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This Instagram Account Shares Historical Pics In Their Original Form, And These 40 Are Just Wow
Interview With Expert
Photos play an important role in our understanding of history. They provide additional details about people, places, and events from different eras that written records sometimes simply cannot portray. Thanks to the surviving images, the past feels more tangible and relatable.
The Instagram account 'History in Black & White' is an excellent example of this. Trying its best to share historical pictures in their original form, the account allows us to take a look into everyday life and pivotal moments that otherwise wouldn't be available to us.
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#2
Private James Hendrix of the 101st Airborne, playing guitar at Fort Campbell Kentucky in 1962. Jimi Hendrix went on to become one of the most influential guitarists of all time.
To learn more about how to interpret these photographs, we contacted Danielle Burton—historian, heritage worker, and the voice behind the blog Voyager of History.
"History is about anything that ever happened, but fundamentally, it's very often about people," said the author of Anthony Woodville: Sophisticate or Schemer? in an interview with Bored Panda.
"Societies may have changed, but what makes people people—their emotions, motives, etc.—hasn't."
#3
Sergeant William Henry “Black Death” Johnson of the 369th Infantry Regiment (Harlem Hellfighters) wearing his Croix de Guerre medal in circa 1918. In North France, Johnson single-handedly fought off a German raiding party receiving 21 wounds in order to save fellow soldier Private Needham Roberts.
Tiger 3 weeks ago
“In 1918, the French awarded Johnson with a Croix de guerre with star and bronze palm. He was the first U.S. soldier in World War I to receive that honor. Johnson died poor and in obscurity in 1929. There was a long struggle to achieve awards for him from the U.S. military. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart in 1996. In 2002, the U.S. military awarded him the Distinguished Service Cross. Previous efforts to secure the Medal of Honor failed, but in 2015 he was posthumously honored with the award. On May 24, 2022, The Naming Commission recommended that Fort Polk in Leesville, Louisiana, be renamed Fort Johnson after Henry Johnson, rather than its previous namesake, Confederate General Leonidas Polk. The post was renamed in Johnson's honor in a ceremony on June 5, 2023.”
#4
a cat escaping from the Animal Rescue League in Boston, Massachusetts in 1940
#5
Harriet Tubman photographed in 1911 at the age of 89.
Tiger 3 weeks ago
For non-North Americans who may not know: “Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist and social activist. After escaping slavery, Tubman made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including her family and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known collectively as the Underground Railroad. During the American Civil War, she served as an armed scout and spy for the Union Army. In her later years, Tubman was an activist in the movement for women's suffrage.”
History is such a vast subject that no one can possibly know it all. But if you look just a little deeper, you'll find something interesting.
"I think the Tudors are very much overdone," Burton said. "There are so many more interesting things on either side of the Tudor dynasty. My personal favorite period is the Wars of the Roses, without which the Tudors wouldn't have existed. The Stuart period that followed the Tudors is also fascinating."
"All of these periods are full of fractious societal dynamics that impacted the whole of society and revealed people's divided loyalties," the historian added.
#6
A little girl holding her pet toad at a pet show at Venice Beach, California, USA in 1936.
#7
Louis Armstrong playing the trumpet for his wife Lucille in front of the Great Sphinx of Giza in Greater Cairo, Egypt, in 1961.
Tiger 3 weeks ago (edited)
Around my boyfriend’s house (we are temporarily doing the LDR thing) there’s a wooded area we like to take his dog for a run and smoke doobies. It’s near some train tracks, and there’s a guy who goes there to play his trumpet. He’s SO GOOD - we love to bring a joint and the dog and blaze while listening to Trumpet Guy 😊 bless anyone that plays music in public, it’s very much appreciated
#8
Statue of David by Michelangelo, encased in bricks to prevent damage from bombs, during World War 2. Photograph taken in the 1940s.
Tiger 3 weeks ago
In January 1943, a brick "hive" was built around Michelangelo's David to protect it from incendiary bombs. Two and a half years later, preservationist Deane Keller wrote to his wife, "The bright spot yesterday was seeing Michelangelo's David at length divested of its air raid protection. It was dusty and dirty but it was a great thrill." (From Ilaria Dagnini Brey, The Venus Fixers, 2010.)
#9
A photograph of Edinburgh, Scotland from the sky taken by Alfred G. Buckham in the 1920s.
The good thing is that you can satisfy your curiosity even if you're unable or unwilling to dive into academic literature.
"I would suggest to someone looking to learn more about history, but not quite ready for a more in-depth study, that they try finding blogs or popular history books to see which topics interest them and might inspire them to delve deeper," Burton added.
"These can be well-referenced and serve as a good starting point for beginning your own research journey."
