While a photo can be worth a thousand words, historical photos are worth so much more than that. A good historical photo can throw us into a different time and place, enabling us to empathize with a particular moment that is otherwise hard to imagine.
In this article, we gathered some amazing photos that capture historical moments that are worth reflecting on. All of the photos are real, with no photo-shopping or editing whatsoever.
Did you know that before he became Ronald McDonald, Willard Scott was a famous TV star in Washington, where he played Bozo the Clown? Kids loved Bozo! When Bozo's show ended, McDonald's asked Willard to be their new clown mascot. Here's the twist: McDonald's usually has only one actor at a time playing Ronald in commercials and events. So, Willard Scott went from being Bozo to becoming the iconic Ronald McDonald, making him a part of fast-food history!
Back in the 1940s and '50s, this bra style was all the rage! So, the next time you're not too keen on today's fashion, remember that women have been using different things to cover up their chests for centuries. Can you believe it? There were even some bra-like things around in the 14th century! Then, in the late 1800s, bras took over from corsets as the go-to chest support, and by the early 1900s, they started looking a lot like the ones we wear today. Fashion sure has come a long way!
Check out this old photo from the early 1910s of a high school soccer team! Did you know that what we now call American football was once known as "gridiron"? Here's a cool fact: American football actually grew from games like soccer and rugby. The very first football game happened in 1869 between Rutgers and Princeton college teams. And, in 1920, the National Football League (NFL) was born as the American Professional Football Association.
Even if you haven't seen their comedy, you've probably heard of The Three Stooges - they're comedy legends! Now, here's a cool story: In 2019, a Reddit user shared an amazing old photo. It was taken by their grandpa back in 1969, and guess who's in it? Two of The Three Stooges! The caption said that their grandpa worked in Yellowstone as a park ranger and snapped this pic when The Three Stooges paid a visit. Imagine the fun they must have had!
Imagine this: On February 11th, 1954, the famous Marilyn Monroe was on a stage, entertaining thousands of allied troops in Korea. Here's the backstory: In January 1954, she married Joe DiMaggio, and they went to Japan for their honeymoon. While Joe was busy with baseball, Marilyn went to Korea, which had just finished the Korean War. She did a tour, performing at American military bases, and put on 10 shows for about 100,000 servicemen.
In 1963, American soldiers bid farewell to their loved ones before heading to Egypt. At that time, there was a war called the North Yemen Civil War happening in North Yemen from 1962 to 1970. On one side, Jordan and Saudi Arabia helped the royalists, and Britain secretly supported them. On the other side, Egypt supported the republicans, and they got warplanes from the Soviet Union.
The harmonica is super old, dating back thousands of years in China, making it one of the world's oldest instruments. But guess what? It didn't show up in the United States until the early 1800s! When it did, people loved it. It was simple to make, not pricey, and small (usually). Learning to play was a breeze, so folk and blues musicians really took a liking to it.
Disney had big dreams. He wanted to create a fun place for both kids and grown-ups to enjoy together, and he worked on this idea for a long time. He got ideas from all sorts of places like playgrounds, world exhibitions, and Henry Ford's history museum. On opening day, only half of the 30,000 visitors had real tickets; the rest sneaked in with fakes!
In 1969, New York was super polluted, but something important was about to happen. People started worrying about how we were harming the environment in the late 1950s and '60s. A book called "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson in 1962 told everyone about how pesticides were hurting nature. That got folks fired up, and they formed groups to protect the environment. Then, in December 1970, the government created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help keep our world clean.
Look at this photo from the '70s, showing college students in their female dorms. It's like a trip back in time when there were no cell phones or personal computers. Today's college crowd might not even recognize a pay-phone, let alone imagine sharing one phone with the entire floor and having limited talk time. Times sure have changed!
Picture this: On December 17, 1903, something amazing took place - the first airplane flight! It lasted just 12 seconds, but they quickly beat their own record with a 59-second flight on the same day. What made this possible was their clever invention of something called "three-axis control." It helped the pilot steer the plane and keep it steady. That day changed the future of travel forever!
