What are some of the most interesting historical photos you’ve ever seen? The most compelling images from the past have a tendency to stick with us – there’s at least a few from the history books that you know you’ll never forget.
The 40 photos below are equally as memorable, because they all do a great job of telling a story about what was going on at the time. From the dusty roads of Vietnam to the crowded streets of New York City, each one of these amazing photographs represents an interesting moment in time. #39 is simply fascinating.
#40. Children licking large blocks of ice on the sidewalk in New York City in 1912.
![10000](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 682 493'%2F%3E)
#39. A payphone in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco.
![pic_00b](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 2000 2781'%2F%3E)
#38. A boy watching TV in front of a window in 1948.
![pic_00c](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1390 2048'%2F%3E)
#37. A young girl walks her kitten on a leash in 1931.
![pic_00d](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1280 939'%2F%3E)
#36. Blair Parson’s store in Lynchburg, Virginia was famous for it’s “10,000 Calorie Sundae.”
![pic_00e](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 980 784'%2F%3E)
#35. The Great Wall of China before the restoration.
![pic_031](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1275 1473'%2F%3E)
#34. Helen Keller examining President Dwight Eisenhower’s face.
![pic_032](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 2000 1608'%2F%3E)
#33. A women’s basketball team at Smith’s College in 1902.
![pic_033](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1050 600'%2F%3E)
#32. Women’s tennis at the summer Olympic Games in Paris, France.
![pic_034](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1430 1600'%2F%3E)
#31. Behind the scenes from the 1972 filming The Godfather.
![pic_035](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 677 845'%2F%3E)
#30. Marilyn Monroe cruising around NYC in a 1956 Thunderbird.
![pic_001](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1069 1591'%2F%3E)
#29. A three story outhouse in St. Louis.
![pic_002](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 800 1024'%2F%3E)
#28. One of the world’s first underwater photographs, taken in 1893.
![pic_003](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 650 857'%2F%3E)
#27. Jim Morrison laying on the stage during a 1968 concert for The Doors.
![pic_004](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 2000 1575'%2F%3E)
#26. Boys wear space helmets for a “Trip To The Moon” at a planetarium.
![pic_005](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1832 2280'%2F%3E)
#25. A 1902 Santa Claus on the streets of Chicago.
![pic_006](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 640 459'%2F%3E)
#24. A Germany fraternity takes a selfie in a mirror.
![pic_007](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1024 683'%2F%3E)
#23. A woman playing on a beach in Tel Aviv in 1948.
![pic_008](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1280 1275'%2F%3E)
#22. The construction of the Eiffel Tower.
![pic_009](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 650 430'%2F%3E)
#21. Electric car and charging station (c. 1912 – location unknown)
![pic_010](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1280 1026'%2F%3E)
#20. A llama hanging out in a NYC car in 1956.
![pic_021](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 980 913'%2F%3E)
#19. This young boy was bitten by a Russell’s viper, one of the deadliest snakes in India.The doctors were able to treat him after the boy’s father brought in a dead snake for identification.
![pic_022](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1660 1328'%2F%3E)
#18. The ancient pyramids in Giza, Egypt.
![pic_023](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 2000 1458'%2F%3E)
#17. Dinosaur tracks in prehistoric limestone being removed from the bed of the Paluxy River in Texas.
![pic_024](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 635 818'%2F%3E)
#16. An aerial view of San Francisco after a devastating earthquake in 1906.
![pic_025](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 2000 785'%2F%3E)
#15. An American soldier assisting a woman out of a cave during the battle of Saipan.
![pic_026](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 964 881'%2F%3E)
#14. Louis Armstrong playing trumpet for his wife at the Giza pyramids in 1961.
![pic_027](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1233 1280'%2F%3E)
#13. A first class cafe on the Titanic.
![pic_028](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 960 590'%2F%3E)
#12. Galician immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, standing on the streets of Quebec province.
![pic_029](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 760 528'%2F%3E)
#11. A colorized photograph of a railroad exhibit near Baltimore, Maryland in 1927.
![pic_030](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 900 628'%2F%3E)
#10. A glimpse of the environment post D-Day.
![pic_011](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 2000 1509'%2F%3E)
#9. Sean Connery on the set of ‘Thunderball’ with Claudine Auger in 1965.
![pic_012](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 983 1305'%2F%3E)
#8. Two North Vietnamese soldiers holding hands.
![pic_013](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1500 1492'%2F%3E)
#7. The very first female hair stylist in New York City, Miss Jeanne Devereux.
![pic_014](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1200 1566'%2F%3E)
#6. Bathing pool at Hotel Alcazar in 1889.
![pic_015](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1800 1426'%2F%3E)
#5. Charles C. Ebbets takes a picture from the GE Building in Rockefeller Center.
![pic_016](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 791 1024'%2F%3E)
#4. University of Michigan football team, photographed in 1907
![pic_017](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 2000 1286'%2F%3E)
#3. A market in 1900’s New York City.
![pic_018](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1280 1001'%2F%3E)
#2. People having a picnic on a deserted highway during the oil crisis of 1973.
![pic_019](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1024 678'%2F%3E)
#1. A 1974 photograph of mimes in NYC. Do you recognize the mime on the right? That’s right, it’s comedy legend Robin Williams.
![pic_020](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' viewBox%3D'0 0 1024 690'%2F%3E)
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