Whoever said time-travelling is impossible is likely forgetting about the power of photographs. These still images represent a moment in time when a person who would make a mark in human history was still walking this Earth.
This list features some of them. We at Bored Panda have compiled some never-before-seen pictures of some of the most renowned historical figures. Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, and Vincent Van Gogh are just some of the biggest names on here, all of which are a must-see.
These photographs come with equally compelling backstories. If you’re a history buff, you will be here a while, so grab a seat.
#1 Harriet Tubman, 1868-1869
In Auburn, New York, sometime around 1868 or 1869, photographer Benjamin F. Powelson captured this incredible likeness of Harriet Tubman. It was once part of philanthropist Emily Howland's collection and actually features Tubman’s own signature at the bottom.
Tubman is best remembered for escaping bondage in the South and transforming into a fearless conductor for the Underground Railroad, using that secret network of safe houses to guide dozens of enslaved people to freedom in the North.
Tubman is best remembered for escaping bondage in the South and transforming into a fearless conductor for the Underground Railroad, using that secret network of safe houses to guide dozens of enslaved people to freedom in the North.
31points
#2 Marie Curie, Between 1890 And 1934
This portrait, snapped sometime between 1890 and 1934, shows the incomparable Marie Curie, the Polish-born French physicist who revolutionized how we understand radioactivity. She holds the incredible distinction of being the first woman to ever bring home a Nobel Prize, sharing the 1903 Physics award with her husband Pierre and Henri Becquerel.
Not content with just one win, she returned in 1911 to claim the Chemistry prize all by herself, cementing her legacy as the only woman to ever dominate two separate scientific fields on that stage.
Not content with just one win, she returned in 1911 to claim the Chemistry prize all by herself, cementing her legacy as the only woman to ever dominate two separate scientific fields on that stage.
30points
#3 Ada Lovelace, 1843
We only have two confirmed photographs of the woman who effectively invented computer programming. Snapped by Antoine Claudet in the early 1840s, this daguerreotype offers a rare glimpse of Ada Lovelace, the brilliant mathematician who teamed up with Charles Babbage.
While Babbage was designing the hardware for his "Analytical Engine," Lovelace was busy figuring out the software, writing an algorithm that earned her the title of history's first coder. These scarce images were spotlighted by the Bodleian Libraries to mark her bicentennial, preserving the likeness of a Victorian mind that was centuries ahead of its time.
While Babbage was designing the hardware for his "Analytical Engine," Lovelace was busy figuring out the software, writing an algorithm that earned her the title of history's first coder. These scarce images were spotlighted by the Bodleian Libraries to mark her bicentennial, preserving the likeness of a Victorian mind that was centuries ahead of its time.
27points
Photographs are, indeed, powerful media. By transporting us back to a moment in time, we can revisit the memories and feelings associated with it.
And nowadays, you can capture every second within one click of a button, a far cry from the photography technology of the time when these photos were taken.
#4 Caesar, 1851
This 1851 daguerreotype offers a truly mind-boggling link to the past, as Caesar is widely believed to be the earliest-born human ever captured on camera, with a birth date estimated around 1737. He spent his life on the Nicoll estate in Bethlehem, New York, watching three or four generations of the family come and go, and eventually became the final enslaved person to be manumitted in the state. After a lifetime of labor, he stopped working at the age of 80 in 1817, remaining with the Nicolls until the end of his remarkably long life.
27points
#5 Nikola Tesla, 1890
Captured on a cabinet card in 1890, Nikola Tesla looks every bit the visionary futurist who would eventually define the modern age. This Serbian-American engineer is the mind we thank for the alternating current (AC) system that powers our homes today.
The image itself represents a massive trend in late 19th-century photography; becoming popular after 1870, these cards featured a thin print mounted on a 108 by 165 mm board, which served as the standard format for collecting and displaying portraits for decades.
