These Iconic Historical Photos Open Our Eyes To Some Of The World’s Most Intriguing And Revolutionary Moments

When we think of all the historical events and significant moments that have occurred in the world, it’s overwhelming. There are neverending examples of humanity in all its mess and glory from the major triumphs and heartbreaking defeats that shed light on the human condition, to major sports and political milestones. Here are some iconic historical photos that put us in a time capsule of the past and make us look at the world in a whole new way. 

While everybody knows about the immense cultural influence of Elvis Presley (aka “The King of Rock’) and his impact on the music industry, this fact about the southern legend may surprise you. This photo is not as common as other famous images of him. From 1958-1960, Elvis served in the U.S. Army as a regular soldier. 

The man pictured in this photo is the immensely influential inventor, electrical engineer, and physicist Nikola Tesla sitting in his laboratory. Tesla’s creation called the “Magnifying Transmitter” was built in 1899 and served as the test subject for his study that same year. The study was centered on the use of high-voltage, high-frequency electricity in wireless power transmission. 

This image from 1912 shows the surviving passengers of the Titanic boarding the Carpathia. Approximately an hour and a half after the Titanic sank, the Carpathia arrived at the location at four in the morning. 

On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was riding on a motorcade with his wife, Jacqueline, and the Governor of Texas, John Connelly, through downtown Dallas’ Dealy Plaza. Suddenly, multiple gunshots were fired, hitting JFK directly and severely wounding him.

As the 36th president of America, Lyndon Johnson was remembered for one particular prank that he pulled on some guests at his ranch. Johnson’s Amphicar (which was the only civilian amphibious car ever mass-produced) and these guests were at the center of his prank. 

It wasn’t too long after the Statue of Liberty’s arrival to America from France on June 17, 1885, that this photo was taken. The statue served as a gift to the United States from France. As a figure of the Roman liberty goddess, Libertas, and following its dedication, the icon gained its status as a symbol of freedom. 

Taken in October 1956, this iconic image shows two legendary 30-year-old female figures at the time engaging in a handshake. On the left is Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, and on the right is Marilyn Monroe, Hollywood’s blonde bombshell. 

This photo of James Dean was one of the last known photos of him captured before his untimely death. On September 30, 1955, Dean died during a road race, which resulted in a collision car crash as he was speeding along a dark highway. 

In the fifth inning of the World Series’ third game at Wrigley Field in Chicago, on October 1, 1932, George “Babe” Ruth made history. He is known as one of the greatest baseball players that ever lived. 

It was in 1923 that Doane Robinson, a South Dakota state historian, needed to find a way to attract tourists and create economic stimulation. His proposal was to make a monument in the mountains which would be a tribute to the West’s magnificent heroes. 

This photograph was taken in 1969 right before The Beatles were about to cross Abbey Road for their new album cover. The cover would become one of the most iconic cover images of all time, which has since been imitated in popular music. 

Great Britain was one of the many countries in which Germany unleashed mass and devastating destruction. The Germans enforced mass air raids against the towns and cities in Britain, starting with raids on London in 1940 towards the final moments of the Battle of Britain.

As one of the only four black students enrolled in an all-white and non-integrated school district, Dorothy Counts was 15-years-old when this photograph was taken in 1957. At Harry Harding High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, Dorothy is seen being teased by her white male classmates. 

Pictured in this photo is a young boy who looks startled and surprised. He isn’t quite sure what’s happening or how. The boy’s authentic reaction was him hearing for the first time – no longer enshrouded in a world of silence. It was probably scary, exciting, and confusing all at the same time. 

1967 was a monumental year for Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to finish the Boston Marathon. Race organizers attempted to thwart her finishing the race and Jock Semple, a race official, went so far as to grab her bib. He was pushed to the ground by Tom Miller, Switzer’s boyfriend who was running next to her. 

This is the kind of photo that makes us smile instantly. Taken by Gerald Waller, the focus of the image is an Austrian boy named Werfel after the war in 1946. He’s sitting outside on the steps of an orphanage in Austria with a brand-new pair of shoes in his hands. 

In the 1960s, American student activist and defender of civil rights Sandra Cason “Casey” Hayden was an integral figure in the civil rights movement. She is most well-known for her staunch advocacy and prompt action against racial segregation. 

If this image were from today, it definitely would have gone viral on social media. Snapped in 1961, the stunning photo is of pioneering jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong playing a number for his wife, Lucille, while at the Pyramids. The Great Sphinx of Gaza is on perfect display in the background. 

