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83 Fascinating Historical Photos That Tell Stories A Textbook Never Could (New Pics)
Learning human history can be a tricky thing; you’re most likely never going to learn everything there is to learn. In school, we only learn the broad strokes of the past, but throughout our lives, we have the opportunity to delve into history more deeply.
The largest history server on Discord, “World History,” is a community of enthusiasts “who live and breathe history.” They even have a dedicated subreddit where other corners of the Internet can come and see rare photographs and stories they might not have come across before — “Historycord.” Here is a selection of some interesting historical pics you, Pandas, can enjoy as well!
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Inner Mangolian Child - By Han Chengli (2003)
RELATED:
#2
Princess Alexandrine Irene Of Prussia (1915 – 1980) The Oldest Daughter And Fifth Child Of Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, And Cecilie Of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. She Was Born With Down Syndrome But Adored And Never Hidden By Her Family
#3
Korean War Marine With His Kitten
When you really think about it, what is history to you, Pandas? Is it just a bunch of dates and events that happened in the past when you weren’t even alive? Or do you look at history through a more personal lens: the sum of all the people who came before — their stories, photographs, and personal connection to you?
Some people may claim that there is no use in learning history — there’s no practical application to what you learn. Yet, historians would beg to differ. And so would many people in general, at least according to this poll by the American Historical Association and Farleigh Dickinson University. 84% of respondentss in the national survey said history is just as valuable as other fields of study.
#4
A British Blacksmith On Hms Sphinx Removing The Leg Irons, 1907
#5
Written In 1918 By An Anonymous Suffragette
#6
Ella Fitzgerald Sitting In A Houston Jail Cell After She Was Arrested For Singing To An Integrated Audience, 1955
Marnie 16 hours ago (edited)
You know, I was born in the late 60s. And I never knew about Jim Crow and all that c**p and how racist some people still were until I was in my 20s!! I knew slavery had ended in the 19th century and thought it was just all fixed at that point. I knew some people were "prejudiced" still, but beyond that, I didn't know. My next door neighbors were black and we were good friends with them. My much older sister married a man who was part black in the 70s and I never heard anyone mention it. (It didn't occur to me that it was anything to think about until I was in my 20s.) They should have taught about Jim Crow and all of that in school. Then again, I got exactly one year of history (and it was just American history) in school and they barely went past the 1920s.
If you were to ask a historian what history really is, they would probably say it’s a field that offers explanations about the past. However, the public has a different view: two-thirds of the respondents in the study saw it as a mix of dates, names, and events. Americans seem more interested in the “what” of history and less in the “why,” especially as they focus on what they were not taught in the classroom.
The sources that people get their history from nowadays are also somewhat surprising. Instead of standard sources like museums, history books, and higher education institutions, many people get their history from video formats — documentaries, fictional movies, and news on TV.
But we shouldn’t sell people short: many view these sources critically, as films and TV shows ranked lowest in trustworthiness despite being the most popular sources.
#7
The Inquiring Photographer Asks: Do You Approve Of Parents Turning A Daughter Out Of Their Home Who Has Had A Child Out Of Wedlock? June 1925
barkbark25 1 day ago
I like these responses. My mom was of the opinion that an unwed daughter should be thrown out and declared d**d to the family. I ended up not having children at all.
#8
A Bedouin Woman From Tunisia In 1907
#9
Negotiations Between The Zoo Director And Escaped Chimpanzee. Belgrade, 1988
Americans are also quite skeptical about how their children are taught history at school. According to a 2025 national survey from the Driving Force Institute for Public Engagement (DFI), only 15% of U.S. adults agree that public schools are doing “an excellent job” of teaching U.S. history, and 43% think they’re doing a bad job.
DFI President and CEO Patrick Richards called this a crisis point. He explained that learning history is vital to a nation's economy and civil society, and people’s attitudes toward teaching American history in public schools signal a worrying trend. “We are seeing that history is viewed as uninteresting, irrelevant, and poorly taught,” he said.
#10
One Of 16 Million "Mercy Dogs" Training To Recover Injured Soldiers,1917
Ace 21 hours ago (edited)
The 16 million refers to estimates of the total number of animals used by the armed forces of all sides through the First World War, including camels, pigeons, donkeys, mules and horses. The latter 3 equines were by far the greater in number, probably over 95% of the total, while total dogs, most of which were not used for the purpose shown here, probably only around 50,000 (0.03% ) or less.
