The history of the world is indeed intriguing. There have been events and personalities that have changed its course over time. We can't really go back and witness everything that happened.Some of these images are sad, some as random as they be, but many are shocking and surprising. But the rarity will keep you spellbound till the very end of the list.Like some of you, I’m also a rabid history buff who loves to collect the most interesting rare historic photos. I only curate the rare ones that have a significant impact on the history of the world.
Below are some of the most fascinating rare historical photos ever captured on camera. Thanks to these great images, we now have before us a rare window to some of the most interesting moments of our world history.
1. Earliest known photograph of the Taj Mahal, 1850s
Earliest known photograph of the Taj Mahal taken by Dr. John Murray of East India Company in the 1850s.
2. Female prisoners at the Andaman Cellular Jail, 1860
We see a rare picture of female prisoners being held in the infamous Cellular Jail in the Andaman Islands circa 1860.
3. Brighton Swimming Club in 1863
4. Samurai warriors taken between 1860 and 1880
5. The only photograph of a living Quagga (now extinct) from 1870
6. construction of the Eiffel Tower tower, 1880.
7. Execution by cannon in Iran, circa 19th century.
8. Construction of the Statue of Liberty in 1884
9. Construction of the Eiffel Tower in 1888
10. One of the unseen picture of Mahatma Gandhi.
11. The Gare Montparnasse train derailment in Paris, France, circa 1895.
12. A boxing match on board the USS Oregon in 1897
13. Times of India office in Bombay on its Diamond Jubilee, 1898
We see a rare picture of the Bombay office of Times of India celebrating its Diamond Jubilee in November, 1898.
14. Construction of the Manhattan Bridge in 1908
15. Leo Tolstoy telling a story to his grandchildren in 1909
16. The 1912 World Series
17. The first photo following the discovery of Machu Pichu in 1912.
18. Titanic leaves port in 1912.
One of the last known photos of the Titanic before it sank.
19. The founders of Harley Davidson Motorcycles; William Harley and Arthur Davidson, pictured in 1914.
20. Fidel Castro lays a wreath at the Lincoln Memorial.
21. Winston Churchill out for a swim
22. Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Warren G. Harding (29th president of USA), and Harvey Samuel Firestone (founder of Firestone Tire and Rubber Co.) talking together
23. Adolf Hitler practicing for his speech, 1925.
24. Construction of Christ the Redeemer in Rio da Janeiro, Brazil
25. C V Raman with his Spectrograph
A rare picture of Nobel laureate C V Raman with his spectrograph which helps by acting as a fingerprint in identifying molecules.
26.British man gets a pedicure from his Indian servant
We see the royal treatment the British were subjected to by their Indian servants during the British Raj, in this case a pedicure.
27. Two geniuses in their own fields: Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein.
28. Indira Gandhi in her younger days
Unseen picture of Indira Gandhi in her childhood.
29. Howrah Bridge under construction, 1930s
We see a picture of the iconic Howrah bridge under construction in the mid 1930s in Calcutta.
30. Albert Einstein and Rabindranath Tagore, 1930
In a rare picture we see Rabindranath Tagore and Albert Einstein together during the former's visit to Galerie Pigalle, Paris in 1930.
31. India's first Test Cricket Team touring England, 1932
We see a portrait of India's first Test Cricket Team on its maiden tour to England in 1932.
32. Ferdinand Porsche (yeah, that Porsche) showing a model of the Volkswagen Beetle to Adolf Hitler in 1935
33. The first McDonald's, circa 1937.
34. A liberated Jew holds a Nazi guard at gunpoint.
35. Albert Einstein enjoying a summer day at Nassau Point, Long Island, New York in 1939
36. Rare letter from Gandhi to Hitler, 1939
We see the photograph of a rare letter written by Gandhi to Hitler pleading him to stop reducing humanity to a 'savage state'.
37. Old picture of the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun
We see an old picture of the Indian Millitary Academy as Gentlemen Cadets sit down for a meal at the mess.
38. The construction of Mount Rushmore, 1939.
39. The London sky after a bombing and dogfight between British and German planes in 1940
40. German air raid on Moscow in 1941
41. A shell-shocked reindeer looks on as war planes drop bombs on Russia in 1941.
42. Japanese troops using Indian POWs for target practice, 1942
This is a picture of Japanese Army personnel who blind-folded Indian POWs (Prisoner of War) and used them for target practice.
43. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose meets Hitler in May, 1942.
