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Mindaugas Balčiauskas

50 Unforgettable Historical Photos That Tell Stories Beyond Words

In the vast timeline of our planet, humans have left behind countless stories, many of which never made it into our history books. Sure, we’ve learned about major events and figures, but there’s so much more that often goes unnoticed.

While we can’t know everything that has ever happened, discovering new bits of history can still be exciting.

That’s where Instagram accounts like ‘History Season’ come in, sharing fascinating photos and facts from the past. We’ve gathered some of their most intriguing posts below. Scroll down to check them and upvote your favorites!

More info: Facebook | TikTok | YouTube

#1

Portraits of a father and son having fun. Ca. 1910s.

Image credits: history.season

#2

An Apsaroke mother and her child. Montana, USA. 1908.

Image credits: history.season

#3

Two Victorian ladies making a fancy snow lady. Pangbourne, England. Published in Strand Magazine in 1892.

Image credits: history.season

#4

Joe Fortes knoen as Vancouver's first official lifeguard. Originally from Barbados, Joe saved dozens of lives. English Bay Beach, Vancouver, Canada. 1905.

Image credits: history.season

#5

Three lacemakers at work. Brittany, France. Ca. 1920.

Image credits: history.season

#6

French painter Claude Monet by his waterlily pond in Giverny, France. 1905.

Image credits: history.season

#7

A girl of Filipino and Chinese heritage poses for a portrait. Manila, Philippines. Ca. 1875. The Spanish rulers of the Philippines used the term “Mestizo de Sangley” to describe people of mixed Chinese and native Filipino ancestry. Spain ruled the Philippines from 1565 to 1898.

Image credits: history.season

#8

American photographer Margaret Bourke-White on top off the Chrysler Building. New York, USA. 1930. Photo by: Oscar Graubner. Bourke-White was the first American female war photojournalist.

Image credits: history.season

#9

Facade of department store with five floors covered in coats. As part of a coat sale and early marketing stunt. The campaign attracted so many customers that the police had to step in. All the coats were sold. Copenhagen, Denmark. 1936.

Image credits: history.season

#10

Canadian police officer guarding a pharmacy during a flood. Galt, Ontario, Canada. 1974.

Image credits: history.season

#11

Photo of Charles C. Ebbets. The photographer behind the famous “lunch atop a skyscraper” photo taken in 1932. Ebbets wasn’t officially recognised as the photographer until 2003. New York, USA. 1932.

Image credits: history.season

#12

The interior of a lounge train car from the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. Montreal, Canada. Ca. 1886.

Image credits: history.season

#13

A message-carrying pigeon being released from a port-hole in the side of a British Mark V tank, during WW1. Near Albert, France. 1918.

Image credits: history.season

#14

Two young children sitting in the streets of one of the worst slums in London. England. 1903.

Image credits: history.season

#15

A couple roller-skating. Berlin, Germany. Ca. 1905.

Image credits: history.season

#16

King Frederick IX of Denmark showing off his tattooed upper body. The king had a passion for sailing and bodybuilding. The photo was leaked to Life Magazine in 1951.

Image credits: history.season

#17

Prohibition agents pour out alcohol, found during a raid on an illegal distillery, from the upper windows of a store. Detroit, USA. 1929.

Image credits: history.season

#18

Italian grocery store owned by the Ronga brothers. New York City, USA. January 1943.

Image credits: history.season

#19

The Black Gate, the spire of St Nicholas Cathedral and The Dog Leap Stairs in Newcastle, England. 1889. Photo by: Lydell Sawyer.

Image credits: history.season

#20

Spectators viewing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Gulf of Naples, Italy. 1944.

Image credits: history.season

#21

The 3,000 men who helped construct the 810 ft (246 m) high Chase Manhattan Bank pose for a photo near the end of the constructional work. New York City, USA. August 1964.

Image credits: history.season

#22

Tourist and his car at the edge of the Grand Canyon. Arizona, USA. 1914.

Image credits: history.season

#23

Portrait of a Kiowa-Crow Native American mother, father, son, and daughter. Ca. 1890s. Photograph by H.G. Perry. South Dakota, USA.

Image credits: history.season

#24

Young people dancing to jazz music at the Storyville Club. Copenhagen, Denmark. 1952. Photo by Helmer Lund Hansen.