#11
In November 1990, Life Magazine Published A Photo Of David Kirby Being Comforted By His Father. The Photo Is Considered To Have Changed The Face Of AIDS
#12
Young Iranian Woman Handing Out Anti-Shah Regime Manifesto In Tehran, 1979
Professor Peter N. Stearns of George Mason University has said that learning history is vital to the health of any society and nation. In his 1998 essay “Why Study History?” he posits two fundamental reasons:
- to better understand people and societies,
- and to better understand change and how our society came to be.
#13
Case Report Of Brooklyn Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Children 1903-04
#14
Photobooth Shot Of A Mixed Couple, 1950s
#15
Brigitte Helm As A Robot On The Set Of Metropolis, 1927
“A study of history is essential for good citizenship, both to one’s country and within a global community,” Stearns wrote. “History highlights the emergence of national institutions, problems, and values ... It offers evidence also about how America has interacted with other societies, and what that means for us today as citizens. Studying history also encourages habits of mind that are vital for responsible public behavior, whether as a national or community leader, an informed voter, a petitioner, or a simple observer.”
#16
A Former Prisoner Points Out The Most Brutal Guard. Germany, 1945
Der Kommissar 16 hours ago
The guards who stayed behind were executed by troops or k****d by the inmates
#17
Tintype Of A Gentlemen Posing With His Daughter, Circa 1870s
#18
Mexican Federal Soldier Says Goodbye To His Daughter At The Train Station Before Going To War, During The Mexican Revolution, 1915
“Why study history? The answer is because we virtually must, to gain access to the laboratory of human experience,” was Stearns’ concluding thought. Why do you think we need to these types of photographs, Pandas, and reflect on what has happened in the past? Share your thoughts with us in the comments! And to see even more fascinating historical pics from “HistoryCord,” check out our previous publications here and here!
#20
Anne Frank's Father Otto, Revisiting The Attic Where They Hid. He Was The Only Surviving Family Member. 1960
#21
Pilot Victor Vizcarra, After Being Evacuated From A Jungle Landing Site. After Being Hit And Ejecting, His Flame-Engulfed F-105 Fighter-Bomber Passed Beneath Him As He Parachuted And Crashed Into A Mountain. Vietnam War, 1966
#22
In The Fierce Battles Of Iwo Jima In March 1945, Pvt. Francis M. Hall Kneels Alongside His Faithful Doberman Pinscher, "Rascal”
#23
A Woman In The 1950s Standing Next To A Redwood Tree
Elladine DesIsles 1 day ago
I have photos of my mother as a toddler among the redwoods, in 1950. She and my grandparents were traveling from Edmonton to Pasadena for my grandfather to attend graduate school.
#24
The Gymnasium On The Titanic's Deck, 1912
Michael Largey 12 hours ago
No sign of rowing machines. Practice on them would have come in handy later.
#25
Willie Nelson With His Beloved Grandmother Nancy. She And Grandfather Alfred Stepped Up To Raise He And His Sister As Their Parents Took Off When Willie Was Infant
#26
When Dad Tried Doing Mom’s Work For A Weekend: A 1956 Life Photo Essay
Forrest Hobbs 13 hours ago
Okay. Do NOT lift a baby by one arm like that, not even for the sake of a humorous photo. You run a high risk of popping apart the underdeveloped elbow joint and that's only *one* of the risks of harm.
#27
The Zenith Space Commander (1950s/60s). One Of The First TV Remotes That Didn’t Need Batteries. It Used Ultrasonic Sound Produced By Hitting Aluminum Rods With A Small Hammer Inside The Device
Michael Largey 12 hours ago
We had an early remote that worked on air pressure. You squeezed a bulb connected by an air tube to the TV.