The image itself represents a massive trend in late 19th-century photography; becoming popular after 1870, these cards featured a thin print mounted on a 108 by 165 mm board, which served as the standard format for collecting and displaying portraits for decades.
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24points
#6 Robert Cornelius, 1839
Just a few months after Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre revealed his photographic process to the world in August 1839, Robert Cornelius stepped into the backyard of his family's Philadelphia lamp shop to test the limits of the new medium.
Working outdoors to ensure he had enough light, he used a makeshift camera equipped with an opera glass lens to capture his own likeness. The resulting image is widely recognized as history's first "selfie," proving that human portraiture was possible even when most people thought the required exposure times made it impractical.
Working outdoors to ensure he had enough light, he used a makeshift camera equipped with an opera glass lens to capture his own likeness. The resulting image is widely recognized as history's first "selfie," proving that human portraiture was possible even when most people thought the required exposure times made it impractical.
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24points
Smartphones have made it easy for us to create visual memories we can look back on in the decades to come. To put that into perspective, research has shown that 5.3 billion photos are captured worldwide each day. That means people take 61,400 photographs per second.
#7 Princess Mary, 1856
Antoine Claudet was the artist behind the lens for this circa 1856 daguerreotype, preserving the likeness of Princess Mary. As the Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh, she came from a seriously large family; she was actually the eleventh kid (and fourth girl) born to Queen Charlotte and King George III.
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23points
#8 Florence Nightingale, 1856-1857
Taken around 1856 or 1857, this shot captures Florence Nightingale right in the middle of drafting her massive statistical report on army health. While she’s most famous for her late-night rounds during the Crimean War, earning her the "Lady with the Lamp" nickname, she was also a data powerhouse who laid the groundwork for modern nursing education, eventually launching a scientifically based school at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London.
Her family actually considered this specific portrait to be the most accurate likeness of her, and because it was shared so widely, it became the image most people associate with the legendary reformer.
Her family actually considered this specific portrait to be the most accurate likeness of her, and because it was shared so widely, it became the image most people associate with the legendary reformer.
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23points
#9 Victor Hugo, 1876
Goupil & Cie featured this 1876 portrait of Victor Hugo in their massive Galerie contemporaine collection, a serial publication that highlighted 241 of the era's biggest movers and shakers in art, science, and politics. To get those rich, continuous tones, the publishers used a photomechanical technique called the woodburytype, which molded pigmented gelatin to create the image.
It’s a fittingly high-quality format for Hugo, considering his status as the heavyweight champion of French Romanticism. While international readers usually know him best for writing Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, folks back in France actually revere him even more for his poetry than his novels.
It’s a fittingly high-quality format for Hugo, considering his status as the heavyweight champion of French Romanticism. While international readers usually know him best for writing Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, folks back in France actually revere him even more for his poetry than his novels.
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22points
As psychologist Dr. Fabian Hutmacher tells National Geographic, digital photographs have reshaped how we make memories, noting that people today can record much more data about their lives than those in previous generations who lived before smartphones.
“Memories are crucial for defining who we are,” he said. “They are a sort of reservoir that we refer to whenever we think about our lives.”
#10 Mary Church Terrell, 1880
Born into a wealthy Memphis household just as the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, Mary Church Terrell was a trailblazing figure who became one of the very first African-American women to graduate from college. This 1880 snapshot captures her early in a life that would span from the post-Reconstruction rights rollbacks all the way to the victories of the modern Civil Rights era.
She didn't just witness history, though; she shaped it, evolving her activism from the self-improvement strategies of Booker T. Washington into bold, direct action like organizing sit-ins and boycotts to challenge segregation.
She didn't just witness history, though; she shaped it, evolving her activism from the self-improvement strategies of Booker T. Washington into bold, direct action like organizing sit-ins and boycotts to challenge segregation.