Identifying the moment when history completely changes isn’t a simple task. However, when we see humanity’s first moment of grasping the beauty, isolation, and delicate nature of our very existence, we know in that exact moment. On December 24, 1968, everything changed.

Behind the newly liberated women and the little girl is the train that led Jewish prisoners to freedom. The photo was taken on April 13, 1945, near Farsleben, Germany. These prisoners were freed by members of the 743rd Tank Battalion from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. 

While we’ve all heard of D-Day, it’s likely nobody probably knows about Dagen H (Swedish for H Day). On September 3, 1967, Sweden made the decision to change driving on the left-hand side to the right side of the road. H stands for Högertrafikomläggningen or the Right-Handed Traffic Diversion. 

On August 25, 1944, the Allies liberated Paris. Germany unconditionally surrendered on May 8, 1945, and Europe’s war was finally over. As a result, the Louvre’s works that were seized started to go back to the museum during its extensive renovation between 1945 and 1946. 

Women’s swimming costumes in the early 1900s were cumbersome and uncomfortable. They consisted of high necks, long sleeves, skirts, pants, and were often made of wool. 20 deputies in 1919 were assigned the special task of monitoring the swimwear of the women at Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York. “Sheriffettes” were the names of these deputies. 

You probably couldn’t guess who this messy desk belonged to… Well, it belonged to the notorious genius and brilliant man named Albert Einstein. This photograph was snapped of Einstein’s study at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University. In fact, it was taken not long after Einstein’s sudden passing on May 18, 1955.

A young and then-unknown Robin Williams was performing his mime act with a friend in New York’s Central Park. In 1974, the image was snapped by Daniel Sorine, a photographer who just happened to walk past the duo. Clearly, he had no idea that Williams was well on his way to becoming a massive Hollywood actor. 

Out of all the photographs taken of Martin Luther King Jr., this is probably one of the most powerful and chilling ones of him. King is captured swiftly removing a burnt cross that somebody had hammered into his lawn, and his son stands beside him watching. 

The two clasped hands in the photo connected across a wall belonged to a Catholic woman and her Protestant husband who weren’t allowed to be buried together. This caused quite a bit of controversy and division among the people in the city of Roermond. The couple was married for 38 years. 

In this remarkable photograph taken in 1961, we get a small yet profound glimpse of what life was like for the people who were divided by the Berlin Wall. Families lift their children up to see their grandparents who live on the eastern side of the wall, which represented a bleak outcome of the post-war world. 

In this eerie photo, a line of prisoners is captured leaving Alcatraz, America’s most infamous prison. Alcatraz had a harsh reputation and housed some of the most terrifying and ruthless inmates in the country. 

On the morning of September 12, 1953, John F. Kennedy and Jackie Bouvier were married in a Roman Catholic Church in Newport, Rhode Island. The ceremony would include a Catholic mass which wasn’t a surprise to the 800 and counting guests (many of whom were famous individuals). 

This rare photograph shows what a sailor’s life was like in the U.S. Navy in 1899. In the photo, two naval seamen are enjoying a tame boxing match as the crowd of other seamen watch them. 

If you’ve had the opportunity to travel to Paris or have aspired to go there, you probably are aware of the most iconic structure in all of France – the Eiffel Tower. In this photo taken in 1932, we see a crew of workers painting the Eiffel Tower by hand. 

Considered one of Mexico’s most celebrated artists, Frida Kahlo developed her obsession with self-portraiture from an early age. In this rare photo, an almost unrecognizable Frida appears as androgynous, rebelling against convention by donning a man’s suit and slicked-back hair. It’s evident that she wasn’t afraid to go against the status quo. In fact, she embraced it. 

In this 1963 photo – captured months before she published A Bunny’s Tale – Gloria Steinem poses as a Playboy bunny waitress in one of Hugh Hefner’s New York nightclubs. She may appear “happy,” but she had a hidden agenda during a time when Playboy was an established name and boasted millions of subscribers. 

On January 28, 1986, the inconceivable happened that caused these shocking reactions in the photograph. 73 seconds after the 10th Space Shuttle Challenger flight took off, it began breaking apart, exploding like a nuclear bomb in the air. 

In 1950, the Coca-Cola company decided that France was ready for the unmatched, crisp taste of Coke. It’s a well-known fact that the French have always been hard to please, which the photo shows. 

Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, stands in the attic where his family was hidden. He was the only survivor. In the summer of 1945, after Anne’s death was confirmed, her diary was given to Otto Frank by Miep Gies.