Take a look at this picture from 1969, where air hostesses and stewards are serving a Scandinavian-style buffet on SAS Scandinavian Airlines. Back then, traveling by plane was a luxury not everyone could enjoy. Air tourism started in the 1930s, and SAS, founded in 1946, represents Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.
Once upon a time in 1851, a 13-year-old girl named Olive Oatman headed west with her Mormon family. Along the way, Yavapai Indians captured her, sadly killing her family. She spent a year as their slave before being traded to the Mohave tribe. They gave her face tattoos and treated her like family. At 19, she returned to white society and became famous, but her childhood's scars never truly healed.
In 1943, U.S. Marines faced a tough time as they left their ship to storm Cape Gloucester in New Britain. It was part of a big fight involving Australian and American troops against the Japanese in New Guinea. This intriguing photo shows U.S. soldiers wading through shallow water after leaving their ship.
In the 1870s, Deadwood started without permission on land meant for Native Americans. Then in 1874, Colonel Custer found gold near Custer, South Dakota. This discovery caused a big rush for gold in the Black Hills and led to the wild and unruly town of Deadwood.
Cleopatra, the famous Egyptian queen, was a powerful woman in history. In 1963, a movie was made about her, and it was a big deal. "Cleopatra" was the most expensive film ever made at the time. In this picture from behind the scenes, you can see extras dressed in amazing Egyptian outfits, enjoying the incredible movie set.
In the 1960s, flying on planes was getting cheaper, and airlines wanted to attract more passengers. To do that, they started dressing their flight crews in really daring uniforms. Some airlines became famous for their "bold" outfits, but luckily, by the mid-'70s, this trend faded away. In this picture, you can see Patricia Bleasdale, a stewardess for BOAC, wearing a new uniform made of paper at London Airport.
The Great Depression, from 1929 to 1933, was a really bad time when people struggled to find work. It's known as the worst economic downturn in the history of the modern world.
In 1868, the HMS Daphne saved a bunch of people who had been slaves. This ship was part of the Royal Navy and worked to stop the slave trade off the eastern coast of Africa. Slavers used to sail from Zanzibar to Aden, so the Royal Navy patrolled that area. After the Slave Trade Act of 1807, the Royal Navy sent many ships to stop the terrible trade in slaves.
In 1944, U.S. soldiers from the 969th Field Artillery Battalion were busy decorating shells they were sending to the front lines in Germany. America joined World War II in 1941 after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. They teamed up with countries like France, Poland, and the UK to fight against the Axis powers - Italy, Germany, and Japan. People in the U.S. didn't like Germany much, even before the country officially joined the war.
Even though he faced hate, Jesse Owens became a star! He was an American athlete who won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics held in Nazi Germany. He was the top athlete at the Games and, as a Black man, he shattered Hitler's idea of Aryan greatness. He even has an award named after him for the best track and field athlete in the U.S.
Celebrations of the victory over Nazi Germany. Moscow, May 9th, 1945. Victory Day is celebrated by most allied countries on May 8th, but the Soviet Union chose to celebrate it one day later, on May 9th. In this stunning photograph, the Soviet capital of Moscow is lit up in celebration of the long awaited victory over the Nazis, and the end of a long, greulling and deeply traumatic war.
The Titanic drowned in April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. An estimated 2,224 passengers and crew were aboard, and more than 1,500 died, making it one of the deadliest commercial peacetime maritime disasters in modern history.
Imagine this: Samurai, Japanese warriors, in front of Egypt's Sphinx in 1864. It's fascinating to think about different cultures meeting. Samurai were fading away in the 19th century, and the Sphinx had just been found. So, this picture is a unique glimpse into history, capturing an extraordinary moment in time.
In the 1950s, when we think of the tough times in the Soviet Union, there were also moments of happiness. Like this heartwarming photo of Soviet soldiers feeding polar bears during an Arctic expedition. It might have been the first time these bears saw a tank, and they look pretty thrilled about it!
Here's a planned picture from around 1934. It shows a worker pretending to hang from Thomas Jefferson's eye on Mount Rushmore. They were sculpting those big presidential faces there, which was a massive job. About 400 people worked on it for nearly 13 years. Originally, they wanted to carve the bodies too, but that was too tough, so they had to stop with the heads.
