1900s
Robert Johnson: The Most Important Bluesman Of All Time...
August 30, 2020
(Delta Haze Corporation/Wikimedia Commons) Robert Johnson is easily the most important blues artist of all time. The influence of his simple guitar lines and ...
Automats: Fast Food Before We Had Fast Food Restaurants
July 26, 2020
(Berenice Abbott/Wikimedia Commons) Say what you will about the fast food experience, but whatever it may lack in fresh ingredients and customer service, it more...
Nelson Mandela: Facts And Stories You Didn't Know About...
July 18, 2020
Nelson Mandela waves to the crowd after speaking at the Colonial Stadium for the World Reconciliation Day Concert, September 8, 2000 in Melbourne, Australia. (H...
Disturbing Things People Did At Carnivals In The Early ...
July 11, 2020
At the onset of the 20th century, traveling carnivals grew out of the World's Fair and became a beloved pastime for families seeking a fun night out that wou...
San Francisco's 1904 Black Plague Scare (And How It Was...
May 14, 2020
South tower of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. (Brocken Inaglory/Wikimedia Commons) The bubonic plague is one of the most catastrophic diseases to ev...
The Invention Of Oreo: How America's Best-Selling Cooki...
May 8, 2020
Creamy, chocolatey, and impossible to limit to the recommended serving size, the Oreo is a timeless cookie that no household is complete without. Even though...
The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake: The Largest In Conti...
April 18, 2020
On this day, 114 years ago, the residents of San Francisco were jolted out of their beds in the early morning hours by the biggest earthquake in the history ...
The Legend Of The Green Man: Raymond Robinson Had No Fa...
January 26, 2020
Have you heard the one about Green Man? You know, the guy without a face who walks the highway at night? Supposedly, he fell into a vat of acid, but some people s...
New Year's Trees: They're Like Christmas Trees But Russ...
December 26, 2019
Toys. Lights. Family and friends gathered around a stunningly decorated evergreen tree. This might sound like a familiar Christmas scene---after all, that's ...
What You Didn't Know About Susan B. Anthony
November 18, 2019
Photograph of Susan B. Anthony. Source: (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty images) The name Susan B. Anthony is nearly synonymous with women's suffrage, but ...
Mount Rushmore Construction Pictures: History, Facts, &...
November 14, 2019
The Mount Rushmore National Memorial in Keystone, South Dakota was carved into granite in the Black Hills. Ninety percent of the carving involved the use of dyn...
The REO Speed Wagon: Ransom E. Olds's Flatbed Truck
November 10, 2019
Before automobiles were an American way of life, automotive daydreamers attempted to create a market with models that they thought would inspire drivers to take to the ...
PBS: All The Good Things PBS Has Done For This Country
November 7, 2019
With Netflix flipping the traditional TV model on its head and traditional network giants like Disney and HBO creating their own streaming services, how we consu...
Monopoly: A Brief History, Facts, Trivia
November 5, 2019
Money on a Monopoly board. Source: (Photo by Lynne Cameron/PA Images via Getty Images) Monopoly is one of America's best-loved board games, enjoyed by wannabe moguls, future ty...
Carl Tanzler's Obsession With Elena de Hoyos Went Way T...
October 27, 2019
True love---or at least, true obsession---conquers all. In this case, it even conquered death. In 1933, Carl Tanzler was so head over heels for 21-year-old Elena ...
This Is How Americans Celebrated Halloween In The Early...
October 25, 2019
While it's always been a little spooky and a lot of fun, Halloween hasn't always looked the way it does now. Dressing up and carving pumpkins has always been a p...
The Edelweiss Pirates Fought Back Against The Hitler Yo...
October 6, 2019
Edelweiss Pirates youth group in Nazi Germany. They emerged in western Germany out of the German Youth Movement of the late 1930s. Source: (Universal History Ar...
Steinert Hall: The Secret Antique Symphonic Theater Hid...
September 28, 2019
Cue The Phantom of the Opera: This is the story of a real-life hidden concert hall, tucked deep underground and forgotten beneath the bustling street above. ...
The History Of Hairspray: How Updos Became A Thing
August 29, 2019
Joan Collins, British actress, with her hair in a beehive hairstyle with a white bow, circa 1955. Source: (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images) A look thro...
The Tale Of The Black Tom Explosion
August 4, 2019
When we think of espionage, most Americans think of the Cold War—dead drops in Berlin, nifty gadgets, the stuff of everyone's favorite guilty pleasure movies—but few think of the e...
