Alex Buscemi
History is often taught through the same iconic images, but sometimes the most interesting moments are the ones that don’t make it into textbooks.
This collection of rare historical photos offers a fresh perspective on the past, highlighting everyday scenes, forgotten figures, and moments that feel both distant and familiar.
From candid shots of public figures to ordinary life in different eras, these photos show history from angles you might not have considered.
Whether you’re a history buff or just curious about how things used to be, these images offer something worth pausing for.
Keep going to see history with a new lens.
1. Sabina Chebichi, Kenyan Athlete Who Won A Race In 1973, Barefoot And Wearing A Dress
2. 7 Oct 1943, Ottla Kafka, Beloved Sister Of Author Franz Kafka, Was Gassed On Arrival At Auschwitz After Volunteering To Escort A Group Of Orphans From The Terezin Ghetto So They Wouldn’t Be Afraid
3. Aboriginal Tasmanian Fanny Cochrane Smith Singing Into Her Phonograph In 1903. Without Her Efforts To Preserve Her Culture, We Would Have No Audio Traces Of The Tasmanian Language.
4. Rare Photograph Of Marilyn Monroe Without Makeup, 1955
5. Dance Teacher Patsy Swayze, Center, With Her Daughter-In-Law Lisa Niemi And Son Patrick Swayze, 1978
6. Remembering The Father, 1925
7. A Sailor “Meets” His Baby For The First Time After Fourteen Months At Sea, 1940s
8. Barack Obama Dressed As A Pirate With His Mother Stanley Ann, 1960s
9. Dorothy Counts, The First Black Girl To Attend An All-White School In The U.S., Being Taunted By Her White Classmates At Harry Harding High School In Charlotte, 1957
10. In The Middle Of A Celebration, A Young Woman From Oaxaca, Mexico, Notices She Is Being Photographed, And Gives A Look To The Camera, 1985
11. Beautiful Ukrainian Girl In National Costume, 1935. Photo Before And After Restoration
12. Lonnie Johnson, Inventor Of The Super Soaker, 1992
13. Faces Of Auschwitz, 1940
14. The Only Known Photograph Of An African American Union Soldier With His Family. Circa 1864
15. Luzon Woman, 1875
16. London, 1940, A Girl Sitting In The Wreckage Of Her Bombed-Out Home With Her Doll
17. Jane Russell Shows Her Co-Actress Marilyn Monroe (At The Time, Jane Was The Bigger Star) One Of Her Talents: Drawing. Here She Draws An Sketch Of Monroe. Result At The End. This Was During The Filming Of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” 1953
18. 112-Year-Old Veteran Of WW1 And Russian Civil War (Teimruz Vanacha) And His Son (Ivan) A Veteran Of WW2 In 1980
19. The First Interracial Marriage In Mississippi, 1970. 3 Years Earlier, The 1967 Loving V. Virginia Scotus Ruling Legalized Interracial Marriage In The US
20. Republican Party Supporters And Democratic Party Supporters Fight With Snowballs In Front Of The Capitol. January 1921, Washington, USA
21. Gertrude Ederle, First Woman To Cross The English Channel, 26 August 1926, Done In 14hr And 31 Min, Beating The Male Record Of 16hr And 33 Min. Photos Of The Day She Did The Record
22. Until 1956, French Children Were Served Wine With Their School Lunch
23. New York In The 1960s
24. Vintage Photograph Of A Kid Wearing A Monkey Mask, 1920s
25. Barack Obama Visiting His Step-Grandmother Sarah Ogwel Onyango Obama. Kenya, 1988. Sarah Obama, Affectionately Called Grandma Sarah By The Former U.S. President, Was The Third And Youngest Wife Of Obama’s Grandfather
26. Princess Of Egypt And Iranian Queen Fawzia Fuad, C. 1939
27. Wedding Rings Found By U.S. Army Soldiers Near The Buchenwald Concentration Camp, Germany, May 1945
28. Group Of Friends Enjoys The Beach And Sun In The 1940s
29. Photograph From The 1993 Great Flood, When James Scott Intentionally Sabotaged A Levee, Triggering A Massive Mississippi River Flood To Delay His Wife’s Return Home, Allowing Him To Keep Partying
30. A Mother Repairs The Family Car While Her Husband Is Away At War, 1944
Read more: 35 Interesting Facts To Feed Your Inner Curiosity