#10
Roland, a 4,000 pound elephant seal, getting a snow bath from his handler at Berlin Zoo, Germany in c. 1930.
#11
Oda Nobuyoshi, Japanese Civil Rights activist and dentist during the Meiji Era. Photograph taken in 1880 when he was 20-years-old.
#12
A helmeted bulldog guarding a family outside a block of flats during the Blitz on the 15th October 1940
#13
Royal Navy stoker with 21 years service nicknamed “Popeye”, photographed on board the HMS Rodney in September 1940. A stoker was responsible for anything from the propulsion systems to hydraulics, electrical and firefighting systems. The HMS Rodney played a major role in the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck in mid-1941.
#14
The iconic American wartime photograph "The Thousand Yard Stare" showing an exhausted 19-year-old US Marine Private Theodore J. Miller in February 1944 after two days of constant fighting at the Battle of Eniwetok. Miller would be killed in a firefight during the invasion of Ebon Atoll a month later on the 24 March 1944.
#15
Cow shoes used by moonshiners during the Prohibition Era to hide their footprints, June 18th, 1924.
Science Nerd 2 weeks ago
Please do not make fun of my grandparents and great uncles, although they tended to drive very quickly on back-roads instead of walking.
Beth Wheeler 2 weeks ago
That's where Nascar came from to my understanding.
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Lisa Delgado 3 weeks ago
How would this trick someone? A cow's front hoof and back hoof are not that close.
Janissary35680 3 weeks ago
Ought to be pretty easy to distinguish between these tracks and those of a real cow, I should think.
#16
A federal agent inspects a 'lumber' truck after smelling alcohol during the prohibition period, Los Angeles, in 1926.
#17
Photograph of the oldest house in Hamburg, Germany taken in 1898. It was built in 1524 and, despite protests from locals, was demolished on the 8 December 1910.
#18
Mercury Trains photographed in 1936. Mercury was the name used by the New York Central Railroad for a family of daytime streamliner passenger trains operating between midwestern cities. The Mercury’s started operating in 1936 and lasted until 1959.
#19
The head of a Joseph Stalin statue on the streets of Budapest during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
Tiger 3 weeks ago
“On October 23, 1956, around two hundred thousand Hungarians gathered in Budapest to demonstrate in sympathy for the Poles who had just gained political reform during the Polish October. The Hungarians broadcast sixteen demands over the radio, one of them being the dismantling of Stalin’s statue. A hundred thousand Hungarian revolutionaries demolished the Stalin statue, leaving only his boots, in which they planted a Hungarian flag.“ Heck yeah Hungarians ❤️🇭🇺
#20
The train wreck at Montparnasse Station in Paris, France on or near the 22nd October 1895.
#21
A 16-year-old Bill Clinton, future 42nd President of the United States, shaking hands with 35th US President John F. Kennedy at a American Legion Boys Nation event on July 24th, 1963.
#22
A large crowd in Times Square, New York City celebrating the surrender of Germany, May 7th, 1945.
#23
Amiens Cathedral photographed during World War I showing the walls lined with sandbags in order to protect the building from artillery. Taken in Amiens, France in 1918.
#24
Robert Wadlow, the tallest man to ever live, with his family in c. 1930s. Wadlow stood at 8 ft 11.1 in (272 cm) tall.
Tiger 3 weeks ago
“Wadlow's height was 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m) while his weight reached 439 lb (199 kg) at his death at age 22. His great size and his continued growth in adulthood were due to hypertrophy of his pituitary gland, which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone (HGH).” It’s sad he died so young!
#25
A group of Japanese Samurai photographed in front of the Sphinx in Giza, Egypt during a visit to the country, 1864.
Janissary35680 3 weeks ago (edited)
"A. Beato" is Antonio Beato. He was the brother of Felice Beato who worked with James Robertson at Robertson's photography studio in Istanbul in the 1850s. Antonio ended up in Egypt in 1860, setting up a studio of his own in Thebes in 1862.
#26
An open-air school in the Netherlands photographed in 1957.
Oerff On Tour 3 weeks ago
This only existed in the Sanatorium schools. If you had an illness like tuberculosis, you were sent there to recover. Children would of course have to go to school. Hence they were schooled outside weather permitting. Otherwise in a classroom with all windows open. Fresh air was part of the treatment, besides antibiotics.
#27
Sadie Pfeifer, a young girl working at the Lancaster Cotton Mills in Lancaster, South Carolina, in 30 November 1908. At the time of the photograph, Sadie had worked at the mill for half a year.
#28
The last photo ever of Nikola Tesla. Taken on the 1 January 1943, 6 days before his death at the age of 86.