Going Underground: The History of the New York Subway S...
June 25, 2019
The New York City subway system, which opened in 1904 and is the world's largest rapid transit system serving over 5.7 million daily riders on weekdays. Source:...
When The Mona Lisa Was Stolen: 1911's Art Theft That Ma...
May 23, 2019
Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vince at the Louvre Museum, Paris, France. Source: (Photo by: Joe Sohm/Visions of America/UIG via Getty Images) Even if you are not a...
“When It Rains, It Pours”: The History Of The Morton Sa...
May 17, 2019
Remember the Morton Salt Girl? Of course you do, Morton table salt still puts that girl (and her umbrella) on every package of their truly iconic salt. T...
Diana of the Dunes: A Lake Michigan Ghost Story With A ...
April 9, 2019
Actress Angie Dickinson swimming outdoors in 1961, perhaps channeling her inner Diana of the Dunes. Source: (photo by Pierluigi/Mandadori Portfolio via Getty Im...
How a German U-Boat Ended Up In Chicago
March 4, 2019
French warship 'Sirocco' sinking German U-Boat, 24 November 1930. French destroyer sank two submarines. From British 'Epic Series' Postcards, No. 8. 'Passed for Publication by Min...
Thank the St. Louis World’s Fair For Some of Your Favor...
February 20, 2019
Saint Louis World's Fair St. Louis 1904. Visitors in front of the Government building at the exhibition area. (Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty ...
Teddy Roosevelt Bull Moosed His Way Through An Assassin...
January 31, 2019
Theodore Roosevelt was waving his hat to the crowd just like this when an assassin shot him. Source: (Topical Press Agency/Getty Images) Theodore Roosevelt, t...
Convicted by Fingerprint: A 1910 Murder Trial Makes His...
January 22, 2019
A policeman takes a fingerprint at an Interpol facility in Lima on August 29, 2018. Source: (CRIS BOURONCLE/AFP/Getty Images) On September 19, 1910, Thomas Je...
Mahjong: An Ancient Chinese Game that Became a Roaring ...
January 10, 2019
Beach and bathing scenes American women playing mah-jongg in the water - 1924 - Vintage property of ullstein bild. Source: (Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild...
Drake’s Plate: A Fabricated Artifact and the Story of a...
December 7, 2018
Francis Drake sailed his ship Golden Hind into history, 1578, by Cornelis de Vries, watercolour. 16th century. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images) Several gen...
We Still Remember These Hit Songs of the 1910s
November 27, 2018
Portrait, from above, of American musician and composer Irving Berlin as he plays piano, Hollywood, California, 1936. (Photo by Soibelman Syndicate/Visual Studies Workshop/...
Survivors of the Titanic
November 4, 2018
The RMS Titanic sank early in the morning of April 15, 1912, after striking an iceberg only four days into their voyage. Only 710 passengers out of 2,224 people on board survived. Here are just a...
Retro Commercial Jingles and Ads
October 21, 2018
The old commercials from the past are fun to look back on. They can be amusing and quite reminiscent of our days when we were young. Some of our fondest memories as a child can be a...
Most Deadly Train Wrecks in History
September 22, 2018
This crash took place during the morning rush hour on September 11, 1905 at Ninth Avenue, which is only 35 minutes away from the location of the twin towers. This derailment was on...
Electronics in the Early Days
September 9, 2018
Electronics in the early days were much different than they are today. Most young people today would not even recognize many of the gadgets that were used by their parents and grandparent...
Katie Mulcahey and New York’s Short-Lived Women’s Smoki...
August 29, 2018
Two girls lighting cigarettes, 23 April, 1931, have the right to do so thanks to Katie Mulcahey. Photograph by Leslie Cardew. (Photo by Daily Herald Archive...
Mae West: The Original Bad Girl
August 28, 2018
American actress and screenwriter Mae West (1893 - 1980), 1934. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images) Long before Madonna, Miley and Marilyn, there was Mae West, the original celebrity...
The Real Story Behind the Invention of the Teddy Bear
August 14, 2018
Teddy bears are cute, cuddly stuffed toys that parents give to babies and teenage boys give to their girlfriends. You can win one at the carnival. Heck, you can e...
Gutsy Female Marine Biologist Snorkeled with Sharks
August 13, 2018
Long before “Jaws” warned us not to go in the water, a gutsy, smart female marine biologist named Eugenie Clark made it her life’s work to study man-eating sharks. ...
