The first "strongwomen" appeared in the 19th century but were almost unheard of until much later. The appearance of strong women became more prevalent in sporting events and was also a common attraction in circuses where they would showcase their superh…
During World War One, large numbers of women were recruited into jobs vacated by men who had gone to fight in the war. New jobs were also created as part of the war effort, for example in munitions factories. The high demand for weapons resulted in the …
The Second World War changed the United States for women, and women in turn transformed their nation. Over three hundred fifty thousand women volunteered for military service, while twenty times as many stepped into civilian jobs, including positions pr…
The 872-day Siege of Leningrad, Russia, resulted from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad on the Eastern Front of World War II. The siege lasted from September 8, 1941, to January 27, 1944, and was one of the longest and most…
Dressed in what would look to us like very conservative swimwear today, the women were being arrested for defying a ban on wearing their ‘brief swimsuits’ in public. In the early 1900s, modesty laws were very strict and required most women to wear long …
On 8 March 1979, more than 100,000 women gathered on the streets of the Iranian capital to protest against the new Islamic government’s compulsory hijab ruling, which meant that women would henceforth be required to wear a headscarf when away from home. …
The Kayan Lahwi people, also known as Padaung, are an ethnic group with populations in Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand. Padaung women are well-known for wearing neck rings, brass coils that are placed around the neck, appearing to lengthen it. The women we…
They are all wearing dance shoes so they are probably performers for a variety show. Since no one had decent air conditioning back then, practicing their acts outside on the roof was better than in a stuffy theater. Someone must have thought it'd make a…
Until the end of the 1930s, the best women’s stockings were made from silk. This changed in the United States when DuPont began manufacturing nylon in 1939. Nylon stockings went on limited sale in October of that year followed by a national launch at selec…
At the far edges of the nineteenth-century world, the Arctic stood as both a lived homeland and a testing ground for human ambition. Long before explorers and photographers arrived with cameras and scientific instruments, Indigenous peoples such as the Inui…
Moving through city streets, rural roads, and temporary encampments, the camera of Paul Almásy captured a side of Western Europe rarely acknowledged in mid-20th-century visual history. Born in Budapest in 1906 and later based in Paris, Almásy devoted his ca…
In the decades leading up to the 1979 Revolution, Iran Air—widely known by its emblem, the “Homa”—stood as a symbol of ambition, confidence, and global connection. The airline rose rapidly to become one of the most respected carriers of the Jet Age, project…
Well before the celebratory ceremonies of 1959, Hawaii occupied a complex and often uncertain place within the American story. Annexed by the United States in 1898, the islands spent more than six decades as a U.S. territory, shaped by global events, cu…
The stiff expressions frozen in Victorian photographs have helped cement the idea of an era defined by severity and restraint. Those solemn faces, staring straight into the camera, often suggest a society devoid of humor or warmth. In reality, laughter a…
In the years before she became synonymous with glossy television drama and sharp-tongued glamour, Joan Collins was already building a reputation as one of Britain’s most striking young screen actresses. Born on May 23, 1933, in London, England, Collins …
Long before dating apps compressed romance into swipes and algorithms, desire traveled by newsprint. In the back pages of local papers and alternative weeklies, small rectangles of text carried outsized hopes. These vintage personal ads, spanning roughly th…
Long before paint was brushed on chapel ceilings or monuments carved in stone, humans were already shaping the walls of the earth into extraordinary art. Hidden beneath the limestone hills of the Dordogne lies one of the most remarkable prehistoric sites in…
Few places captured the raw glamour and excess of 1970s New York quite like Studio 54. At a time when the city pulsed with disco rhythms and cultural experimentation, this Midtown nightclub emerged as the ultimate stage for celebrity encounters, boundary-pushi…
The 1960s were more than just another chapter in fashion history—they were a turning point. It was an era defined by rebellion, creativity, and the rise of youth culture. As society began to question traditional values, fashion followed suit, reflecting a n…
The practice of cross-dressing reaches back to the earliest civilizations, appearing in myths, theater, and rituals across cultures. From ancient Greece, where male actors portrayed female roles on stage, to Japanese kabuki theatre and Shakespearean England…