Image credits: history.season

#25

48 cars in a elevator parking garage in Downtown Chicago’s business district, USA. Built by the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, 1936

Image credits: history.season

#26

An early Edwardian woman taking a mirror selfie with a Kodak Brownie box camera in 1900.

Image credits: history.season

#27

Contrails in the sky above St Paul’s Cathedral from a dogfight between the German Luftwaffe and the Royal Airforce during the Battle of Britain. 1940. London, England.

Image credits: history.season

#28

German troops singing around a Christmas tree in their trench on the Eastern Front during World War I. 1914.

Image credits: history.season

#29

Workers trimming the tallest yew hedge in the world. It was planted in 1720 by the first Earl of Bathurst. Bathurst Estate in the Cotswolds, England. 1962.

Image credits: history.season

#30

A group portrait taken at the wedding of Lars Eide and Gjertrud Leite in Sogndal, Norway. Ca. 1900.

Image credits: history.season

#31

The church La Sagrada Família. Barcelona, Spain. 1905. The church is still under construction today.

Image credits: history.season

#32

A black sea bass caught with rod and reel by Mrs. A. W. Barret. The fish weighed 416 pounds (188 kg) and had a length of 7 feet 10 inches (2.3 m). Santa Catalina Island, California, USA. 1901.

Image credits: history.season

#33

Mother and son pose for a portrait. Ireland. 1890.

Image credits: history.season

#34

The control room of the German WW1 submarine SM UB-110. 1918.

Image credits: history.season

#35

A Friedrichshafen FF.49, two-seat reconnaissance seaplane, crashed into the roof of a building. Germany. Ca. 1918-1919.

Image credits: history.season

#36

Two young people make a stop at a gas station. 1920s. USA.

Image credits: history.season

#37

Students gathered for “Class Day” at Vassar College in the spring of 1895. New York, USA.

Image credits: history.season

#38

American soldier shows off the helmet that saved his life during the Vietnam War. Ca. 1969.

Image credits: history.season

#39

Young couple drives past “Balanced Rock” in the “Garden of the Gods”. Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. 1920s.

Image credits: history.season

#40

Soviet dancers and gymnasts during a rehearsal for the opening ceremonies of the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympic Games. Moscow, USSR. July 17, 1980.

Image credits: history.season

#41

American planes fly in formation over the American and British fleets in Tokyo Bay during the surrender of Japan at the end of WW2. 2 September 1945.

Image credits: history.season

#42

29 year old Pfc. Ivan Babcock of the US Army’s 165th Signal Photo Company poses with the crown of the Holy Roman Empire in a cave during WW2. Siegan, Germany. 3 April 1945. The cave was used by the Germans as a storage room for valuable works of art. Babcock died in 1994 at the age of 77. Photo taken by: E. Braum. The photo has been colorized.

Image credits: history.season

#43

Victorian couple on a tandem bicycle, circa 1890s.

Image credits: history.season

#44

The Roman Colosseum and Arch of Constantine in 1870. Rome, Italy.

Image credits: history.season

#45

Tower of Toghrul in ca. 1850s. Rey, Iran. Photo by Italian colonel and photographer Luigi Pesce. The Tower of Toghrul was constructed in the 12th century to serve as a tomb for the Seljuk ruler Toghrul who died in 1063. Toghrul was the founder of the Seljuk Empire, which spanned from modern day Turkey to Afghanistan. The tower originally had a dome at its top, which collapsed during an earthquake. Today the tower is 20 meters tall (66 ft.).

Image credits: history.season

#46

The Panama Slide in Coney Island’s Steeplechase Park. Built ca. 1908. New York City, USA.

Image credits: history.season

#47

Canadian soldiers playing hockey on an ice rink constructed on the Imjingang River during the Korean War. Northern Gyeonggi-do Province, South Korea. 1952.

Image credits: history.season

#48

Detonation of a nuclear bomb. Nevada Test Site, Nevada, USA. March 29, 1955. The detonation was a part of “Operation Teapot”. The operation included 14 nuclear test explosions conducted in early 1955.

Image credits: history.season

#49

Women working in a Canon factory. Japan, 1959.

Image credits: history.season

#50

Women shopping for perfumes and jewelry at Illum department store in Copenhagen, Denmark. 1904.

Image credits: history.season

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