20points
#11 Charles Darwin, 1868
While renting a cottage from the photographer Julia Margaret Cameron on the Isle of Wight in the summer of 1868, Charles Darwin sat for this famous portrait. At the time, Darwin was essentially the rock star of the scientific world, having shaken up Victorian society by suggesting humans and animals were related via natural selection.
Despite the initial shock to religious sensibilities, his evolutionary theories eventually became the bedrock of modern biology. Cameron recognized the magnitude of her subject (she also shot heavy hitters like Tennyson) and later had this image produced as a stable carbon print to keep up with the demand for the famous naturalist's likeness.
Despite the initial shock to religious sensibilities, his evolutionary theories eventually became the bedrock of modern biology. Cameron recognized the magnitude of her subject (she also shot heavy hitters like Tennyson) and later had this image produced as a stable carbon print to keep up with the demand for the famous naturalist's likeness.
19points
#12 Isambard Kingdom Brunel, 1857
Isambard Kingdom Brunel looks every bit the titan of the Industrial Revolution in this 1857 portrait as he stands in front of chains that hint at the scale of his work. He was the engineering genius responsible for modernizing Britain with everything from tunnels and terminals to railways and bridges.
This specific moment captures him near the launch of his groundbreaking transatlantic steamer and was snapped by Robert Howlett. Howlett, a partner at a top London studio called the Photographic Institution, had been sent by the Illustrated London Times specifically to document the construction of Brunel's massive vessel.
This specific moment captures him near the launch of his groundbreaking transatlantic steamer and was snapped by Robert Howlett. Howlett, a partner at a top London studio called the Photographic Institution, had been sent by the Illustrated London Times specifically to document the construction of Brunel's massive vessel.
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18points
The idea of taking a photograph is to preserve a memory. However, taking too much may actually defeat the purpose. A 2013 study found that point-and-shoot memories may impair memory.
According to Dr. Linda Henkel, the study's author, people tend to use cameras as a crutch, relying on them to store memories.
#13 Jacques Offenbach, 1870
Even Gioachino Rossini recognized the sheer talent seen in this 1870 portrait, famously dubbing Jacques Offenbach the “little Mozart of the Champs-Elysées.” It was a well-earned nickname, considering Offenbach was an incredibly fast worker who produced more than a hundred shows, effectively birthing the French operetta.
His style was the perfect mix of elegance and biting satire, defining the artistic mood of the era. Despite how specific his musical comedies were to his own time, his wit and fluent melodies were strong enough to keep his work in the global repertoire well into the 21st century.
His style was the perfect mix of elegance and biting satire, defining the artistic mood of the era. Despite how specific his musical comedies were to his own time, his wit and fluent melodies were strong enough to keep his work in the global repertoire well into the 21st century.
18points
#14 Mark Twain, 1907
By 1907, when this profile shot was taken, Samuel Langhorne Clemens (better known to the world as Mark Twain) was already a living legend. He had long since cemented his place as America’s premier humorist and storyteller, having won over global audiences with travel hits like The Innocents Abroad and definitive tales of American youth in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
The image captures the "irascible moralist" in his later years, looking every bit the literary giant who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most beloved and sharp-witted public figures of his time.
The image captures the "irascible moralist" in his later years, looking every bit the literary giant who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most beloved and sharp-witted public figures of his time.
18points
#15 Arthur Wellesley, 1844
At the age of 74, Arthur Wellesley, better known to history as the 1st Duke of Wellington, sat for this daguerreotype around 1844. By this point in his life, the Irish-born commander was already a certified legend, famous for his military exploits in India and the Peninsular War, and most notably for being the guy who finally defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815.
He didn't just stick to the battlefield, though. He also translated that leadership into politics, serving two separate terms as the Prime Minister of Great Britain.
He didn't just stick to the battlefield, though. He also translated that leadership into politics, serving two separate terms as the Prime Minister of Great Britain.
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17points
For example, Dr. Henkel noted that people would attend a concert and spend 90 minutes of it searching for the optimal angle to photograph. She notes that this focus on achieving “perfection” reduces enjoyment of the moment.