#28
On June 14th, 1941, The Soviets Began Mass Deportations In Estonia, Latvia, And Lithuania. Over 130k People Were Forced Out Of Their Homes & Taken To Siberia Until 1953
#30
Three Ladies Walking On Streets Of Saigon Vietnam 1960s
#33
Last Image Of Simo Häyhä, A Finnish WWII Veteran And The Best Sniper Of All Time, Before His Passing At The Age Of 96 In 2002
#34
Teens Protest The Arrival Of The Horace Baker Family, The First African American Family In All White Delmar Village Folcroft, Pennsylvania, 30 Of August 1963
#35
Chinese American With A Note That Says He Is Chinese, Not Japanese, To Avoid Harrasment At Work, 1940s
Forrest Hobbs 13 hours ago
Chinese, Japanese (I'm not going to finish the rhyme 🤨 dirty knees...) - either way, people are people, just like all of us. I really can't be doing with any sort of xenophobia.
#36
A German Student Taking Part In A Racial Education Class, Germany, 1943
#39
Japanese-American Family, Saitama, Japan, 1947
#41
Tatiana Nikolaevna, Tsar Nicholas II’s 2nd Daughter Photographed At Age 17 In 1914
#43
Life In Little Italy, New York, Early 1900s
#44
In 1982, Susie Phipps-Guillory Sued Louisiana To Be Legally Considered White After Learning Her Birth Certificate Said “Colored” Because She Was 3/32 Black. She Lost And The State Refused To Change Her Birth Certificate
T'Mar of Vulcan 16 hours ago
South African ID numbers (kind of like American social security numbers) used to use the last 3 digits to identify your 'race'. When I renewed my ID in 2003 they crossed out the original numbers and changed them. ... It took another 23 years for the change of ID number to be reflected on my payslip. That's the Education Department for you!
#45
Glass Negative Of A Family With Their 5 Children, 25 Of May 1919
#46
“Nurses Of A Field Hospital Who Arrived In France Via England And Egypt After Three Years Service." August 12, 1944
#47
As Fellow Troopers Aid Wounded Buddies, A Paratrooper Of A Company, 101st Airborne, Guides A Medical Evacuation Helicopter Through The Jungle Foliage To Pick Up Casualties During A Five-Day Patrol Of An Area Southwest Of Hue, South Vietnam, April 1968
#48
American Marines Use A Flamethrower In The Vietnam War, 1967
#49
A Soldier Specializing In Grenade Combat In Quang Nam Is Waiting For The Enemy To Appear (Quang Nam Is A Central Province Of The Republic Of Vietnam)
#50
Glass Negative Double Shot Of A Young Lady, Circa 1890s
#51
The First Years After The War. Life In Italy In The Late 40s - Early 50s
Forrest Hobbs 12 hours ago
Nah, nah, nah, that's not Italy in the early 1950s - 'cos that' Freddie Mercury in the early 1980s, surely? 😉🤣
#52
60 Yr Old And His Family Of 3. 1946, Kentucky
#53
Croatian Ustaše Guards Ordering A Jewish Man To Remove His Ring Upon His Arrival At Jasenovac Concentration Camp, Yugoslavia, 1941-1942
Der Kommissar 15 hours ago
Croatian, Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian nazis immigrated to the USA, lying on their applications.
#54
German Empire Soldiers Posing For Their Photo, 1900s
Forrest Hobbs 12 hours ago
Well, the Germans didn't k1ll *all* the black people they ruled... Links follow. Herero and Nama gen0cide etc.
#55
US Paratroopers Train Outside Of Panama City During The US Invasion Of Panama, 1990
#56
An Iranian Child Soldier During The Iran-Iraq War, 1980s
Lyuben Petkov 18 hours ago
In this war Saddam Hussein is an ally of USA and NATO and heavily supplied by NATO weapons
#57
German Non-Commissioned Officer (Nco) Of The Colonial Schutztruppe Forces Alongside An East African Woman Around 1910 In German East Africa
#58
Antoine Dubuclet Jr., A Wealthy Black Sugar Planter, Served As Louisiana’s First Black Treasurer
#59
War Couple Posing For Their Studio Photo, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Circa 1940s
Forrest Hobbs 12 hours ago
They both look so young. Well, some sailors came back from war... 🥺
#60
Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi Holding A Falcon. I Couldn't Find The Date Of The Photo
#62
Stalin's Mugshot From The Files Of The Tsarist Police In St. Petersburg, 1911
persephone134 14 hours ago
He was very handsome as a young man. (Check out the Wikipedia page with pictures of him from 1902.)