In this 1923 photo, you see Claude Monet, a famous French painter. He's in front of one of his big paintings of water lilies in his Giverny garden. Monet was a bit of a rule-breaker. He started Impressionism, which was about showing the world as artists see it, not exactly how it looks. Sadly, he lost his sight as he got older but still painted what he could see.
It's cool to see a 1900 image showing what Germans thought 2000 would be like. While it's not real, the idea isn't far off. Today, we do have our own kind of "wings" through technology. We can fly in planes, talk to folks worldwide, and stay connected. Our modern "wings" keep us soaring!
In the mid-1900s, America was all about the future. After the war, people felt hopeful, and car companies thrived. Engineers and designers aimed to create the ultimate family vehicle. This pic shows General Motors' "Train of Tomorrow" in 1947 with an observation lounge car. It toured major U.S. cities, wowing folks!
In the 1860s, they were uncovering the Great Sphinx of Giza. It's a limestone statue with a lion's body and a human head, a mythical creature. This ancient marvel is on the Giza Plateau in Egypt, by the Nile. It's the oldest big sculpture in Egypt, made by the ancient Egyptians around 2558–2532 BC.
The 1950' were the Era of the Automobile in the States. American families had more income than ever and were moving to the suburbs. Cars were a status symbol of prosperity and modernization - which is why many cars of that era are design to look like airplanes! In the photo, we see models pose with a collection of General Motors' cars in Michigan in 1956.
In this 1980 picture, you see actors from the first Star Wars movies: Peter Mayhew, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Kenny Baker. Filming Star Wars was exciting, and they became great pals on set. Carrie Fisher was a prankster, chasing them with squirt guns and making Mark Hamill wear her funny outfits, like flowery robes, for laughs.
Check out this adorable 1966 pic of Dolly Parton and her husband, Carl Dean. They got married that same year! In 2018, Dolly shared some love advice: "Stay gone!" She meant they spend time apart, but when together, they cherish each other and do little things that keep their love strong. That's the secret to their long and happy marriage!
This 1986 photo shows Anthony Bourdain, a beloved and iconic chef. At 30, he's cooking up a tasty meal in his New York City apartment. Little did he know, a few years later, he'd become the famous culinary expert we adore today. Bourdain wasn't just known for his cooking; he also stirred up great stories in his books, like the famous "Kitchen Confidential" from the 2000s.
In May 1956, there was a cool contest in Chicago – the "Perfect Posture" contest. This picture shows the top 3 winners. They judged the winners based on how straight they stood and X-rays. Chiropractors were just starting their business, and this contest was a clever way to promote it and help the industry grow. Quite an unusual competition!
Look at Private James Hendrix from the 101st Airborne in 1962, playing his guitar at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Even though Jimmy Hendrix's big music career lasted only four years, he's a huge influence on electric guitar music. He's one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century and even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame says he's possibly the best instrumentalist in rock music history.
In 1943, students from James A. Garfield High School in LA were doing something remarkable. They clocked in at the school's airplane plant, helping in World War II. As men went off to war, women stepped up, taking on jobs in factories. This was a big deal because it was the first time since WWI that women got to do jobs that were usually for men.
World chess champion Garry Kasparov was beaten by a computer in 1997. This was the sign of what artificial intelligence could do and we're seeing the progress day after day. Kasparov's reaction, and the crowd's reaction, are wonderful to see. Nowadays, we can't imagine people being so surprised by a computer winning a human.
Frida Kahlo, a Mexican painter in the early 1900s, was known for her surreal self-portraits and strong spirit. She broke norms by wearing men's clothes and having an open marriage with painter Diego Rivera. Back then, she lived in her husband's shadow, but today, her unique art is celebrated. In this 1926 photo, she's with her mother, sister, and family.
Back in 1951, Marilyn Monroe rocked a stunning red dress to a party, but a mean reporter called her "cheap and vulgar." Marilyn didn't let that get to her. She turned the tables and put on a real potato sack with heels for a photo shoot. She showed everyone that she could look fantastic in anything. What a fearless lady!