What are some unbelievably rare historical photos that actually exist?

 Jerusalem, everyday life in a Christian quarter, 1870. Félix Bonfils:

3 year-old Albert Einstein in 1882, Munich, Germany. Wikipedia:

The Acropolis of Athens, 1907. Underwood and Underwood:

“Mad monk” (actually, he was neither) Grigori Rasputin and groupies in an apartment in St Petersburg, 1914. Hitek:

German dispatch dog delivering messages on the front during a German offensive, 1918. Hitek:

Chinese doctor, an aristocrat with long fingernails. “A Chinese Hand Much Admired.” c. 1920. C. C. Pierce:

Execution of right-wing prisoner by the Republican Army during the Paracuellos Massacres (Matanzas de Paracuellos), in Paracuellos del Jarama, the small town and municipality of Madrid,1936. Wikipedia:

Body of Heinrich Himmler after he committed suicide by poison, 1945. Wikipedia:

When Joseph Stalin died on March 5, 1953, this D.C. restaurant celebrated by offering free borshch. Eileen Keenan, a waitress at the 1203 Restaurant, puts up a sign outside the restaurant, March 6. Bettmann:

What are some amazing historical photos?

 Barack and Michelle Obama wedding photo, October 3, 1992.

Marilyn Monroe entertaining troops on stage in Korea (1954).

Martin Luther King being arrested for demanding service at a white-only restaurant in St. Augustine, Florida, 1964

Attorney at law, Mohandas Gandhi, 1893

German fraternity mirror selfie, 1912

Bob Marley on the beach with Miss World 1976 Cindy Breakspeare, mother of Damien Marley

Jimmy Page performing live with Led Zeppelin. Circa 1972

The beginning of the Hollywood era: the filming of the MGM screen credits, 1928

One of the oldest photos of the Great Sphinx, from 1880

German Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-5 fighters, of Fighter Squadron JG54, during flight, 1943

The world’s last commercial sailing ship, The Pamir, rounding Cape Horn for the last time in 1949

The rarely seen back of the Hoover Dam before it filled with water 1936

Celebrating a new year. New Year’s Day, 1933

F1 pilot ejects at extremely low altitude. The pilot survived with multiple fractures. 1962

At the 50th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg, Union and Confederate veterans shake hands. 1913

A pickup truck flees from the pyroclastic flows spewing from the Mt.Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines, on June 17, 1991. This was the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century

Members of the Oxford University Boat Club pose for a photograph, early 1960s (Stephen Hawking with handkerchief)

A motorist stops to get directions from a state trooper in New Mexico, 1939

The 3245 year old seal on Tutankhamen’s tomb before it was broken, 1922

Police officer guarding a pharmacy in high-flood waters, Ontario, 1974

Russians wait in line outside a first McDonald’s fast food restaurant in Moscow 1991

What is the biggest misnomer of historical figures?

 Lal Bahadur Shastri’s actual surname was Srivastava, Shastri was the title he got from Kashi Vidyapith when he graduated with a first-class degree in philosophy and ethicswhich he used. Apparently like most of the freedom fighters those days, he did not believe in caste, so never used his original surname.

Same with Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, whose real surname was Bandopadhyaya. He got the title of Vidyasagar from Sanskrit College, Kolkata, where he graduated from, due to his excellent performance in Sanskrit studies and philosophy. And he used that along with his name.

Chandrashekhar Sitaram Tiwary, took the moniker of Azad, apparently after a well known incident, when as a 15 year old teen, he was arrested for protesting against the British rule. When the jailor asked him his name, he shot back defiantly “Azad”, and that became his more popular name.

Actually that seemed to be common with most of the revolutionaries of that time. Ram Prasad used one of his pen names Bismil, along with his first name, by which he became more popular.

What's the coolest hidden historical fact you know?

 Swai Madho Singh 2 (28 August 1862 – 7 September 1922) was the ruler of princely state of Jaipur from 1880 and 1922. He was the adopted son of previous ruler Swai Man Singh 2.

He was extremely Royal to the British Crown. His troops and horses assisted British forces during the Chitral Expedition in 1894–1895 and the Tirah Expedition in1897–1898 and the Second Boer Wars in 1899–1902. He also sent his men and Machine Gun at his own expense to assist British in Mesopotamian Campaign during World War 1. He also got various Honours from British. Apart from British honours, he got honoured from the Crown of Prussia and St. John hospital of Jerusalem.

Also he commissioned 2 silver vessels, which was made by melting 14,000 silver coins in 1894. These Vassels were used to carry Gangajals to London when he attended Coronation of King Edward VIII.

What are the most interesting but little known historical events?

 Many of you would remember this picture (North & South Towers of the World Trade Center, September 11 attacks, 2001).

This interesting and absolutely amazing story is about a person who saved thousands of lives on that day. The man anticipated 9/11 attacks long before the attacks actually took place. The story was shared with us by a faculty member during one of our recent training programs on safety practices.

Bob Scott, the president & COO of Morgan Stanley, while speaking at Harvard Business School, once said the 9/11 attacks were a milestone more than any other for them. (Leadership on 9/11: Morgan Stanley's Challenge). It might intrigue you as to why he was referring to the 9/11 attacks as a milestone. So here is the fact, Morgan Stanley was the largest tenant in the World Trade Center Towers at that time with approximately 2700 employees but they lost just six employees that very day. The person to be thanked for this, was Rick Rescorla.