It was evident that the 1936 Summer Olympics were going to be controversial. Ohio-born Jesse Owens was at the center of attention in August of that same year when he won the gold medal in the 100-meter dash. Owens set a new record for that race the day prior.

This photo is proof that world-famous boxer, Muhammad Ali, convinced a young man to step down from a ledge and not take his own life. On January 19, 1981, photographer Boris Yaro heard reports of a jumper at risk on the radio, so Yaro drove over. He found a young black man perched on the fire escape on the ninth floor of an office building. 

Most people may not even know that the first mobile phone dates all the way back to Kentucky in 1908 when a patent was issued for a wireless telephone. The first mobile phones were bulky and not portable.

Teen pregnancies were a worldwide issue by the 1970s. The continual worry and alarm over adolescent pregnancies were based on the tremendous impact that teen pregnancy could bear on the lives of younger women and their children. 

Many male workers joined the army during World War I, just as women started to enter the workplace. They were employed in many different roles, such as blacksmiths, welders, and electricians. 

On the evening of July 20, 1969, Buzz Aldrin stood on the moon’s surface. He didn’t care too much about being the second man on the moon, although it may have not been Aldrin’s most memorable feat. He was dealing with a different type of immortality. 

Photography captures fleeting moments of every emotional range. On August 14, 1945, when World War II ended, a photographer went on the New York streets and found himself in the wildly joyous atmosphere of Times Square. 

From 1932 to 1933, Mahatma Gandhi was held prisoner by the British in Pune, India. The nationalist leader created his own thread with a portable spinning wheel called a charkha, a practice that stemmed from a source of personal comfort during captivity. It turned into the foundation of his campaign for Indian independence. 

No such photograph did more to humanize the devastating effects of the Great Depression than this one taken by Dorothea Lange. The story goes that as Lange was driving past the “Pea-Pickers Camp” sign in Nipomo, north of Los Angeles, the photographer couldn’t ignore something. 

In this photo, we see one of the first-ever banana shipments sent to Norway. It’s quite unimaginable to think about what life was like before global trading turned into the giant that it is today. 

Some photos say all that they ever could in just one shot. This is one of those photographs. Taken in 1868 in the Nevada desert, a Native American man stands at the bottom of the image. He is observing the newly-completed and expansive section of the Transcontinental Railroad, just 435 miles from Sacramento, California. 

Taken in 1928, this amazing photo shows how MGM’s opening credits were made. Initially, Leo, the Lion was still a famous logo for the film company before eventually being transformed into a moving image. 

When a photo has more than one iconic figure in it, that means it’s worth taking a second or even third glance at. This photographic example is a perfect snapshot of two colossal forces in the world coming together: the Beatles and Muhammad Ali

Certain photos have the magical ability to capture the eeriness of a precise moment and how much things have changed over time. In this eerie photo, we’re looking at Times Square in 1911, an iconic New York area that is now the main spot for commercialism. It’s also a city that never sleeps and is often packed with tourists.

A lot of people don’t realize that the world leaders and inspirational figures in these images came from modest beginnings. Naturally, they had many years of important growth before they gained such notoriety and fame. But, it shouldn’t be too challenging to figure out who the young man in the center of this photo is – yes, it’s Barack Obama.

In this photo are the first people behind what would become the most successful tech companies of the modern era. We’re talking about Google. The earliest days of the company consisted of around 40 people, and co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were positive that they were onto something massive.

This photo taken in 1961 of Disneyland’s staff in a cafeteria draws the line between bizarre and charming. Disneyland opened its grand doors on July 17, 1955, in Anaheim, California, and was initially invite-only for guests and paparazzi.

Did you immediately think of the British term “swimming trunks” when seeing this photo? We did! One elephant (we wouldn’t necessarily call him lucky, though) was made to try out water skiing.

At one point in time, Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the most well-known actors in the world. But, he didn’t even live in the United States – he is actually from Austria. This man is behind classic films such as Predator and Terminator.

Some photos out there reveal the inner side of people and this is a wonderful example of that. We see John F. Kennedy, the U.S. president at the time, having a tea party with his young daughter, Caroline.

The Great Depression was one of the most devasting periods in the history of the United States. Banks collapsed, businesses failed, families lost everything, and unemployment levels jumped to around 25%. 

This horrifying and chilling image encapsulates the exact moment that America dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The photo was snapped only 20 minutes after the explosion happened, as the mushroom cloud looms over Nagasaki.

Albert Einstein was undeniably one of the greatest thinkers and physicists of the modern era. He was famous not just for his wild hair and eccentric behavior but also for his monumentally impactful study of the theory of relativity.