Historical Photos From Points Of View You’ve Never Seen Before
As the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words”, this is particularly true for old historical photos. Not only are these old photos precious, but also these have the ability to take us back through time, making us remember even the slightest details about a particular era in our history. Here are historical photos that you’ve probably never seen before!
First Class
This first photo is of a flight stewardess – they are called “air hostess” back in the day – and a steward from the SAS Scandinavian Airlines in 1969. They are photographed serving buffet style food options to a couple of passengers. Back then, traveling via air planes are expensive and can be seen as a luxury as only a few people can afford airplane rides. The SAS Scandinavian Airlines is the flag carrier for Denmark, Norway and Sweden – together they form Scandinavia – and was founded in 1946. They are considered – then and now – as one of the few premiere air lines with impeccable services.
Safe Sunbathing
In the wake of the abominable attack of the Japanese on Pearl Harbor in 1941, rage and anger towards the Japanese people were the general sentiments of people in the United States, and while unfair to some Japanese people living in the U.S., the sentiment can be understood in light of the terrible amount of lives taken that infamous day. This photo is of Ruth Lee, a Chinese restaurant hostess working in Miami at the time. She stuck a Chinese flag beside her on the beach while she sunbathes, to let everyone around her know her nationality so she won’t be mistaken for Japanese.
Jesse Owens wins gold in Nazi Germany, 1936
This historical photo proves that despite all the hatred he received, Jesse Owens proved that he was the best at what he does, and that is excelling as a track and field athlete. This photo was taken during the awarding ceremony at the 1936 Olympic Games that was held in Nazi Germany. Winning the gold medal as an American track and field athlete and as a black man, Jesse dispelled Hitler’s vision of the Aryan race supremacy. The four time Olympic gold medalist was so successful in his sports endeavor that the Jesse Owens Award is the highest accolade given in the U.S. Track and Field sports for exceptional athletes.
12. Uniform Check
Commercial flights became available during the 1960s, and as flights are becoming more and more cheap – people started traveling all over the world. Hence, commercial flight airlines competed against each other to get more passengers for their flights, using different approaches to appeal and entice potential travelers. One thing they did to compete against each other was to introduce appealing and skimpy uniforms for their flight crew to attract the attention of customers! This photo shows us an airline employee of Scandinavian Airlines checking the new uniform proposal for its air hostesses in 1964.
Under Construction
Known as the most beautiful and most photographed bridge in the world, the Golden Gate Bridge certainly lives up to its name, and even as early on as its construction phase, the Golden Gate Bridge was a sight to behold! This photo was taken on 1934, when only the towering structures and base bridge was completed. Today, the Golden State Bridge is one of the world’s most picturesque suspension bridges, connecting Marin County to San Francisco, California, the northern top of the San Francisco Peninsula. It’s internationally one of the most recognized symbols of the United States, and has been named as one of the “Wonders of the Modern World” by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
WWII Athletic Club
Hailing back to the era of World War II, this photo shows German women all lined up to be looked over and inspected by their gym teacher. The Nazi government was infamous for its promotion of the Aryan race, wanting their women to be blonde, tall, beautiful, thin and busty, while the men as blonde, tall, muscular and athletic. It was rumored that Hitler made experiments so that he can have the ability and knowledge to produce the perfect Aryan race! It was his goal to eradicate the world of unclean people – starting with the Jews – to make way for his Aryan super race.
Having Fun
This photograph is of Princess Diana and her youngest son, Prince Harry, having fun at an amusement park in April 1992. Being a hands-on mother, Princess Diana desired for her sons, Prince Harry and Prince William, to have a normal childhood, so she did everything in her power to let them experience normality, in spite of going against strict royal protocols. She believed that the royal family should have empathy and understand life from a commoner’s view, hence the normal childhood activities and excursions for her children – or something as close to normal. Princess Diana tragically died in a fire crash in 1997, and while she is gone, her grown-up sons have continued to stay humble, down-to-earth, and as normal as possible.
