Her Igloo In Arviat, Nunavut In February 1949
#47
An Mother And Child, Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico, USA, Early 20th Century
#48
A Lifeboat Launched From The St. Mark And St. Agnes Races To Save Lives, After The Arden Craig, A Three-Masted Wheat Ship From Melbourne, Australia, Crashed Into Rocks After The Captain Became Disoriented In The Fog
#49
A Portrait Shot Of An Athletic Couple Called Jura And Vera, Photographed In The 1930s Yugoslavia
#50
Italians Queue To View The Nemi Ships Of Emperor Caligula’s, Which Were Elaborate Floating Palaces Containing Quantities Of Marble, Mosaic Floors, Heating, And Plumbing
They were rediscovered in the 1930s but destroyed by a fire during WW2.
Hippopotamuses 4 hours ago
Such a loss. I studied classics at varsity, and without seeing this picture, I could not have believed the scale of these ships.
#51
A Picture Of Orphan Children Homed By The Charity Run By Dr. Barnardo, London, England, 1880s
Multa Nocte 4 hours ago
The child at the top left looks like he could be related to King Charles. This photo breaks my heart.
#54
The Mildred, Shipwrecked On The Rocks Around Gurnards Head, Cornwall, 1912, On A Journey From Newport To London Carrying Slag
#56
A Youngster Braves It Out During The Blitz On London, With His Teddy Bear, 1940-41. The Capital Was To Endure Over Seventy Nits Of German Bombs
#57
Anne Frank’s Father Otto, Revists The Attic Entrance Where He And His Family Hid For Two Long Years, Before They’re Betrayal, Amsterdam, In The Netherlands, May 1960
#58
Trying Out A Fake Tree Observation Post, On The Northern End Of The Trenches That Ran From The English Channel To Switzerland, That We Call The Western Front,
#59
A Roman Ship, Made From English Oak, Uncovered In 1910, On The South Bank Of The Thames During The Construction Of County Hall
#60
A Nursery Run Out Of East London, England, In 1911
Huddo's sister 2 hours ago
I didn't realise they ran nurseries like this then. I thought it was all private ones in wealthy families and if needed working class children were just left with family or neighbours. I suppose it could be in an orphanage, but they look too well cared for. Interesting photo to see.
#61
A Chimney Sweep Goes About His Business, Frankfurt, Germany, 1947
#62
An Elderly Italian Lady Takes A Rest, In An Alley In Her Village, Italy, 1960s
#63
Soviet Peasants Listen To The Radio For The First Time, Ussr, 1928, The Year That Stalin Became Dictator Having Won A Bitter Leadership Battle, Following The Death Of Lenin In 1924
#64
An Apprentice Son Learns His Craft From His Father, In A Cobbler’s Shop, Italy, Mid 19th Century.m
#65
Henry Worsley, The British Explorer Who Lost His Life In 2016, Attempting A Solitary Trek Across Antarctica
#66
Federico Caprilli Demonstrates The Skills Of His Horse As Part Of The Esteemed Italian Cavalry School, 1906
Multa Nocte 4 hours ago
Nasty thing to put a horse through, since the horse would probably bear the brunt of a fall.
#67
A Photo Entitled, Sibling Love, Chicago, USA, 1945
#68
A Beautiful Daguerreotype Of A Smiling Father And Child, Location Unknown, 1856
Hippopotamuses 4 hours ago
Fortunately the bub didn't move too much. Apparently exposures averaged from 3-8 seconds at this time.
#69
A Flying Saucer Photographed At A Junkyard In New Mexico, USA, 1962
#71
Checking The Sketch As Preparation For A Back Tattoo, France, 1950
#72
Charlie Chaplin On Wall Street, Celebrating Victory Over Imperial Germany, 1918
Hippopotamuses 4 hours ago (edited)
Wow. This feted lifestyle was going to change when Joe McCarthy arrived on the scene.
#73
A Bulgarian Bride And Groom On Their Wedding Day, From The Sofia Region, Bulgaria 1893
#75
Ava Gardner, At The Age Of 19, In 1942
#76
A Colorized Picture Of Three Girls Working As Oyster Shuckers, In South Carolina, USA, 1912
#77
A Coke Delivery Truck, Location Unknown, USA, 1909
#78
A Picture Of The Fishing Boat “New England”, Covered In Ice, British Columbia, Canada, 1911
Multa Nocte 4 hours ago
Reminds me of the scene from one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
#79
A Photo Of Laura Petty, A Six-Year Old Berry Picker, On Jenkins Farm, In Maryland, 1909
#80
A Little Boy All Dressed Up, New York City, USA, 1949
#82
In 1925, Diphtheria Affected An Isolated Village In Alaska
The Norwegian Gunnar Kasen and his main dog Balto were the first to bring the serum to the village, through a snowstorm. For his courage, Balto had a monument of himself erected in New York’s Central Park.
