History is, well, everything. It is as much each passing moment as it is the chronicles of King Alfred or the hieroglyphs inscribed in ancient Egyptian tombs. How well we connect with that history, fortunately or unfortunately, has quite a lot to do with its form. Grainy black and white photos sometimes soften the blow of a powerful picture, making the events recorded seem a little further and less real than they rightfully should.
Down below are 30 epic photos from history, expertly colorized to give them renewed life.
1
Iconic Spanish Civil War Photograph Taken By Juan Guzmán Of 17-Year-Old Marina Ginestà With An M1916 Spanish Mauser Rifle Overlooking Barcelona On The 21 July 1936 During The 1936 Military Uprising In Barcelona
2
People At Daytona Beach In Flordia, United States In 1904
3
Martin Luther King Jr. And Ralph Abernathy Riding On The First Desegregated Bus In Montgomery, Alabama In December 1956
4
A Portrait Of Two Whistles (Ishichoshtupsh) Of The Crow People (Apsáalooke) Photographed By Edward S. Curtis In 1908
5
French Painter Claude Monet Photographed In His Garden In Giverny, France In 1899
6
Photographer Michael Nash Using A Backdrop To Hide Buildings Damaged During World War II While Photographing A Woman In Warsaw, Poland In November 1946
7
A Woman Posting A Letter In A Postbox Amongst Destroyed Buildings And Rubble Caused By German Air Raids During World War II. Photograph Taken In London, United Kingdom In 1940
8
He Construction Of The Eiffel Tower In Paris, France In 1888, A Year Before The 1889 World’s Fair Of Which It Was The Main Symbol. Construction Of The Eiffel Tower Was Completed On The 15 March 1889 And Was Originally A Color Known As “Venetian Red”
9
The Oldest Surviving Photograph Ever, Taken In C. 1826 By Joseph Nicéphore Niépce From A Window On His Estate 'Le Gras' In Saint-Loup-De-Varennes, France. In The Photograph, You Can See Some Buildings On His Estate And The Surrounding Countryside
10
He Train Wreck At Montparnasse Station In Paris, France On The 22 October 1895. The Train Overran A Buffer Stop And Smashed Through A Window Due To The Driver Approaching The Station At Too Fast A Speed. Surprisingly, There Was Only 1 Death As A Result Of This Disaster, A Woman Outside The Station Was Killed By Falling Masonry
11
Grigori Rasputin, Russian Mystic And Self-Proclaimed Holy Man Who Befriended The Family Of Tsar Nicholas II, The Last Monarch Of Russia, And Gained Considerable Influence In Late Imperial Russia, In C. 1910s
12
Paulette Goddard And Charlie Chaplin (Dressed As His Famous Character The Tramp) Photographed In 1936 Resting On The Set Of The Silent Film Modern Times
13
Women Delivering Ice From A Truck On An Ice Route On The 16 September 1918. This Job Was Previously Only Done By Men But Due To The War, Women Were Recruited. Shortly After The End Of The First World War, The Natural Ice Trade Began To Be Overtaken By Production Of Ice Through Refrigeration Cooling Systems And Plant Ice
14
The Interior Of A Commercial Plane In 1936. The Plane Belonged To Imperial Airways, The First British Commercial Airline
15
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
16
A Navajo Man Photographed In C. 1904 Dressed As Nayenezgáni, A Mythical Hero From Navajo Mythology Who, Along With His Brother Tobadzischini, Rid The World Of The Anaye (Monsters From Navajo Mythology)
17
A Crowded Beach In Atlantic City Photographed In 1908
18
Four Women Photographed Outside A House In The Slums Of Amsterdam, The Netherlands In 1899. The Photograph Was Taken By The Health Service In Preparation For An Uninhabitable Declaration
19
Mercury Train 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
20
Russian Revolutionary Leon Trotsky (Right), Mexican Artist Frida Kahlo (Center), And Revolutionary And Wife Of Trotsky Natalia Sedova, Photographed Together In Mexico In 1937
21
Future Queen Elizabeth II Of The United Kingdom Photographed At The Age Of 19 In 1945 Serving As An Ambulance Driver For The Auxiliary Territorial Service During World War II
22
A Japanese Couple Taking A Self Portrait Together In C. 1920
23
Wo Apsaroke Native Americans On Horseback Outside Of A Tipi In A Snow-Covered Forest In Montana In 1908
24
Dutch Resistance Fighters Photographed Celebrating The Liberation Of The City Of Breda, The Netherlands, By The Polish 1st Armored Division On The 29th October 1944
25
A Native American, Belonging To The Ojibwe People, Spear Fishing In A Lake Somewhere In Minnesota, United States. Photograph Taken In 1908
26
A Navajo Man Photographed In C. 1904 Dressed As Tó Neinilii, The Rain God Of The Navajo People, A Deity Given To Having Fun And Playing Tricks
27
The Cast Of Star Wars Out Of Costume In C. 1977. From Left To Right: Harrison Ford (Han Solo), David Prowse (Darth Vader), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Kenny Baker (R2-D2), And Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker)
28
Two Photographs Of Evgeny Stepanovich Kobytev, A Soviet Soldier, Taken 4 Years Apart. The First Image, On The Left, Was Taken The Day He Went To Fight In The War, Age 30 In June 1941, And The Photograph On The Right Was Taken When He Returned From The War In 1945
29
Royal Navy Stoker With 21 Years Service Nicknamed “Popeye”, Photographed On Board The Hms Rodney In September 1940
30
A Street Car Conductor Not Allowing Passengers Aboard Without Wearing A Mask During The Spanish Flu Pandemic. Photograph Taken In Seattle, Washington, USA In 1918