Before They Entered The White House
Known as one of the most powerful couples in the US political arena and its history, Bill and Hillary Clinton started from humble beginnings. Bill and Hillary met in 1971 while they were both studying law at Yale University. Married in 1975, Bill went on to run – and win – for the US presidential elections. This photo is of Hillary standing beside Bill during his presidential campaign. Bill has long since stepped down from the political arena, playing the supporting husband to Hillary’s political ambitions. From First Lady of the United States, to a New York Senator and the US Secretary of State, Hillary – and Bill – definitely has come a long way from this photo.
Manhattan Wheatfield
This photo was taken back in the 1980s of a wheat field at the back of the World Trade Center, in what is now known as Battery Park City. This photo is of American artist, Agnes Denes, who created the artwork entitled, “Wheatfield – A Confrontation”, which was commissioned by the city’s Public Art Fund in 1982. This photo proves just how fast a few decades can go! According to the artist, “Wheatfield was a symbol, a universal concept; it represented food, energy, commerce, world trade, and economics. It referred to mismanagement, waste, world hunger, and ecological concerns. It called attention to our misplaced priorities.”
The Obamas Before The White House
Now a celebrated political couple, Barack Obama and wife Michelle certainly would not have predicted the future they were going to have back when this photo was first taken. Michelle LaVaughn Robinson is from Chicago, Illinois and she met Barack Obama when they worked for a law firm Sidley Austin LLP during his summer internship. After a four year courtship, they got married in 1992 and moved to Chicago’s middle class Hyde Park neighborhood, where they raised both of their daughters, Malia and Sasha. This old photo of Barack and Michelle just proves that even way back then, without any knowledge of their future, Barack shows about him an air of presidency.
Children For Sale
Published in The Vidette Messenger of Valparaiso, an Indiana newspaper, back in 1948, this photo shows a mother’s heartbreaking image during a financial crisis. Due to difficulties, the family put up a sign in front of their house, with a sign that says, “4 Children For Sale, Inquire Within”. Sitting on the steps are the unfortunate young children. It was later reported that the four children were sold, separately, within a span of two years, and that includes the baby the mother was carrying in her womb when the photo was taken. Truly a heartbreak for any mother out there.
Marilyn Monroe’s First Marriage
Did you know that Marilyn Monroe was married three times at the age of her death of only 36 years? This photo was of her and her first husband, James Dougherty, at the time of their marriage, when she was just 16 years old! James Dougherty was a police officer from Los Angeles. Their marriage ended after four years. Marilyn’s second marriage was to baseball center fielder, Joe DiMaggio in 1955, and while being married to him, Marilyn reported began having an affair with playwright Arthur Miller. She then divorced Joe DiMaggio and subsequently got married to Arthur in 1956.
1940s Fashion
In the 1940s, ladies’ fashion started emerging, and here we can see what was trending way back then. Fashion has always looked for ways to cover up the appearance of breasts, and there are even some old types of bras that appeared in the 14th century. The corset finally made its appearance in France in the 15th century and has since evolved to the triangular-shaped bra in the 1940s. The triangular-shaped cone bra was said to make women’s breasts perky looking, and yes, while weirdly looking, it was a hit on the fashion scene back then, which lasted til the 1950s, until the emergence of the modern bra design we have now.
Boxing Day
This photo is a staged one, and taken on a rooftop in 1938. The women in the photo are chorus line girls, probably because of the clothes and shoes they wore in the photo. So it was assumed that they took the photo while taking a break from the routines they were practicing. It’s actually known that women have been boxing since the 18th century, when Elizabeth Wilkinson – known as the European Championess” fought both men and women in London. But it wasn’t until the 1904 Summer Olympic Games held in St. Louis, Missouri – officially known as the Games of the III Olympiad – that women’s boxing was officially accepted.
Entertaining
This photo is of Private James Hendrix – playing the guitar of the 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. Rising to fame as Jimi Hendrix whose career lasted only four years in the mainstream media, Jimmy is widely known as one of the most influential electric guitar artists in the history of music, as well as earning him a spot as one of the most celebration musicians ever. His short but sweet musical career was successful, with accolades pouring in. By 1969, Jimi was reportedly the world’s highest paid rock musician. While he died too early on in his career, he was awarded various accolades posthumously, with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describing him as “arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music.”