#63
The Platt Family Case: White Family Labeled As Black By White Sheriff In 1955
#64
Frederick Douglass And Wife Helen Pitts At Niagara Falls, 1884
Forrest Hobbs 12 hours ago
If you don't know about Frederick Douglass, look him up. Total legend.
#65
Lt. Audie Murphy Was The Most Decorated U.S. Solider In World War II
#67
Two Soldiers Of The Brazilian Expeditionary Force Lunch On Top Of A M8 Greyhound Armoured Car, 1944
#68
1931 Cast Of The Famous Comedy Shorts Our Gang (Later Known As The Little Rascals) Posing Alongside Their Real-Life Mothers
#69
A Polish Woman Holding A Photo Of Her Husband At The Opening Of A Katyn Memorial In London, 1976
#70
Marie Azelie Haydel, The Last Owner Of Whitney Plantation, And One Of Her House Girls
Forrest Hobbs 12 hours ago
That's Marie Azelie Haydel: one of Lousiana's most notorious sl@ve-owners, responsible for the indescribable suffering of enormous numbers of human beings whom she and the law viewed as nothing more than chattels, alongside one of her powerless victims. 'Marie Haydel was one of Louisiana's largest slaveholders by the time she died in 1860.' Link follows.
#71
Haitian Dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier And His Wife Michèle Bennett On The Way To The Airport To Flee Haiti After A Popular Uprising, 1986
#72
Joseph Stalin, His Henchman Lavrentiy Beria, Stalin's Daughter Svetlana (In Beria's Lap) And Abkhaz SSR Leader Nestor Lakoba, 1931
#75
Dec.1943. An Italian Family Sits Down To Dinner In Tarrytown, New York As Documented By Eliot Elisofon A Life Magazine Contributor. The Photo On The Wall Is Of A Son Kia During The Invasion Of Sicily
#76
Col. Robert Gould Shaw, Commander Of The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, Made Famous By The Movie “Glory” In 1989. This Photo Was Taken In May 1863, About 3 Months After Assuming Command Of The 54th And A Week Or So Before They Shipped Out From Boston To Beaufort, SC. He Was 25 Years Only Old
#77
81 Years Ago Today, American Gis Rest Behind An M5 Stuart Tank Near Germersheim, Germany. (March 25, 1945)
#78
A U.S. Army Air Force B-25b Mitchell Bomber, One Of 16 Involved In The Doolittle Raid, Takes Off From The Flight Deck Of The Yorktown-Class Aircraft Carrier Uss Hornet (Cv-8) For An Air Raid On The Japanese Home Islands, On April 18, 1942
Forrest Hobbs 12 hours ago
Those planes could take off from an aircraft carrier. They couldn't land on one. Link follows.
#80
This Week In 1945: A Gi Of The 4th Infantry Division Dug Into His Position On A Hillside Overlooking The Prum Valley As The Division Pushed Ever Closer To The Rhine River. The Village In The Background Is Weinsheim
#81
Lt. Cmdr. Gerald R. Pearson Displaying The “Spoils Of War” After The Battle Of Iwo Jima, March 1945
#82
"Teamwork: Riflemen Draw Sights On A Jap Hillside Position As A Flame-Throwing Tank Shoots A Tongue Of Flame At The Enemy. This Photo Was Found In The Camera Of A Wounded Combat Photographer." Okinawa, May 11, 1945. (Usmc Archive Photograph And Original Caption)
#83
Auschwitz Guards Having A Day Off
Michael Largey 12 hours ago (edited)
"One may smile, and smile, and be a villain" - William Shakespeare, "Hamlet" Or worse.
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What do you think ?
JoNo 22 hours ago
There will come a time when there are no more historical photos that have not been seen before. From this post, it seems that time is coming sooner than I thought.
Papa 13 hours ago
Really? There were only a rew here that I remember seeing before.
Load More Replies... JoNo 22 hours ago
There will come a time when there are no more historical photos that have not been seen before. From this post, it seems that time is coming sooner than I thought.
Papa 13 hours ago
Really? There were only a rew here that I remember seeing before.
Load More Replies...
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