Photography gives us a unique look into the past, and hopefully, this gallery of cool historical photos can help you gain a new perspective. From Soviet Russia to the Alamo, here are 22 historical pics you probably haven't seen before.
One photo shows Shoichi Yokoi, a Japanese World War II soldier who managed to avoid capture until 1972. Having fled into the jungles of Guam with a few other men when the island was captured by American forces in 1944, Yokoi stayed there and lived off the land for 28 years. Even when the other men either died or moved away, he stayed in hiding. Yokoi later stated that he knew the war was over, but also that the Japanese preferred to die before surrendering, and assumed returning home would mean his death. Eventually, he was captured by two locals, turned in, and returned to Japan. Yokoi maintained a fierce loyalty to the Japanese emperors, and stated "It is with much embarrassment that I return," and "I deeply regret that I could not serve you well." He eventually married and passed away in 1992 at the age of 82.
Check out his photo, and 22 other cool historical photos right here.
1
Russian woman, with the background of the burnt out Parliament building and a BTR APC. Moscow, in the aftermath of the constitutional crisis, October 1993.
2
Corrupt labor union official & Mafia hitman Frank Sheeran in a bar in the 1970's. He is thought to have killed Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa, and was inspiration for the movie “The Irishman.”
3
Shoichi Yokoi, the Japanese soldier who hid in the jungle in Guam for 27 years to avoid capture, weeps upon his return to Japan in February 1972.
4
Buster Keaton, Roscoe Arbuckle, and Al St. John, 1918.
5
Charles Bronson in 2001. The man dubbed "the most violent prisoner in Britain."
6
Hot Wheels assembly line, 1960s.
7
Captain Francis Fenton of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines after his overwhelmed company, nearly out of supplies and ammunition, were ordered to keep fighting the North Koreans at No Name Ridge. September 1950.
8
Archaeologists dine in the tomb of Pharaoh Ramses XI, 1923.
9
Father and son taking fun photos, 1910s.
10
A photo from the crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 in the Andes mountains, carrying 45 people, including a rugby team. 1972.
11
Chain for the Titanic’s anchor, 1909.
12
Robert Oppenheimer, and Gen. Leslie Groves in 1945.
13
Last photo ever taken of congressman Leo Ryan, hours before he was killed after learning too much about the Jonestown religious cult, 1978.
14
Qusay Hussein, son of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, fires a revolver in the air during a social event. 1980's.
15
The German Paris Gun, also known as the Kaiser Wilhelm Gun, was the largest gun of World War I. In 1918 the Paris Gun shelled Paris from 75 miles away.
16
The upper chamber of the Supreme Soviet in its final session, voting the USSR out of existence, 26 December 1991.
17
Juvenile convicts at work in the fields on a chain gang. Southern jails made money leasing convicts for labor in the Jim Crow South. Circa. 1903.
18
One of the only known photos of Mexican general and president Antonio Lopez De Santa Anna, 1853. Known in the US for his role at "the Alamo." 1848.
19
Tonya Harding, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Nancy Kerrigan, 1991.
20
Part of an astronaut helmet found by a farmer in a field in Texas – after the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry. February 1st, 2003.
21
April 27, 1975: After the Indiana Pacers used their team mascot to put a 'hex' on the Denver Nuggets, the Nuggets respond by hiring a witch to put a spell on the Pacers. The Nuggets lost both games.
22
Mikhail Gorbachev checks his watch before a televised address announcing his resignation as president of the USSR on the 25th of December, 1991.
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