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83 Rare Photos From History Capturing The Unbelievable Moments That Still Blow Us Away (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
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#1
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 As Was The Custom Of Her Time
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#2
Inner Mangolian Child - By Han Chengli (2003)
#3
Ella Fitzgerald Sitting In A Houston Jail Cell After She Was Arrested For Singing To An Integrated Audience, 1955
barkbark25 14 hours ago
Very sad, but she won the war. I couldn't afford a ticket, but I saw her all over TV.
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
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
#5
Negotiations Between The Zoo Director And Escaped Chimpanzee. Belgrade, 1988
#6
One Of 16 Million "Mercy Dogs" Training To Recover Injured Soldiers,1917
Ace 7 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.
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
Young Iranian Woman Handing Out Anti-Shah Regime Manifesto In Tehran, 1979
#8
Korean War Marine With His Kitten
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
Brigitte Helm As A Robot On The Set Of Metropolis, 1927
#12
A Former Prisoner Points Out The Most Brutal Guard. Germany, 1945
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
A British Blacksmith On Hms Sphinx Removing The Leg Irons, 1907
#14
Anne Frank's Father Otto, Revisiting The Attic Where They Hid. He Was The Only Surviving Family Member. 1960
#15
Mexican Federal Soldier Says Goodbye To His Daughter At The Train Station Before Going To War, During The Mexican Revolution, 1915
“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
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 14 hours 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.
“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
Case Report Of Brooklyn Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Children 1903-04
#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
#23
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
Lyuben Petkov 3 hours ago
Not "deportation" but evacuation : due to N*zi Germany atacked the USSR
#24
Chinese American With A Note That Says He Is Chinese, Not Japanese, To Avoid Harrasment At Work, 1940s
#25
A German Student Taking Part In A Racial Education Class, Germany, 1943
#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
#28
Three Ladies Walking On Streets Of Saigon Vietnam 1960s
#30
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
#31
In The Fierce Battles Of Iwo Jima In March 1945, Pvt. Francis M. Hall Kneels Alongside His Faithful Doberman Pinscher, "Rascal”
#32
Glass Negative Of A Family With Their 5 Children, 25 Of May 1919
ScarletRos 10 hours ago
The parents look really old but they’re probably only in their thirties.
#33
A Woman In The 1950s Standing Next To A Redwood Tree
Elladine DesIsles 14 hours 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.
#36
60 Yr Old And His Family Of 3. 1946, Kentucky
#37
Croatian Ustaše Guards Ordering A Jewish Man To Remove His Ring Upon His Arrival At Jasenovac Concentration Camp, Yugoslavia, 1941-1942
Der Kommissar 1 hour ago
Croatian, Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian nazis immigrated to the USA, lying on their applications.
#43
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
#44
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
#45
Life In Little Italy, New York, Early 1900s
#46
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 1 hour 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!
#47
“Nurses Of A Field Hospital Who Arrived In France Via England And Egypt After Three Years Service." August 12, 1944
#48
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
#49
American Marines Use A Flamethrower In The Vietnam War, 1967
#50
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)
#51
An Iranian Child Soldier During The Iran-Iraq War, 1980s
Lyuben Petkov 3 hours ago
In this war Saddam Hussein is an ally of USA and NATO and heavily supplied by NATO weapons
#52
Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi Holding A Falcon. I Couldn't Find The Date Of The Photo
#53
The Platt Family Case: White Family Labeled As Black By White Sheriff In 1955
#56
German Empire Soldiers Posing For Their Photo, 1900s
#58
US Paratroopers Train Outside Of Panama City During The US Invasion Of Panama, 1990
#59
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
#60
Lt. Audie Murphy Was The Most Decorated U.S. Solider In World War II
#61
Joseph Stalin, His Henchman Lavrentiy Beria, Stalin's Daughter Svetlana (In Beria's Lap) And Abkhaz SSR Leader Nestor Lakoba, 1931
#62
Glass Negative Double Shot Of A Young Lady, Circa 1890s
#63
Two Soldiers Of The Brazilian Expeditionary Force Lunch On Top Of A M8 Greyhound Armoured Car, 1944
#64
1931 Cast Of The Famous Comedy Shorts Our Gang (Later Known As The Little Rascals) Posing Alongside Their Real-Life Mothers
#65
German Non-Commissioned Officer (Nco) Of The Colonial Schutztruppe Forces Alongside An East African Woman Around 1910 In German East Africa
#68
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
#69
Antoine Dubuclet Jr., A Wealthy Black Sugar Planter, Served As Louisiana’s First Black Treasurer
#75
A Polish Woman Holding A Photo Of Her Husband At The Opening Of A Katyn Memorial In London, 1976
#77
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
#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
#79
Lt. Cmdr. Gerald R. Pearson Displaying The “Spoils Of War” After The Battle Of Iwo Jima, March 1945
#80
"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)
#82
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
#83
81 Years Ago Today, American Gis Rest Behind An M5 Stuart Tank Near Germersheim, Germany. (March 25, 1945)
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