18 Fascinating Photos From History

1.

Camille Clifford posing for photographer Charles Gibson after winning a contest held by Gibson as he looked for the perfect bodied woman in 1901. She won the event at the age of just 16. She is around 18-20 in this picture. Her ridiculous curves landed her $2000 US from the contest, and a few modeling shoots with Gibson and even films in England and the US the next few years. The Belgian born beauty quit as quickly as she began to settle down in 1906 at the age of 21.

2.

This picture shows the aftermath of a bomb that exploded outside Sydney's Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia in 1978. The attack was completely unexpected and Australia was not know for such acts against them. This was the nation's first recorded terrorist attack, and it was actually aimed at the visiting Indian Prime Minister. The blast would kill 3 people, wounding numerous more.

3.

Children playing on an early version of roller skates in Paris, France in 1941. Pictures like these were actually taken by either Germans or hired French photographers to use as propaganda showing a happy French capitol under Nazi occupation.

4.

Former confederate soldiers and their families gather in Huntsville, Alabama US for a reunion in 1928. The 2 black men on the right were also former confederate soldiers. A handful of blacks actually fought in the Civil War for the South, usually under false pretenses or forced as slaves to do so. Rarely were they armed, and that debate on whether to armed them as the need for more soldiers arose during the war was a major issue in the Confederate government. It would take until the last month of the war for the Confederates to officially allow black soldiers to be armed, but many still served and in a few cases were armed and fought for the South.

5.

Two African Tribesmen pretending to be their colonial brethren playing pool in a town near what was the Zulu Empire in South Africa in 1903. Notice the eye piece and fake collars? There is a number of these pictures of the tribesmen and women doing everyday European and colonial activities.

6.

Here is another picture from that genre. This is a picture of a Zulu couple in a Zulu Motor Cab in 1903.

7.

A crowd gathers to laugh at Jews who are forced to clean the pavement in Vienna, Austria in 1938. This would be the beginning of forceful manual labor, constant abuse, deportation and death for the Jews. Despite was was later said you can clearly see that civilians participated in the process.

8.

Zhan Shichai touring somewhere in the US in 1868. Known as Chang the Giant, this Chinese man was believed to be over 8 feet tall, and possibly was the tallest man to be photographed, but was never verified for his exact height. He left China in 1865, touring Europe, the US, and Australia. He retired in 1878 and died in 1892 at age 52.

9.

Women imported from Thailand pose for a picture at an exhibition in what would be know as a Human Zoo in Paris, France in 1889. Human Zoos had people from Africa, Asia, certain islands, even American communities. These Zoos were very prevalent in Europe and the US for patrons to go see the exhibitions of people "in their natural habitat". It got worse, certain women from some areas, especially Africa, were imported just for their figures. It was a humiliating and degrading display that lasted from around the 1850s all the way up until the last one closed in Belgium in 1958.

10.

College girls hang out in California, US in 1969. This picture is terrific in showing many of the different fashions of the time period for women. From bell bottoms, to miniskirts, to the artsy look of the girl in the back, all common across America during this time.

11.

A boardman photographed in London, England in 1877. This was part of a series called "Street Life in London" by photographer John Thomson. Men such as these were often quite poor, and sometimes were even trampled by carriages on busy streets as they were forced by police to stay off the sidewalk.

12.

People take to the streets in Washinton D.C., US to protest against any aggression that could lead to war during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The Soviets wanted to put nuclear missiles in Cuba for first strike capabilities against the US in the event of war. Cuba, having gone communist with Castro rising to power, would be blockaded, and a 13 day standoff took place. Interesting note, the US saw the missiles well before they could be fired, and chose not to destroy them. This was a decision John F Kennedy made, against the wishes of virtually every military advisor he had. This allowed the missiles to become operational and also the possibility of half the East Coast to be destroyed. War was averted at the last minute through back door channels that had both countries disarm and remove missiles in key locations (Cuba for the USSR and Turkey for the US).

13.

Children share a bowl of food in Moscow, Russia in the early 1900s. This picture and numerous others were taken by Maxim P Dmitriev who documented the incredibly poor conditions of peasants as well as everyday life from all over Russia. The images paint a very sad picture of the tough life of the poor.

14.

A Romanian citizen waves his flag as the center of Bucharest is captured by Revolutionary Forces during the Romanian Revolution in 1989. In a fast and strong move, Revolutionary Forces moved into the city and overthrew the communist regime, executing their former dictator and his wife. Up to 1200 people were killed in the 11 days of fighting, with the bulk of the government forces turning on the regime. Numerous images has everyday citizens joining the uprising. They would appear on tanks, in large scale marches, or even behind Revolutionary soldiers during attacks. It was a well documented uprising as the last of the Soviet Blocks of the Warsaw Pact in Europe came to an end.

15.

A man asks for help after some protestors marching for Civil Rights were beaten in Birmingham, Alabama, US in 1965. Despite often marching very peacefully, pro segregation local police or fellow students and civilians would attack anyone association with desegregation movements. Local Southern Whites as well as Whites from the North would join together and march all over the South with blacks to show unity in pushing for desegregation. Sadly, the ugly racism of America often put many protestors in the hospital, or worse, the morgue. The movement would prevail, and eventually the federal government forced all places in the US to not be legally allowed to discriminate against race.

16.

Armenian women with their children in a concentration camp in Turkey (notice the barbed wire in the background) as part of the Ottoman Empire in 1915. This was during the Armenian Genocide as the Turks systematically wiped out up to 1.5 million Armenians. The women in this picture would eventually be separated from their children. Turkey to this day still refuses to acknowledge the genocide.

17.

Columbia University cheerleaders with their four-legged mascot, Peter, at the Thanksgiving Day American football game in New York City, US in 1924. Originally, all cheerleading squads were men. In fact, there was a push to keep it so for many years, but eventually it was integrated with women in the 1930s who now dominate cheer squads throughout the US. To help entertain the crowds, routines were introduced. Eventually it turned into far more of a physical competitive sport than just cheering for your schools team on the sidelines. Pro teams often just employ women, but college squads in particular are often mixed with men and women and the routines just keep getting more and more complex requiring tough gymnastics moves and throws.

18.

A model poses in Paris, France in 1922. Such risqué pictures were very prevalent especially in France. Often you could see similar pictures on postcards from that time.