Lifestyle
25 Historical Photos and the Story Behind Them
History has so much to teach us, whether it is in the form of wars and stories, or pictures that were taken at the right moment at the right time. Whether you consider yourself a learned historian or not, these rare historical photos will make you reconsider your knowledge of history.
This picture is a mere reflection of what Afghanistan was on its way to achieving before the Taliban uprising. Afghan women had the freedom to university-level education, the stores sold modern clothing with high living standards and freedom.
Taken during the Great Depression, this photograph of Florence Owens Thompson represented how difficult the times were. Dorothea Lange took this photograph after Florence sold her tent to buy food for her children.
After Nazi Germany conquered the city of Paris, Adolf Hitler was accompanied by Albert Speer to admire the Eiffel Tower on June 30, 1940, where this picture was taken.
When Neil Armstrong set his left foot on the rocky surface of the Moon for the first time on July 20, 1969, his fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin captured the historic moment in this photograph.
One of the most iconic personalities during the student uprising in China during 1989 was the “Tank Man”, who blocked the path of a legion of tanks approaching the Tiananmen Square.
Reflecting the horrors of WWII, this picture was recovered from the album of an Einsatzgruppen soldier. The picture had the writing “The last Jew of Vinnitsa” on the back, a city where more than 28,000 Jewish people were killed.
Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon back in 1967. This picture was taken when the organizers trying to stop her from competing, as the race was for men only.
In 1967, Sweden changed its left side driving rule to right hand driving. This picture depicts the aftermath on the very next morning that the changed driving rule was placed.
This bloodcurdling image is back from the year 1915 during the Armenian genocide. This picture shows a Turkish official as he teases starving Armenian children with a loaf of bread.
A year and a half before the Beatles became “Bigger than Jesus”, this picture was taken of the to-be Superstars playing for 18 people in the Aldershot Club in December 1961.
The Second Vatican Council was officially started with the document being signed by Pope John XXII in this picture. The Council changed the Catholic Church completely during the period of Pope Paul VI.
The Bolivian Army released the picture of Che Guevara’s dead body after his killing in 1967. The symbolic impact of the image ended the socialist revolutionary movement in Latin America and other Third World regions inspired by the Marxist supporter.
This historic picture was taken when the Allies conquered the Reichstag building in Germany in May, 1945. Soviet Union soldiers Raqymzhan Qoshqarbaev and Georgij Bulatov raised the flag on the building, signalling the end of the Third Reich.
This wonderful photograph dates back to the year 1919 in Hollywood, California. Two famous personalities, Charlie Chaplin and Helen Keller were captured in the moment when they met each other for the first time.
In order to protect national art treasures from the chaos of the WWII, the artefacts were moved to a secure facility. This photograph was taken when Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was returned to the Louvre.
After the Titanic sank in the North Atlanic Ocean in 1912, the survivors were rescued by the Carpathia steamship. One of the passengers on board the Carpathia captured the moment in this photograph.
You may already know that Queen Elizabeth of Windsor is the longest reigning monarch of Britain. What you probably don’t know is that she served in WWII, and this picture of her was taken during her service as a mechanic and a military truck driver.
After the most horrific terrorist attack committed on United States soil, this picture was captured by Thomas E. Franklin on September 11, 2001. The firefighters raise a flag at the World Trade Center in New York, which became a symbol of strength and prevalence of the American spirit.
You’ve probably watched and heard the iconic lion roar MGM logo a dozen times. This picture shows the sound recording artist and cameraman shooting the MGM logo with a real lion.
Humans have been instrumental in driving several animal species towards extinction, including the Quagga. The last time one of these zebra subspecies were photographed was in 1870 at the London Zoo.
Back in 1956 when mainstream computers were a figment of the imagination, transporting a mechanical hard drive that stored 5MB worth of data required a PanAm plane.
This picture was taken on March 4, 1865 when President Abraham Lincoln spoke in his second inaugural address. What is interesting is that Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth was present at the top platform to witness Lincoln.
Father of Anne Frank and the lone survivor of the Holocaust among his family members, Otto, stands in the attic where he and his family hid from the Nazis in 1960.
Here’s a picture of Robert Wadlow taken on April 1, 1937 in Omaha, Nebraska. He was the tallest person in history and reached the height of 8 feet and 10 inches at the age of 19.
Probably the saddest picture on the list for science lovers and fans of Einstein. This photograph was taken in 1955 in Albert Einstein’s office in Princeton, New Jersey on the night that he died.