#29
One of the largest and heaviest horses ever recorded, Brooklyn Supreme, photographed in c. 1940s. He stood 19.2 hands (198 cm (6 ft 6 in)) tall and weighed 3,200 lb (1,451 kg).
Tiger 3 weeks ago
As someone who used to own horses - holy fark that is a big boy 😳 “Brooklyn "Brookie" Supreme (April 12, 1928 – September 6, 1948)[a] was a red roan[4] Belgian stallion noted for his extreme size. Although disputed, the horse may be the world record holder for largest (but not tallest) horse and was designated the world's heaviest horse. He stood 19.2 hands (198 cm (6 ft 6 in)) tall and weighed 3,200 lb (1,451.5 kg) with a girth of 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m). Each of his horseshoes required 30 in (76 cm) of iron.”
#30
A young Prince Charles standing between his grandmother, The Queen Mother (left), and aunt, Princess Margaret (right), at his mother Queen Elizabeth's coronation on 2 June 1953
Did I say that out loud? (he/him)cis/het 3 weeks ago
"I hope I don't have to wait too long for my turn. "
#31
Salvador Dali on a ship arriving in New York, United States on the 7 December 1936.
#32
British veteran of the Napoleonic Wars and his wife sitting for a photograph in the 1860s. This veteran served in the Peninsular War which took place from 1807 to 1814 and saw Bourbon Spain assisted by Great Britain against the First French Empire for control of the Iberian Peninsula.
#33
Future King George V of the United Kingdom sitting next to his cousin, future Tsar Nicholas II of Russia while posing for a photograph at Marlborough House in London, England in c. 1893. George and Nicholas shared the same maternal grandparents.
#34
Photograph of the Hindenburg Disaster on the 6 May 1937. This was when the German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock with its mooring mast at Naval Air Station Lakehurst.
#36
In 1945 a B-25 bomber got lost in the fog and crashed into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building. 14 people died in the accident. This is the damage that the crash caused.
Tiger 3 weeks ago
On Saturday, July 28, 1945, Lieutenant Colonel William Franklin Smith Jr., of Watertown, Massachusetts, was piloting a B-25 Mitchell bomber on a routine personnel transport mission from Bedford Army Air Field in Massachusetts. Due to thick fog, the aircraft was unable to land at LaGuardia Airport as scheduled. The pilot requested to divert to Newark Metropolitan Airport in New Jersey. Smith asked for clearance to land, but he was advised of zero visibility. Proceeding anyway, he became disoriented by the fog and turned right instead of left after flying dangerously close to the Chrysler Building on East 42nd Street.
#37
A beggar running alongside the carriage of King George V of the United Kingdom somewhere in London, England, 1920.
#38
A French and British soldier helping the other light their cigarette during WWI in 1915
#39
The tallest (Cornelius Bruns), shortest (Unknown), and fattest (Cannon Colossus) men in Europe playing cards and drinking together in 1913.
Janissary35680 3 weeks ago
"A Dwarf, a Giant, and a Fatman walk into a bar. The bartender says..."
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What do you think ?
Tucker Cahooter 3 weeks ago
Good to see genuine historical pictures, and not "historical" pictures taken last month
Sara Frazer 3 weeks ago
For anyone else who likes to look at old photos there's this fantastic Hungarian website called Fortepan, they have THOUSANDS of photos spanning decades. Sometimes I like to sit with a drink huddled up in front of my laptop and click through the galleries for an hour or two. Highly recommend ☺️
Caroline Nagel 2 weeks ago
Tiger, thank you for all the extra info. It was a pleasure to read and learn a bit.
Bryn 3 weeks ago
While I love historical photos, I wish BP and the site they culled these from would site where they got them. Almost all of these are under copyright by the archives that own the original.
Chich 3 weeks ago
If you click on the small wording at the lower left of each it will take you to the site BP got them from. Not sure even with that if there is any copyright info
Load More Replies... Tucker Cahooter 3 weeks ago
Good to see genuine historical pictures, and not "historical" pictures taken last month
Sara Frazer 3 weeks ago
For anyone else who likes to look at old photos there's this fantastic Hungarian website called Fortepan, they have THOUSANDS of photos spanning decades. Sometimes I like to sit with a drink huddled up in front of my laptop and click through the galleries for an hour or two. Highly recommend ☺️
Caroline Nagel 2 weeks ago
Tiger, thank you for all the extra info. It was a pleasure to read and learn a bit.
Bryn 3 weeks ago
While I love historical photos, I wish BP and the site they culled these from would site where they got them. Almost all of these are under copyright by the archives that own the original.
Chich 3 weeks ago
If you click on the small wording at the lower left of each it will take you to the site BP got them from. Not sure even with that if there is any copyright info
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