There are plenty of iconic historical photos that you've definitely seen before, but these are almost as cool, and way more obscure. While the majority of these pics deal with war history, there are a couple of cool snapshots featuring less well-known events from peacetime. For instance, have you ever heard of Gustaf Håkansson?
I bet you haven't, but in 1951, the 61-year-old unofficially entered into a bicycle race around Sweden. That's almost 1,100 miles worth of cycling, for a man considered too old in comparison to his much more junior competitors. However, after breaking "sleep time" rules in place for the competitors' safety, Gustaf ended up beating the entire field by over a day. Unsurprisingly, the Swede would live to be 101 years old and regularly rode his bike until a year before his death.
We all know about the Wright brothers, but who was the first man to fly a plane over in Europe? Three years after the Ohio natives accomplished man's first flight, Brazilian aeronaut Alberto Santos-Dumont lifted off near Paris. The flight only traveled about 60 meters, but it was enough. Check out that photo, and plenty more in this gallery of fun history pics you've probably never seen.
1
Gustaf Håkansson; an unofficial competitor in a cycling race around Sweden, (1764 km), who was not allowed to start due to his age of 66, but outclassed his rivals by over a day because he did not take the required sleep breaks, 1951. He rode a bike until he was 100 years old.
2
The wreck of U-118, a German U-boat surrendered at the end of the First World War, which ran aground as a result of a towing cable snapping at Hastings, in January 1919.
3
Accident at the Montparnasse station on October 22,1895. An express train derails after overrunning the buffer stop, crossing 30 meters of concourse before crashing through a wall and falling to the road below. All passengers survived, but a woman in the street was killed by falling stones.
4
Russian Aviator and Warrant Officer Pyotr Krisanov of the 4th Siberian Air Detachment, seen here with his Newport IV airplane during the winter of 1915. He was decorated with all 4 degrees of the St. George Cross and died in a dogfight with 2 enemy aircraft in 1917 during WWI.
5
Brazilian aeronaut Alberto Santos-Dumont flies the fixed-wing 14-bis 'Oiseau de Proie II' in the first heavier-than-air flight in Europe. The plane lifted off and flew for 60 meters without taking advantage of headwinds, ramps, catapults, slopes, or other devices. Paris, 1906.
6
A USMC Vought F4U-1 Corsair loses its load of FFAR rocket projectiles on a run against a Japanese stronghold on Okinawa. In the lower background is the smoke of battle as Marine units move inland. June, 1945.
7
Woman exiting New York City streetcar, 1912.
8
Japanese battleship Nagato serving as one of the target ships during atomic testing at Bikini Atoll in 1946.
9
A Bosnian Army soldier on a mountain near Sarajevo during the Bosnian war, 1994.
10
A Russian woman watches a building burn, sometime in 1942.
11
October, 1962: Fans climb the fence to view the World Series at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California.
12
German soldiers crossing a Russian River on their tank. August 3, 1942.
13
Lech Walesa speaks to workers during a strike at the Gdansk shipyard, which led to the birth of Solidarity in Poland in August, 1980.
14
Women assembling mortar bombs at the Swan Electric Company in Wellington, New Zealand. Circa 1939-1945.
15
Grand Canal, Venice, Italy. Circa 1970. Planting a pole in the water to tie the boat on it.
16
Fidel Castro and Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli, Libya, 1977.
17
The crew of an RAF Stirling bomber undergoing debriefing by an intelligence officer after their return from a raid on Berlin. November 23, 1943.
18
A crowd forms on Wall Street during the Bankers Panic of 1907.
19
Inside Big Ben, London 1920s.
20
18 or 20-year-old Albert Tangora, current world record holder for fastest typing on a typewriter. His record is 141 words per minute, set on October 22, 1923.
21
Florence Cathedral in the 1860s. Even though the building was built in the golden age of Florence, the façade was not completed at that time. In 1864, a competition was announced for the design of the completion of the building, and the iconic façade was completed in 1887.
22
Crystal City High School’s Chicano students rebelled against unspoken ethnic quotas that allowed only one Mexican American on the cheerleading squad, 1969.
