20 Historical Photos of How the World Has Changed Throughout the Decades

Carly Tennes Published 03/27/2024

Though a picture may be worth a thousand words, historical photos are priceless, proving that although the past may seem so far away, we aren’t really that different from those who came before us.

Just as we take silly selfies with our parents, mothers and daughters were laughing at the camera in the early 1900s. While we marvel at circus artists, people in the 1920s did just that, snapping photos of the day’s most iconic performers.

From monks and motorcycles to harrowing glimpses at what life was like during World War II, here are 20 historical photos that offer a glimpse into our collective past.

1. “Man experiences irony 1966.”

2. “A mother and daughter goofing around for the camera, early 1900s [667x834]”

3. “Behind the scenes of ‘Goldeneye’, which had the largest amount of miniature work ever in a James Bond movie. 1995”

4. “Tibetan monks with Czechoslovak motorcycle Jawa 250 in 1956. Czechoslovakia donated as gift two motorcycles Jawa 250 to Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama. In return, Czechoslovak delegation received as a gift two Leopard pups.”

5. “Photo of Luisita Leers a famous German Circus Aeralist taken circa 1929”

6. “Russian president Boris Yeltsin at the post-soviet funeral of the Romanovs, Tsar Nicholas II and his immediate family, 1998. Killed in 1918 & exhumed in 1991, their bodies were DNA tested and officially buried by the Russian government.”

7. “Even a public bathroom can tell a piece of modern history. The photographer is called Elliott Erwitt, and the photograph is titled ‘North Carolina, 1950’”

8. “Clemens August Graf von Galen, the German Catholic Bishop who openly resisted N—i rule (c. 1940)”

9. “Soviet Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov unveils his sketch of American astronaut Thomas Stafford during the first joint American-Soviet mission. July 17, 1975.”

10. Cpl Thomas Ellis- “The Weary Marine” photographed during the Battle of Saipan. He was later killed in action during the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945.

11. “A police officer and his dog riding a motorcycle circa 1930.”

12. “The Bennie Railplane being demonstrated in Glasgow. The Bennie Railplane was a form of rail transport invented by George Bennie, which moved along an overhead rail by way of propellers (United Kingdom 1930) “

13. “Flight Attendants from New Zealand in the 1960s.”

14. “Picture of Brünnhilde the cat taken in 1936 by Adolph E. Weidhaas. Credit & Collection: Library of Congress.”

15. “Wing Commander James 'Jonnie' Johnson with his Labrador Sally and Spitfire Mk IX at Bazenville Landing Ground, Normandy, July 1944”

16. “Space Shuttle Columbia Arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for the first time on March 24, 1979.”

17. “From left to right, West German president Heinrich Lubke, French President Charles De Gaulle, Queen Frederika of Greece, King Boaduin of Belgium, Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie & Filipino President Diosdado Macapagal walk together during the funeral of

18. “President Reagan and members of his staff, including vice president & future president Bush, presidential counselor Ed Meese & assistant James Brady, laughing & drinking champagne with CBS anchor Walter Cronkite, 1981 “

19. “German Luftwaffe Arado Ar 234 'Bltiz' (twin-engined) jet bomber, captured by U.S. Army forces, in a damaged hanger - Manching, Bavaria, Germany, c. late April 1945.”

20. "Visual effects supervisor Douglas Trumbull on the set of Blade Runner, 1982. "

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