Marina Ginesta, a 17-year-old communist militant, overlooking Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War, 1936

Marina Ginestà became famous due to the photo taken by Juan Guzmán on the rooftop of Hotel Colón, Barcelona during the July 1936 military uprising in Barcelona. As she was a reporter, it was the only time Ginestà was carrying a gun. The rifle she is car…

The 2800 years old kiss (The Hasanlu “Lovers”)

These human remains were unearthed in 1973 at the Teppe Hasanlu archaeological site, located in the Solduz Valley in the West Azerbaijan Province of Iran. The site was burned after a military attack. The “head wound” is actually from modern-day excavators.…

Opium den in Singapore, 1941

Despite being targeted by law enforcement across the globe at the start of the 20th century, opium and opium dens were prevalent fixtures in east Asia, the United States, and Europe up until the mid-1950′s. In this photograph, opium smokers in Singapore…

Samuel Reshevsky, age 8, defeating several chess masters at once in France, 1920

Twenty graybeards sitting in a square played chess in Paris against a very small boy 8 years old, and Samuel Reshevsky beat them all.  According to New York Times: on May 17, 1920, Reshevky faced 20 players in a simul in Paris and the boy “moved quiet…

Testing a bulletproof vest, 1923

The gun players are WH Murphy and his assistant, of the Protective Garment Corporation of New York. By 1923, the Protective Garment Corporation of New York manufactured a lightweight vest for police use and they held a live demonstration in DC. The live…

Nine Kings in One Photo, 1910: Four Years Later, They Were Enemies at War

In May 1910, European royalty gathered in London for the funeral of King Edward VII. Among the mourners were nine reigning kings, who were photographed together in what very well may be the only photograph of nine reigning kings ever taken. Of the nine sov…

General Patton’s dog after his death, 1945

This picture of Willie, Patton’s dog, was taken a few days after the General’s death as preparations were made to send home his effects. Cartoonist Bill Mauldin describes the moment: "Beside him, lying in a big chair was Willie, the bull terrier. If ever d…

Einstein’s desk photographed a day after his death, 1955

Albert Einstein, whose theories exploded and reshaped our ideas of how the universe works, died on April 18, 1955, of heart failure. He was 76. His funeral and cremation were intensely private affairs, and only one photographer managed to capture the ev…

The First Photograph upon Discovery of Machu Picchu, 1911

In the summer of 1911, the American archaeologist Hiram Bingham arrived in Peru with a small team of explorers hoping to find Vilcabamba, the last Inca stronghold to fall to the Spanish. Traveling on foot and by mule, Bingham and his team made their way…