“On the other hand, if you record a snapshot because it’s your favourite song, then it can improve memory later,” Dr. Henkel said.
#16 Edgar Allan Poe, 1849
It is widely believed that this 1849 daguerreotype was actually paid for and arranged by Annie Richmond, a married woman with whom Edgar Allan Poe found deep emotional comfort after the passing of his wife two years prior. Taken just months before the author passed away at the age of forty, the portrait captures the master of the macabre during the final, difficult chapter of his life.
While he looks somber here, this is the creative force who essentially invented the modern detective story and defined American horror with works like "The Raven." It’s a haunting final glimpse of a literary genius who spent his career cultivating mystery, only to leave us with one of his own.
While he looks somber here, this is the creative force who essentially invented the modern detective story and defined American horror with works like "The Raven." It’s a haunting final glimpse of a literary genius who spent his career cultivating mystery, only to leave us with one of his own.
17points
#17 Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1870-1880
Sometime between 1870 and 1880, this portrait captured Harriet Beecher Stowe, the literary powerhouse whose work arguably helped spark the American Civil War. Her novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, was a best-seller and a cultural phenomenon.
She spent years touring the country to push those abolitionist views, yet she occupied a complicated space in history. Even as she fought for the liberation of others with her pen and philanthropy, she was navigating a society where the fight for women’s rights had barely even begun.
She spent years touring the country to push those abolitionist views, yet she occupied a complicated space in history. Even as she fought for the liberation of others with her pen and philanthropy, she was navigating a society where the fight for women’s rights had barely even begun.
16points
#18 Helen Keller, 1904
This 1904 portrait shows Helen Keller, a woman who completely redefined on what was possible for people with disabilities. After an illness at just 19 months old left her without sight or hearing, she went on to achieve an education that was nothing short of miraculous for the time.
She became a prolific writer, a lecturer, and a fierce advocate for labor rights and women's suffrage. Her impact was so profound that she was invited to the White House by every single U.S. President from Grover Cleveland to Lyndon B. Johnson, spending her life proving that physical limitations didn't equate to a lack of capacity.
She became a prolific writer, a lecturer, and a fierce advocate for labor rights and women's suffrage. Her impact was so profound that she was invited to the White House by every single U.S. President from Grover Cleveland to Lyndon B. Johnson, spending her life proving that physical limitations didn't equate to a lack of capacity.
16points
#19 Wilbur And Orville Wright, 1909
Everyone knows Wilbur and Orville Wright for mastering the skies, but it turns out they were just as obsessive about mastering photography. Much like they approached aviation, the brothers were entirely self-taught when it came to the camera, even setting up a DIY darkroom in a shed behind their Dayton home to develop their own glass plate negatives.
This 1909 snapshot captures the duo who, only a few years earlier, had changed the world forever. First with that historic sustained flight in 1903, and then by building the first truly practical airplane in 1905.
This 1909 snapshot captures the duo who, only a few years earlier, had changed the world forever. First with that historic sustained flight in 1903, and then by building the first truly practical airplane in 1905.
16points
#20 Susan B. Anthony, 1890
Frances Benjamin Johnston used the platinum printing process to create this striking portrait of Susan B. Anthony sometime between 1900 and 1906. It is a high-quality visual legacy for a woman whose political legacy is equally enduring.
Anthony was the driving force behind the American women's suffrage movement and the one-time president of the National Woman Suffrage Association. Although she didn't live to see the final victory, her relentless campaigning laid the necessary groundwork for the Nineteenth Amendment, which finally granted women the right to vote in 1920.
Anthony was the driving force behind the American women's suffrage movement and the one-time president of the National Woman Suffrage Association. Although she didn't live to see the final victory, her relentless campaigning laid the necessary groundwork for the Nineteenth Amendment, which finally granted women the right to vote in 1920.
16points