Interesting Historical Pictures That Most People Have Never Seen Before

Learning about history is an interesting and continuous adventure. Books are a great source of information to help us understand the past.

But I’m sure many people would agree that learning from pictures is more fun than reading long blocks of text. After all, images give a different perspective.

There have been many different moments throughout history that most people have never seen before. It’s important to take a look at these moments so that we can better understand the world before us.

If you’re interested in learning even more about different historical moments, take a scroll through this list.

100,000-year-old Iceberg

On the evening of April 14th, 1912, the British ocean liner RMS Titanic struck with a large iceberg. It sunk several hours later in the North Atlantic, killing over 1,500 people. The following morning, a German liner called the SMS Prinz Adalbert came across a massive iceberg while passing by the site.

The chief steward observed some sharp points and an odd streak of red paint along its side before photographing it.

He wrote that the Titanic disaster was not yet known to anyone. On one side red paint was plainly visible that has the aspect of having been made by the scraping of a vessel on the iceberg.

The red paint is still presumed to be from the fateful iceberg that sunk the Unsinkable Titanic on her maiden voyage.

Atomic Bomb Destroying Nagasaki

By the final years of World War II, it was clear to the United States that defeating Imperial Japan would require a long and costly attack on the mainland. Even though most of Japan’s war crimes and atrocities, such as Unit 731, were still unknown to the Allies.

Americans had already lost half a million troops to the Japanese and were ready to try something new – the atomic bomb.

On August 6th and 9th, the United States dropped the atomic bombs “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These bombs killed up to 120,000 people and caused massive devastation.

With the USSR’s recent conquest of Berlin, Hitler was dead and Nazi Germany had been defeated. This left Imperial Japan effectively alone in the war. Japan surrendered to the Allies after six days of atomic bombs destroying Nagasaki.

California Alligator Farm

The California Alligator Farm was a popular destination during the first half of the 20th century. Visitors paid a 25-cent admission fee to see no less than one thousand alligators, from babies to adults.

In true Darwinian fashion, visitors were allegedly motivated to enter the pens to “play” with the alligators. It is said that visitors were enticed into the pens to “play” with the alligators in classic Darwinian fashion.

This farm has 20 ponds of fully trained alligators where visitors could taunt and tempt nature’s little sweethearts without worrying about safety, control, and excessive supervision. However, visitors were advised not to “throw stones at the alligators, punch, spit on, or molest them in any way.”

Unfortunately, a child had his hand injured by a rude and ungrateful alligator. He was the son of ‘gator-farm co-founder Francis Earnest. Incredibly, he somehow grew up without any kind of alligator-related trauma.

The White Death

In the winter of 1939, the Soviet Union attacked Finland in an attempt to capture key border zones that would help them defend Leningrad. After that, this war became known as the Winter War. As Soviet troops marched into eastern Finland, Simo Hayha resolved to go out and fight them, despite only having one year of mandatory basic training.

Simo Hayha became known as the White Death because of his ability to expertly camouflage himself in the snow and pick off Soviet soldiers one by one. In the 100 days that he fought, he is estimated to have killed 550 soldiers.

Massive Traffic Jam After the Fall of the Berlin Wall 

The Berlin Wall was a massive concrete barrier that served as an ideological and physical barrier between East and West Berlin during the Cold War. The wall was constructed by the German Democratic Republic and separated West Berlin from East Berlin and Eastern Germany for almost thirty years.

The GDR referred to the Berlin Wall as the “Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart.” While West Berlin’s authorities often referred to Berlin Wall as the “Wall of Shame.”

The wall was originally built to protect the East from outside fascist and capitalist influences. But it ultimately became a way to keep people from fleeing the East to the West. Despite the risk, more than 100,000 people tried to escape but only 5,000 succeeded.

Unfortunately, over a hundred people were killed in the process.

Jesse Owens Won Four Gold Medals In The Olympics

The 1936 Olympic Games were hosted by Berlin three years before the start of WWII. Jesse Owens was one of the most successful track athletes in the United States, winning gold medals in the 100m and 200m sprints, as well as the long jump and 4x100m relay. 

At that time, Adolph Hitler was already the dictator of Germany and was in attendance. 

He was ready to prove his ideas of Aryan dominance and superiority to the world. Owens, on the other hand, was just as determined to prove that he was a force to be considered within track sports.

The First Time a Deaf Boy Hears Sound, 1974

Deafness was something that couldn’t be helped much. Because there was no technology until the 20th century that could do anything. The transistor hearing aid had been developed in the 1950s, but it would be replaced later by the more familiar digital hearing aid.

At the time, though, it was the best technology that was commonly available.

In this heartwarming photo, you can see young Harold Whittles experiencing sound for the first time in his life. Harold’s doctor activated a device and inserted it into his ear which allowed Harold to suddenly hear.

Also present was photographer Jack Bradley, who snapped this shot of Harold’s reaction to hearing for the first time. The expression of awe and wonder on Harold’s face is truly touching, as it reminds us of the moment when we experience something new that we never thought possible.

2001 World Trade Center Photo

This September 11th shot is a stark reminder of the chaos that unfolded that day. About 3,000 people were killed, and more than 6,000 others were injured.

In the after-effect of the destruction, countries around the world launched military interventions against Islamic terrorism. For many Americans, this photo brings back memories of where they were and what they were doing when they got the news.

Conclusion

There are more fascinating historical images available that most people have never seen before. We discussed some of the interesting pictures in this blog post. We hope you found it interesting and adventurous to know about history through these amazing pictures.