Portland's Dark Past: Shanghai Tunnels of Portland
August 9, 2018
Beneath the streets of Portland, Oregon, there is a series of hidden tunnels. These 150-plus year old tunnels connected the basements and cellars of several of the ci...
The Monster of the Andes: No One Knows Were this Serial...
August 7, 2018
Pedro Lopez, also known as The Monster of the Andes, is a prolific serial killer and rapist who may have murdered as many as 300 little girls in several Sout...
Deadly Fog Kills Thousands of Londoners
August 3, 2018
The Great Smog of London, 1952. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images) Londoners are no strangers to fog. But in 1952, the perfect storm of weather, industrial airborne pollutants, and...
The Great Molasses Flood: Sabotage or Industrial Accide...
August 2, 2018
An unfathomable tragedy filled the streets of Boston with a tsunami of molasses…yes, molasses!...on a balmy January day in 1919. The 2.3 million tons of the ...
The Other Side Of Helen Keller Not In History Books
July 31, 2018
The Helen Keller story has been whitewashed in the history books so much so that people today view her as an inspirational story of a disabled girl who overcame the ...
Horrific Circus Train Crash In 1918 Killed Popular Circ...
July 30, 2018
One of the worst train wrecks in the United States occurred with a circus train carrying 400 circus performers was rear-ended by another train and burst into ...
Henry Ford And The Invention Of Kingsford Charcoal
July 26, 2018
Everyone associates Henry Ford with the automobile and the invention of the assembly line, but you also have the American businessman to thank for your backyard cooko...
The Nautical Mystery of the SS Waratah
May 15, 2018
It may come as a surprise to some that the Bermuda Triangle is not the only area where ships can disappear without a trace. There are many reasons why ships sink and usually part...
Vintage Photos of Women Showing Their Tattoos from the ...
January 11, 2018
Check out some badass ladies of the Western world who used to walk around with tattoos on their bodies, long before it was cool.
This Lightbulb Was Switched On In 1901 — And It’s Still...
January 10, 2018
In a little fire station in Livermore, California you'll find light bulb that has been burning since it was first set alight — in 1901. The Centennial Bulb, a...
Vintage Photos of Bodybuilders from the Early 1900s
January 3, 2018
The rise in popularity professional strongmen was somehow a response to the Industrial Revolution. With the emergence of office work and factories, lifestyle became sede...
This Is Not A Victorian Lady, It's F. Scott Fitzgerald ...
December 7, 2017
These photos were taken in 1916 to help promote The Evil Eye at Princeton's Triangle Club. Fitzgerald was in his third year at Princeton when the musical-comedy t...
Vintage Photos of the Child Laborers of New York City
November 23, 2017
In 1908, Lewis Hine became an investigator and photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC).The organization is dedicated to "promoting the rights, aware...
Street Scenes of Vancouver, 1907
November 20, 2017
Street shots included here are Granville Street, with a glimpse of the old CPR station, West Hastings Street, Carrall Street, West Cordova Street, Canbie Street, Robson Street, and Davie S...
The Unseen Portraits of Somme Soldiers, 1916
November 20, 2017
During WW1, the village of Vignacourt in France was always behind the front lines – as a staging point, casualty clearing station and recreation area for troops of all national...
Colored Portraits of Native Americans, 19th Century
November 15, 2017
A French artist Frederic Duriez has color-enhanced some Native American portraits. Some of these photos are up to 120 years old and the color enhancement has certainly a...
C.J. Walker: From The Cotton Fields To America’s First ...
November 8, 2017
Hers was a classic and inspiring rags to riches story. One dotted with too many struggles and hardships, and failings and disappointments. But it's also a story...
Everyday Life of People from Around the World Over 100 ...
October 30, 2017
These amazing real photo postcards provide us a peek of how the world was like 100 years ago. Aeron Express, open Sea View, Aberaeron, Wales, 1911 Boating on th...
Vintage Photos Reveal the 19th Century’s Fascination wi...
October 29, 2017
In the 19th Century, posing with and taking photographs of dead loved ones was commonplace, allowing people to have a keepsake of their departed family members....
Old School Comedy: The Fat and the Lean Wrestling Match...
October 11, 2017
This film is a winner, it being one of the most laughable of mysterious picture ever made. H/T Nemo Ng
41 Beautiful Portraits of Edwardian Women From Between ...
October 10, 2017
Color photography was attempted as early as the 1840s, but it became popular only after the Lumière brothers introduced and patented the Autochrome Lumière techni...
The Cedar River Logging Trestle, 203ft High and 843ft L...