#84
A Photo Of Some Down Time, At Women’s Prison, Then Still Segregated, New Orleans, USA, 1963
#85
A Pensive American Soldier Cradles A Puppy, Vietnam War, 1965
#86
Marilyn Monroe Visiting An Injured American Soldier, Evacuated To Japan From Operations On The Korean War, 1954
Multa Nocte 4 hours ago
I expect that brightened his day as much as was possible in his horrifying circumstance.
#88
Survivors From The 87th Floor Of The World Trade Center (North Tower) Wandering In The Dust After The Collapse Of The South Tower, New York City, September 11, 2001
#89
5-Year Old Harold Walker, Who Was Employed To Pick 20 Pounds Of Cotton A Day. Oklahoma, USA, 1916
Jerome Lenovo 4 hours ago
isn't capitalism great ? when slavery became illegal they made kids work /s
#90
A Civil War Veteran In A Photo Surrounded By His Grandchildren, In 1900
#91
An Oldish Couple, Perhaps Sharecroppers, Happy With Their Lot, From The Beginning Of The Last Century, Exact Location Unknown, But From The American South
#93
Photo Booth: Jfk With Future Wife Jackie During Their Dating Days
#94
A Young Boy Stops To Be Photographed, While Picking Hops, Yakima Valley, Washington, USA, 1939
BioMom 3 hours ago (edited)
Multa Nocte- You are going to give yourself a stroke!
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#95
Jack Bonavita, A Circus Lion Tamer, Pictured With His Animals At A Show In New York, 1910: He Was Attacked And Killed By A Polar Bear He Had Tamed, One Has To Say Not Very Well, In 1917
Multa Nocte 4 hours ago
Gosh, who EVER might think that this could potentially maybe somehow happen?
#96
A Photo Of General High Brady Taken When He Was In His 80s, In The Late 1840s. The Good General Was Born In 1768, When The Us Were British Colonies And George III Was Still King
One of the oldest born persons ever to be photographed.
#97
Some Kids In Dust Bowl America, In The Great Depression Of The 1930s
#99
Jeeps Abandoned In A Field, Somewhere In Liberated Europe, At The End Of World War II, Summer Of 1945
#100
A Us Army Chaplain Helps An Old Vietnamese Lady To Safety, In The Heat Of The Tet Offensive, Vietnam, 1968
#101
The Meeting Point Of The Pacific And Atlantic Oceans: Their Water Do Not Mix, A Phenomenon Based On The Difference In The Composition Of Each Ocean’s Water
#102
Japanese Child Soldiers Of The Tekketsu Kinnōtai Are Interviewed By Us Military, On The Island Of Okinawa, Japan, 1945
#104
A Promotion Photo Of 22-Year-Old Wasp (Women’s Airforce Service Pilot) Pilot, Shirley Slade, Who Was Employed In The War To Deliver Planes To The Us Military For Deployment, All Over America, 1943
Tea Drinker 38 minutes ago
Not according to Pig Hegseth and the orange a****t. Nope. No women or blacks or anyone who wasn't a white man. Gotta erase those "lies".
#105
A Photo Of A Rest Stop For Geronimo And Other Apache Leaders After Their Surrender Ended The Apache Wars, 1886
They are on a Southern Pacific Railway train, near Nueces River, in San Antonio, Texas, en route to exile in Florida.
Multa Nocte 3 hours ago
Oh God - being exiled to Florida would be a fate worse than death for me. ;-)
#106
Sergeant Alvin C .york, A Famous American Soldier Of WW1 Being Greeted By His Mother On His Return Home To Pall Mall, Tennessee, 1919
Multa Nocte 3 hours ago
The 1941 movie "Sergent York" with Gary Cooper is always fun to watch.
#107
A Studio Portrait Of A Young Woman, Location Unknown, Late 1800s
#108
Kids Playing Together, Nebraska, USA, 1910
#109
A Couple Of Sisters Enjoying The End Of The Day, In The Mid 20th Century, Locale Unknown, USA
#110
A Photo Portrait Of Mark Twain With His Friend, John T. Lewis, Who Was Born A Free Man In Maryland And Who Had Migrated To Upstate New York, 1903
#112
Suffer The Children Unto Us: Christmas Dinner In Home Of Earl Pauley Near Smithfield, Iowa. Dinner Consisted Of Potatoes, Cabbage And Pie, December 1936
#113
A Photo Of The Famous Harlem Debutante Ball, Held At The Renaissance Ballroom, The Renny"), Located At 7th Avenue And 138th Street In Harlem, New York City
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