The occupation of Warsaw by the French Army in 1806 was followed a year later by Napoleon I’s creation of the duchy of Warsaw, a measure that reinstated the city as a capital. The French emperor’s downfall, however, led to occupation by Russia. Under the Co…
The Siege of Leningrad was a brutal and devastating military campaign that lasted for 872 days, from September 8, 1941, to January 27, 1944, during World War II. Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, was then the second-largest city in the Soviet Union …
In August 1896 when three men found gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada's Yukon Territory, they had no idea they would set off one of the greatest gold rushes in history. The idea of striking it rich led over 100,000 people from all walks of…
In the 1920s, a Coca-Cola bottler declared, “Coca-Cola was as instrumental in building up the soft drink industry as Henry Ford was in building up the automotive industry.” In this collection, you can travel in time and go through vintage photos of Coca-Col…
Freddie Mercury was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of rock music, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave…
These old photos show couples in love from the 19th century proving that love is timeless and eternal. Despite sometimes appearing stern or sitting apart, it's clear that they still adore each other as shown by their sweetly shy smiles, flirting, tender tou…
Deceiving the enemy as to what you are doing is not new. Trying to hide positions from observation is not new, trying to hide whole factories from aerial bombing during the Second World War was new. Boeing’s aircraft manufacturing facilities were critical t…
Conversation pits and sunken living rooms were very common from the 1950s until the 1980s, but they drew inspiration from much older design forms, including traditional gathering spaces from ancient China and medieval Spain. The pits initially gained popula…
This photo collection shows cool and vintage gadgets from the past invented to improve the smoking experience and provide solutions to mundane problems. Inventors introduced and advertised several cigarette accessories, such as automated lighters, remote sm…
These vintage photos capture everyday life in Amsterdam during the 1930s. Amsterdam was founded at the mouth of the Amstel River that was dammed to control flooding; the city's name derives from the Amstel dam. Originally a small fishing village in the late…
Founded in 1903, Harley-Davidson is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression along with its historical rival, Indian Motorcycles. The company has survived numerous ownership arrangements, subsidiary arrangements, pe…
In 1972, a plane crashed into the Andes and the survivors resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. This is the story of the 16 survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which was chartered to take an amateur rugby team from Montevideo to Santiago, Chile, and …
Toronto in the 1900s was a different city from the one we know today. The center of business had moved west of the historical Town of York site and the skyline was undeveloped. The tallest structures were the Temple Building at 10 stories and the Trader's B…
Charlie Chaplin is widely regarded as the greatest comic artist of the screen and one of the most important figures in motion-picture history. His career spanned more than 75 years, from childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977, …
In 1937, the International Exposition in Paris dedicated to Art and Technology in Modern Life brought together 44 countries in the city of light, allies, and enemies alike. The Exposition Internationale would be the final European enactment of the ritual of…
Sculptures are one of the oldest visual art forms in existence and one of the most publicly visible forms of artwork. It has been around for thousands of years, and it’s an art that can be created in a variety of materials, such as stone, wood, bronze, and…
The man of the late 19th century, no matter his social status, was sure to don a perfectly stylish and manicured mustache as a part of any proper gentlemen’s attire. During the Crimean War in the 1850s was when men started to really show off a variety of di…
Beyond the regular duties of stewardesses, airline companies used the sexual appeal of their sky girls to create captivating and often racy ad campaigns. "Fly me" was an advertising campaign launched by National Airlines in the 1970s. The campaign was cre…
Before modern air travel and first-class suites, the grandest thing in luxury air travel was the German Zeppelin airship. The Hindenburg was designed to ferry passengers across the Atlantic in serenity, with the dirigible floating smoothly through the c…
When settlers headed to the Pacific Northwest, they were forced to improvise dwellings and start their lives from scratch. Finding the stumps of gigantic trees that had been felled by logging companies still rooted in the ground, they saw a great opportunit…