2.5
November 17, 2014

At its best, History serves to awaken us from the dream of our small selves.

Rarely Seen Moments of World History

“WHO KNOWS ONLY HIS OWN GENERATION REMAINS ALWAYS A CHILD.”

Boys after a war that would make almost any small drama of our time pale in comparison.

But what the hell did they put in those snowballs? 

And, we need to bring the swimmobile back.

Moving a 7600 ton apartment building to create a boulevard in Alba Iulia, Romania, 1987

Moving a 7600 ton apartment building to create a boulevard in Alba Iulia, Romania, 1987

Black officer protecting KKK member from protesters, 1983

Black officer protecting KKK member from protesters, 1983
In 1972, as part of the Apollo 16 mission to the moon, astronaut Charles Duke embarked on a mission to the explore the moon’s surface in a lunar roving vehicle. While there, he shot a picture of a photo of himself, his wife, and his two sons which was enclosed in plastic on the moon’s surface, where it remains to this day.
This is The Statue of Liberty under construction in Paris in 1884.
Drug kingpin Pablo Escobar and his son stand in front of The White House in the early 1980s.
In 1947, 23-year-old Evelyn McHale jumped from the observation deck of the Empire State Building onto a limousine which was parked below. Photography student Robert Wiles heard the explosive crash and shot this photo soon afterward. Years later, pop artist Andy Warhol appropriated the shot for an art print.
Prior to the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the country was moving towards democracy, with the Afghan constitution providing equal rights for women. In pre-Taliban days, Afghan women had access to professional careers, university-level education, shops selling non-traditional clothing, public transportation, and public spaces, all of which they happily navigated freely and without supervision. By the mid-90s, employment and education of women over the age of eight was outlawed by the Taliban.
Helen Keller meets Charlie Chaplin in Hollywood in 1919.
Here’s a different view of the Tank Man of Tiananmen Square.
A Russian spy is laughing through his execution in Finland in 1939 during the Winter War.
These are Titanic survivors boarding the Carpathia in 1912.
Tsar Nicholas II allows his daughter, the Grand Duchess Anastasia, to smoke.
Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is returned to the Louvre after WWII.
This is the Lincoln assassination co-conspirator Lewis Payne being held in federal custody prior to his execution in 1865. As Lincoln was being killed at the Ford Theater, Payne, an Alabama native and Confederate veteran, entered the bedroom of Secretary of State William H. Seward and began to attack him with a large knife.
John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and staffers tour Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex, Sept 1962.
Allied forces mock Hitler from atop his balcony at the Reich Chancellery at the end of WWII.
This is a manninquin from an atomic bomb test site in Nevada during the mid-50s.
An American evacuee punches a South Vietnamese man for a place on the last chopper out of the US embassy during the evacuation of Saigon in 1975.
The Beatles walking in the opposite direction during the Abbey Road album cover photoshoot.
This is Queen Elizabeth during her WWII service.
This is a young Osama Bin Laden with his family in Sweden during the 1970s. Bin Laden is second from the right in a green shirt and blue pants.

Hannah Stilley, born 1746, photographed in 1840. Probably the earliest born individual captured on film

Hannah Stilley, born 1746, photographed in 1840. Probably the earliest born individual captured on film

Transporting ‘The Apple’, the first Indian satellite, 1981

Transporting 'The Apple', the first Indian satellite, 1981

The glasses John Lennon wore when he was assassinated, 1980

The glasses John Lennon wore when he was assassinated, 1980

Spielberg doing the first Indiana Jones movie in 1980

Spielberg doing the first Indiana Jones movie in 1980

Due to strong crosswinds, a landing plane crashes with a truck standing near the runway, 1976

Due to strong crosswinds, a landing plane crashes with a truck standing near the runway, 1976

Highway picnic during the Oil Crisis, 1973

Highway picnic during the Oil Crisis, 1973

A foreskin away from death

A foreskin away from death
a Pakistani soldier during Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence examines whether the man is circumcised or not(i.e. Hindus are not)

A stripper visits the trading floor of the Toronto Stock Exchange, late 1970s

A stripper visits the trading floor of the Toronto Stock Exchange, late 1970s

Man working at analog computer, 1968

Man working at analog computer, 1968

The Prague Spring of 1968: Soviet soldier chasing young man who had thrown stones at a tank

The Prague Spring of 1968: Soviet soldier chasing young man who had thrown stones at a tank

Early morning train, Japan, 1964

 Early morning train, Japan, 1964

Test pilot George Aird – flying a English Electric Lightning F1

Test pilot George Aird – flying a English Electric Lightning F1

The Beatles play for 18 people in the Aldershot club, December 1961. They were to become superstars in one and a half years time

The Beatles play for 18 people in the Aldershot club, December 1961. They were to become superstars in one and a half years time

Canteen for Disney workers, 1961

Canteen for Disney workers, 1961

The East Bay Dragons, the first black bikers’ club, Oakland, California, 1960s

The East Bay Dragons, the first black bikers’ club, Oakland, California, 1960s

Che Guevara and Fidel Castro fishing, 1960

Che Guevara and Fidel Castro fishing, 1960

A swimmobile in New York City, 1960

A swimmobile in New York City, 1960

Audrey Hepburn shopping with her pet deer “Ip” in Beverly Hills, CA, 1958

Audrey Hepburn shopping with her pet deer “Ip” in Beverly Hills, CA, 1958

Charlton Heston as Moses in “The Ten Commandments,” drive-in theater, Utah, 1958

Charlton Heston as Moses in “The Ten Commandments,” drive-in theater, Utah, 1958

Uploading (:D) the first 5 MByte hard disk to a PanAm plane, 1956

Uploading (:D) the first 5 MByte hard disk to a PanAm plane, 1956

Coca Cola is introduced in France, 1950

Coca Cola is introduced in France, 1950

In the aftermath of the D-Day invasion, two boys watch from a tree as American soldiers drive through the town of St. Lo. France

In the aftermath of the D-Day invasion, two boys watch from a tree as American soldiers drive through the town of St. Lo. France

A flight simulator in 1942

A flight simulator in 1942

An opium den in Singapore, 1941

An opium den in Singapore, 1941

The real Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin, 1928

The real Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin, 1928

Filming of the MGM screen credits – The beginning of the Hollywood era, 1928

Filming of the MGM screen credits - The beginning of the Hollywood era, 1928

A gang of skinny dippers is chased down the street at Hyde Park by a police woman, 1926

A gang of skinny dippers is chased down the street at Hyde Park by a police woman, 1926

Factory workers race on the roof (test track) of the Fiat Factory in Turin, Italy, 1923

Factory workers race on the roof (test track) of the Fiat Factory in Turin, Italy, 1923

The unbroken seal on Tutankhamun’s tomb, 1922 (3,245 years untouched)

The unbroken seal on Tutankhamun’s tomb, 1922 (3,245 years untouched)

A beggar running alongside King George V’s coach, 1920

A beggar running alongside King George V’s coach, 1920

The first international match at Wimbledon

The first international match at Wimbledon

The ceiling of the Russian Parliament collapsed, 1907

The ceiling of the Russian Parliament collapsed, 1907

Interior of a London Pub, 1898

Interior of a London Pub, 1898

Overly manly man Carl Akeley posed with the leopard he killed with his bare hands after it attacked him, 1896

Overly manly man Carl Akeley posed with the leopard he killed with his bare hands after it attacked him, 1896

Princeton students after a snowball fight, 1893

Princeton students after a snowball fight, 1893

 

 
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