44. A Japanese plane is shot down during the Battle of Saipan in 1944.
45. Adolf Hitler's pants after the failed assassination attempt on him in 1944.
46. An aircraft crash on board during World War II
47. And this is Nagasaki 20 minutes after the bomb was dropped on 9th August, 1945.
48. The last picture and the much debated 'death certificate' of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, 1945
Here we see the last picture of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on a plane, and along with it his much debated death certificate.
49. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose toasts to Japanese Emperor, 1945
A rare picture of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose toasting to the Japanese emperor in 1945.
50. Hitler's bunker called Führerbunker, after the fall of Berlin and Hitler's death, 30th April, 1945.
The room was partially burnt and stripped of evidence before the Russians invaded.
51. Graham Jackson Sr playing his accordion during the funeral procession of his friend, President Franklin D Roosevelt.
52. One of first computers ever made, the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer). Made in USA.
53. First Day of Constituent Assembly in India, 1946
The first day Indian Constituent Assembly on 11th Dec, 1946. We see Sardar Patel in the foreground.
54. The first photo taken from space in 1946
55. Last Nizam of Hyderabad greets Sardar Patel after Operation Polo, 1948
The last Nizam of Hyderabad greets Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the Begumpet airport after the success of Operation Polo.
56. Last glimpse of the Father of the Nation, 1948
People climbed on electricity poles, trees to get one last glimpse of Mahatma Gandhi during his funeral procession.
57. Dubbed as the 'Most beautiful suicide', this is a picture of Evelyn McHale, 23, who jumped from the Empire State building and landed on a limousine.
58. Tata launches its first Mercedez Benz Telco, 1954
A rare picture that captures the launch of Mercedes Benz Telco in 1954, in Mumbai.
59. Jawaharlal Nehru showing off his swordsman skills
We see the country's first prime minister show off some of his swordsman skills circa 1955.
60. Albert Einstein's study on the day of his death, 18th April, 1955.
61. Elvis Presley serving for the American Army in 1958.
62. Queen Elizabeth & Maharani Gayatri Devi after a tiger hunt
We see a rare picture of Queen Elizabeth and Maharani Gayatri Devi posing for a picture after a tiger hunt.
63. The construction of Disneyland
64. Walt Disney on the day they opened Disney Studios
65. Martin Luther King Jr with 'The Godfather', Marlon Brando.
66. Martin Luther King, Jr removes a burned cross from his yard in 1960. The boy is his son.
67. Construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961
68. The original Ronald McDonald played by Willard Scott
69. A young Bill Clinton meets John F. Kennedy.
70. Stephen Hawking pictured on his wedding day with his wife, Jane Wilde on 14th July, 1965.
71. The crew of Apollo 1 practicing their water landing in 1966. Unfortunately, all of them were killed on the launch pad in a fire.
72. George Harrison's selfie on his trip to India, 1966
We see one of the selfies by Beatle George Harrison on his trip to India in 1966. This one's way before 'phonecams' or 'point & shoots' were invented.
73. An airman being captured by Vietnamese in Truc Bach Lake, Hanoi in 1967. The airman is John McCain.
74. California lumberjacks working on Redwoods
75. Jayalalithaa with MGR
Here's a photograph of Jayalalithaa with M G Ramachandran in her hey days as an actress doing the song-and-dance routine.
76. Narayana Murthy in IIT Kanpur, 1969
In another rare picture, we find the co-founder of Infosys during his days at IIT Kanpur in 1969.
77. Vladimir Putin photographed as a teenager. He's the one wearing a cap.
78. Osama Bin Laden with his family in Sweden, circa 1970. Osama is standing 2nd from right in green and blue.
79. Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee.
80. Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke left this family photo behind on the moon in 1972.
81. Steve McQueen and James Coburn serving as pallbearers at Bruce Lee’s funeral on 20th July, 1973.
82. Mohammad Rafi and Muhammad Ali in Chicago, 1975
One of India's greatest Indian playbacks - Mohammad Rafi sharing a momentary laugh with one of his favourite sportsmen Muhammad Ali in Chicago, 1975.
83. The original 'Star Wars' cast before they started shooting for the films.
84. Mohammed Ali convinces a man against committing suicide, circa 1981.
85. A R Rahman and friends
This extraordinary photograph shows a young A R Rahman along with a few extraordinary artistes. He is accompanied by Ustad Zakir Hussain, Siva Mani, Resul Pookutty and Akon.
86. Shahrukh Khan, Kapil Dev and Sohail Khan in a match of football
A rare moment captured where we see cricketer Kapil Dev and movie stars Shahrukh Khan and Sohail Khan fight it out in a match of football.
