101 Remarkable History Facts And Stories For People Who Love Learning Something New Every Day

Jewish partisans near Pinsk, Belorussia. The woman in leopard print is Faye Schulman, known for her work photographing partisans during World War 2; 1944

Born to a large family on November 28, 1919, in Lenin, Poland she learned photography from her brother Moishe and assisted him in his photography business.
On August 14, 1942, the Germans k**led 1,850 Jews from the Lenin ghetto, including Faye's parents, sisters, and younger brother. They spared only 26 people that day, among them Faye for her photographic abilities. The Germans ordered Faye to develop their photographs of the m*ssacre. Secretly she also made copies for herself.

During a partisan raid, Faye fled to the forests and joined the Molotava Brigade, a partisan group made mostly of escaped Soviet Red Army POWs. She took over a hundred photographs, developing the medium format negatives under blankets and making “sun prints” during the day. On missions Faye buried the camera and tripod to keep it safe. Her photos show a rare side of partisan activity that would otherwise be lost to time.

After liberation, Faye married Morris Schulman, also a Jewish partisan. Faye and Morris enjoyed a prosperous life as decorated Soviet partisans, but wanted to leave Pinsk, Poland, which reminded them of a “graveyard”. Morris and Faye lived in the Landsberg displaced persons camp in Germany for the next three years and immigrated to Canada in 1948. She lives in Canada to this day at the age of 101.

“I want people to know that there was resistance. Jews did not go like sheep to the sl**ghter. I was a photographer. I have pictures. I have proof.”

A New York City police officer takes the time to calm things down in the city that never sleeps, stopping the NYC Traffic to allow for a cat and her kitten to cross the road; 1925.

A young Inuk girl stand to face the camera with her small Malamute puppy on her back; 1949.
Photo by Richard Harrington

If happiness was a 1920s photograph.

A young child cheerfully plays their banjo to a seemingly equally cheerful crowd.

A man poses outside his fully stocked grocery store in Harlem as photographer Aaron Siskind takes his photo; 1940.

A Native American Chief sits astride his horse next to his enlisted son, a Corporal in the US Army; 1957.

Red Hawk from the Oglala tribe sits uptop his horse as it drinks from the river, captured by Edward S. Curtis; 1905.
Red Hawk was born in 1854 and fought against US troops over the plains of North America, including the famous battle of Little Bighorn, also known as "Custers last stand" in 1876. It is incredible to have photos that connect us to these historical events. This is made all the more better with how great the photo itself is.

A group of people pose for a photo whilst wearing face masks during the second wave of the Spanish Flu in California; 1918.

The sign around the women's neck reads "wear a mask or go to jail". On the day state-wide infections rose to 50,000, for a disease that k**led 50 million worldwide, anyone not wearing a mask could be fined up to $100 or face jail time of up to 10 days.

‘The Old Gentleman’ A leather diving suit made in the early 1700’s kept in Raahe Museum in Finland.

I’m not sure if I think it looks funny or truly terrifying…

A Ardennes draught horse gets put to work to assist with tree felling.

The largest horse to ever live was Sampson, a Shire horse gelding foaled in 1846 in Toddington Mills, Bedfordshire, England. Owned by Thomas Cleaver, Sampson stood 2.19 metres (7 ft 2 in) high by the time he was four years old, when he was renamed Mammoth. His peak weight was estimated at 3,360 lb (1,524 kg).

A US Marine gives a cigarette to an injured Japanese soldier buried in the volcanic sand of Iwo Jima; 1945.

38 year-old Danuta Danielsson, uses her handbag to hit a flag waving neo-Nazi during a march in Växjö, Sweden; 1985.

The photo was taken during a small demonstration of The Nordic Realm Party supporters on 13 April 1985. As approved by the authorities, the rally had been planned to be held shortly after the end of a public speech delivered by the Left Party-Communists leader Lars Werner in the centre of Växjö, and skirmishes between left-wing supporters and neo-Nazis began even before the start of the far-right demonstration.

Danuta was born in March 1947 in Poland and was of Jewish Polish heritage. Her mother had survived a German concentration camp in Poland during The Holocaust reportedly Auschwitz or in Majdanek. Her actions are captured in this photo therefore feel even more empowering and justified.

In memorial to this photograph a statue a local artist, Susanna Arwin, expressed desire to raise a life-sized statue of Danielsson in Växjö however this was decided against due to concerns about such a statue to be interpreted as promoting violence, and because Danielsson's surviving family reported that they would be unhappy with Danielsson memorialized in such a manner. Danielsson herself apparently did not like the photo and regretted its fame. In September 2015, Swedish hotel entrepreneur Lasse Diding announced he had bought the statue and intended to donate it to Varberg municipality. The statue was later unveiled at Varberg Fortress but the Varberg board of culture voted in April 2016 not to accept the donation. The statue now resides in the garden of Lasse Diding's Villa Wäring in Varberg and a second statue has been unveiled in the town of Alingsås.

A young French girl jubilantly shows off her cat for the camera; 1959.
Much of the historical photos are of big moments, often tainted with sadness or negative emotions. In some strange way it makes these seemingly trivial but purely happy captured moments all the more special.

Two women unload a large block of ice for delivery; a job formerly only carried out by men: 1918.

With many men overseas involved in World War 1 jobs in many industries were taken up by women requiring "brawn as well as the patriotic ambition to help".

A picture through the broken glass of an upper story window showing tanks lining the streets of Bucharest during the Romanian Revolution; 1989.

The movement saw the ousting and ex*cution of the communist party General Secretary Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena. It brought to an end 42 years of Communist rule in Romania.

A women in the French town of Lisieux pours a fresh glass of cider for a British Bren gunner who are both seemingly on the frontline of the biggest, most destructive conflict the world has ever known; August 22 1944.

Photo courtesy: @imperialwarmuseums

A photo showing a Mongolian lady wearing traditional clothing of the nobility; 1920.

Interestingly, this Mongolian clothing served as inspiration for the Star Wars character Queen Amidala. The designers confirmed that they looked at Mongolian, Tibetan and other traditional Asian fashion styles as inspiration for the costume.

This image is often attributed to Queen Genepil, the last Queen of Mongolia. However, there is no evidence that this image indeed does show the queen who was sadly k**led in 1938, ex*cuted as part of the systematic Stalinist decimation of Mongolian culture.

A German soldier treats an injured Russian women in a hollow trench with her child lying down next to her; 1942.

Whilst reminding us of the harsh reality that civilians are key victims in warfare. These are some of the most powerful images possible, showing both the human cost of war and the layers of humanity that exist everywhere. Even in one of the most destructive war machines we have ever seen.

A London pedestrian takes a leap of faith across a puddle, from road to the pavement near Hyde Park; 1939.

The question is, did he get his feet wet?

The legendary Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history.

Known for his post-impressionist paintings, his style underwent significant changes throughout his life. Early in his career, he was heavily influenced by the works of the Dutch Masters, and his paintings were characterised by dark, heavy brushstrokes, and a somber color palette.
Upon moving to Paris in 1886, he was exposed to the works of the Impressionists and Pointillists. This exposure greatly influenced van Gogh’s style and he began to experiment with brighter colors and lighter brushstrokes. He also began to use bold, thick outlines around his subjects.

When van Gogh moved to Arles in 1888, his style changed again. He was inspired by the vibrant, sun-drenched landscapes of the south of France, and his paintings became more vivid and colorful, with broad, sweeping brushstrokes.

Despite his relatively short career, van Gogh’s style evolved dramatically throughout his life. Vincent’s impact and influence on the development of modern art is unquestionable, with his paintings continuing to captivate audiences around the world.