October 4, 2017
Completed shortly before this black and white photograph was taken by Darius Kinsey, the Cedar River trestle, built by Pacific States Lumber Company, was exceptio...
100-Year-Old Colour Portraits Of New York Immigrants Re...
September 28, 2017
Between 1892 and 1954, about 12 million immigrants arrived at Ellis Island, often dressed in their finest clothes. The portraits below, taken between 1906 and 19...
Gorgeous Black and White Photos Show the Rustic Rural L...
September 27, 2017
These photos below of rural life in Victorian England were taken by William Morris Grundy. After his death in 1859, the photo series was by the London Stereoscopi...
These Old Photos Capture Daily Life of a Family in Gull...
September 21, 2017
This series of photos from Maryellen McFadden captures the daily life of the Brenna family from between the 1900s and 1910s.
Claude Monet's House and Gardens: The Inspiration for M...
September 20, 2017
Claude Monet, a leading figure of the Impressionist movement, is also one of the best landscape painters the world has ever seen. Water lilies, colorful ponds, cl...
The Abandoned Island Was Once Used As a Leper Colony
August 1, 2017
The small island of Spinaloga, officially known as Kalydon, is located in a gulf in north-eastern Crete, next to the town of Plaka, near the Spinaloga peninsula – which...
Photos of Dog Carts and Milk Women from the Late 19th a...
July 4, 2017
You are on the outskirts of the town, you met country women on their way home to a farm several miles out. When they left home early morning those big, shiny copp...
A Love Story: J.R.R. Tolkien Proposed to His Wife By Ma...
July 2, 2017
By all accounts, famous writer John Ronald Reuel Tolkien and his wife, Edith, had a close and happy marriage. They were married for 55 years, with Edith following...
J.M. Barrie's Selfless Act and the Tragic Story of the ...
June 21, 2017
The story of Peter Pan, the boy who wouldn’t grow up, has become a quintessential part of popular culture; it is an enduring element of every childhood. Scottish ...
In 1905, An 11-Year-Old Boy Accidentally Invented One o...
June 15, 2017
In 1905, 11-year-old Frank Epperson of San Francisco, California, accidentally invented the Popsicle. It was a chilly evening when Frank decided to make himself ...
The Last Wild Indian: In 1911 Ishi Emerged From the Wil...
June 13, 2017
In August 29, 1911, a weak, starving native American man emerged from the Butte County wilderness into Oroville. He became an instant sensation. UC anthropologist...
Babies Were Used to Be Placed in Cages, Suspended 10 or...
May 6, 2017
In 1884, Luther Emmett Holt wrote of the importance of “airing” out babies in his book titled "The Care and Feeding of Children". This claim spun what is perhaps ...
The Tragic Life of Ota Benga, The Slave Forced to be a ...
May 5, 2017
On March 20, 1916, 32-year-old Ota Benga shot himself in the heart while being held against his will in the United States. Benga’s short, tragic life was outline...
Inside Look: The General Stores Of Yesteryear
May 2, 2017
General stores were an integral part of local society back in the old days and people treated them as such. Pioneers and farmers depended on general stores and trading posts ...
18th - 19th Century Jokes Most People Today Might Not '...
April 24, 2017
Some jokes are timeless and can make people laugh no matter the century. But most jokes are highly reliant on the context of the times. For example, our jokes tod...
The Thief Who Wore an Army Officer Uniform and Had Sold...
April 19, 2017
Friedrich Wilhelm Voigt lived a troubled life growing up in Tilsit, Prussia. In 1863, at the age of 14, he had been sentenced to two weeks in prison for theft whi...
Ernest Shackleton and The Endurance: One of The Greates...
April 17, 2017
In the early days of the Age of Exploration, men and women alike sailed across the harsh, unpredictable seas to discover new worlds and map out the undiscovered l...
A 30-foot Tree Trunk Has Been Floating Vertically in Or...
April 12, 2017
The Old Man of the Lake is a 30-foot tall tree stump, most likely a hemlock, that has been floating vertically in Oregon’s Crater Lake since at least 1896. The st...
Vintage Photos Of Milkmen Throughout History
April 6, 2017
Milkman. This is a job that people have held way back into the early 1800s. Do you remember the days when the milkman would still make the rounds in your neighborhood? The foll...
Victorian and Edwardian Workers Captured on Film, 1900 ...
April 5, 2017
These films, taken between 1900 and 1901, display some of the grittier nature of work in those days. The footages have survived very well, essentially the only fi...