Rick Rescorla was a former Vietnam War veteran and a retired U.S. Army officer. He was also a private security specialist who eventually became Director of Security at Morgan Stanley at the World Trade Towers. Due to some reasons, Rick always felt that the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center (WTC) were highly prone to terrorist attacks. One of his friends, Daniel Hill, was trained in counter terrorism. In 1990, he invited his friend Hill to visit the World Trade Center to get an assessment of its security. When Rescorla asked Hill how he would attack the building if he were a terrorist, Hill said that he would drive a truck full of explosives in the basement, walk out, and light it off (Rick Rescorla - Wikipedia ). They both submitted reports about it to the authorities but they were ignored. And in 1993 in similar fashion, a truck filled with explosives detonated below the North Tower. (1993 World Trade Center bombing) This was the first attempt by Al-Qaeda to attack the WTC.

After this incident, Rescorla gained more credibility and authority. He wanted the company out of that building because he continued to feel, as did Hill, that the World Trade Center was still prone to terrorist attacks, and that the next attack could involve a plane crashing into one of the towers due to their height. However, the company could not move out of the towers as they had lease agreements, hence Rescorla used to make all employees, including senior executives, practice emergency evacuation drills every three months. He told the employees that they needed to empower themselves through surprise/mock fire drills in order to counter any emergency in the future. Rescorla's strict approach to these drills also put him into conflict with some high-powered executives and employees, but still he kept on insisting for regular drills.

After all that, the day came on 11 September 2001 when the World Trade Center was under attack. And it’s a fact, when any emergency occurs then our mind doesn't work instead our habits help us. In an emergency, we do what we have been doing regularly. So when the attacks unravelled, Morgan Stanley employees were already prepared for evacuation at once as they had been trained for such scenario over the years. Within no time, Rescorla managed to evacuate most employees. After most Morgan Stanley employees were successfully evacuated, someone told him that he too had to evacuate the building; to that he replied that he would evacuate himself out as soon as he makes sure that everyone else was out (Rick Rescorla - Wikipedia). Shortly the South Tower (he was in the South Tower) collapsed, and his remains were never found. He was declared dead after three weeks. Such a HERO! He saved 2700 lives on 11th September 2001 during the attacks. This story underlines the importance of such disaster contingency drills/plans but ironically, in India we don’t take such drills seriously.

Moral: "If you wait for a crisis to begin to lead, it’s too late."
~ Bob Scott.

P.S This year, the late Rick Rescorla was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by U.S. President Donald Trump for his extraordinary sacrifice.

Credits: Rick Rescorla - Wikipedia (some text taken from Wikipedia)

Are there any living descendants of famous historical figures still living today?

 

Gautam Patel : He is grand son of Sardar Patel , first Indian Union Home Minister and deputy Prime Minister.

This only living kin of Indian statesman stays in Vadodara , Gujarat, India.

His father Daya Bhai Patel was eldest son of Sardar Patel.

Sardar Patel had prohibited his family members from staying with him in his official residence.

He did not allow his family members to ever use his name in professional and social circles.

Naturally, majority of his family members stayed away from political lime lights.

Only time Gautam Patel attended public function was to receive Bharat Ratna award for Sardar Patel.

Fact : Undoubtedly, Sardar Patel was a man of Iron will and strong moral values.

Pic Credits : Google Images / Web

What are some rare historical photos you wouldn't believe exist?

 

1. Men stand beside the giant chain links that were hand-forged for Titanic’s Hingley-anchor. The largest at that time.

2. A view inside one of the Titanic’s first class suites (1912).

3. Lifeboats taking the survivors of Titanic away from the heart-wrenching spectacle.

4. Alcohol being poured out during prohibition in Detroit 1929.

5. Albert Einstein at the opening of World’s fair, New York,1939.

6. Laika, Soviet dog that went to space in the Sputnik 2.

7. Jefferson Davis being sworn in as the provisional President of the Confederate states, on February 18, 1861 at the Alabama state capitol.

8. Nazi gold stored in Merkers Salt Mine.

9. Women having stockings painted on rather than buying during War time.

10. The American Red Cross workers collecting victims of the flu in St. Louis, Missouri (1918).

11. A dissatisfied customer leaving a review in 1920.

12. Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine declared safe (12 April 1955) and he chose not to patent it.

13. Gen. John Pershing awards Sgt. Stubby with a gold medal in 1921. Stubby served in 17 battles and fought in four major Allied offensives during World War I.

14. Siberian Bear-Hunting Armor 1800s.

15. Soviet nurse tending to babies left to sleep outside for ‘cold therapy’ to build their immune system.

16. Ice-cold whiskey dispenser from 1950s for a short period, these were very popular in many office buildings across America.

17. A Red Cross nurse writing down the last words of a British soldier, 1917.

18. Soldiers marched downtown Seattle wearing Red Cross manufactured masks during the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic.

19. A man armed with a machine gun sits at the Cook County jail during the 1919 Chicago race riots.

20. A US Army sergeant driving a DeLackner DH-4, 1950s innovation.

21. Obama and mum, Halloween 1963.

22. A look inside the original Harley-Davidson motorcycle factory 1924.

23. Manufactured in Baltimore, 1888.

24. Hindenburg Zeppelin takes shape 1932.

25. Hindenburg disaster on the 6th of May 1937. German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock with its mooring mast at Naval air station Lakehurst.

26. American soldier rescuing two Vietnamese children during a gun battle.

27. Stan Lee and friends 1970s.

28. The 7 men behind Chucky 1990.

29. Franz Rechelt, Austrian-born French tailor, inventor and parachuting pioneer who jumped to his death while testing a wearable parachute of his design from the Eiffel Tower top.

30. Queen Elizabeth II’s first visit to Nigeria in 1956, from the 28th of January to the 16th of February, 1956.