50 Iconic and Rare Historical Photographs

We at HistoryColored have decided to curate 50 interesting, rare and iconic photos from history. There are many reasons why a photograph may be featured on this list. Some of the reasons include: it was the first time something was ever captured on camera, it shows a famous figure from history, the image depicts an important historical event, it is a “rare” photo that does not get shared as much as it should, or it is an “iconic” historical photo. It may not fall under any of these categories but can still be featured in this list for a different reason.

These photographs are in no particular order. They have been curated and added to the list over a long period of time, so no decision was taken on how they should be ordered. Be sure to take the time to check out every historical photograph featured on this list!

As well as this list, be sure to check out the other photos featured on HistoryColored!

1. The First Photograph Ever Taken, 1826 or 1827

The first photograph in history, the view from a window at Le Gras in 1826 or 1827.
The oldest surviving photograph to exist. It was taken by pioneer photographer, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. The scene depicts a view from a window in Nicéphore Niépce’s estate known as Le Gras in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, Bourgogne, France in 1826 or 1827. Credit: Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

2. General William Tecumseh Sherman, circa 1865

Side profile photograph of General William Tecumseh Sherman in his Union Army military uniform in c. 1865
Side profile of Union Army Major General, and the Commanding General of the US Army, William Tecumseh Sherman, in his Union Army military uniform in circa 1865. Credit: Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

3. Dali Atomicus, 1948

Salvador Dali suspended in mid air along with other objects within the iconic photograph Dali Atomicus taken in 1948
The photographic artwork by Philippe Halsman called “Dali Atomicus” showing three cats water, an easel, a chair, and Salvador Dalí all frozen in mid-air, 1948. This was the 28th attempt at taking this photograph. Credit: Library of Congress // Public Domain

4. The Solvay Conference on Quantum Mechanics, 1927

Key attendees of the 1927 Solvay conference photographed sitting down and in suits. The names are Auguste Piccard, Émile Henriot, Paul Ehrenfest, Édouard Herzen, Théophile de Donder, Erwin Schrödinger, Jules-Émile Verschaffelt, Wolfgang Pauli, Werner Heisenberg, Ralph Howard Fowler, Léon Brillouin,
Peter Debye, Martin Knudsen, William Lawrence Bragg, Hendrik Anthony Kramers, Paul Dirac, Arthur Compton, Louis de Broglie, Max Born, Niels Bohr,
Irving Langmuir, Max Planck, Marie Skłodowska Curie, Hendrik Lorentz, Albert Einstein, Paul Langevin, Charles Eugène Guye, Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, Owen Willans Richardson
The 1927 Solvay Conference on Quantum Mechanics at the Institut International de Physique Solvay in Brussels, Belgium. This image features many of the greatest scientists in modern history. Some of those that you may recognize are: Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Max Planck, Niels Bohr, and Auguste Piccard. See the full list of names here. Credit: Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

5. King George V & Tsar Nicholas II Together, 1913

Nicholas II of Russia photographed alongside similar looking and cousin King George V of the United Kingdom, while wearing military uniform.
First cousins and royals Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (left) & King George V of the United Kingdom (right) photographed together wearing military uniforms in Berlin, Germany, 1913. Credit: Library of Congress // Public Domain

6. The Manhattan Bridge Under Construction, 1909

Photographs of the Manhattan Bridge under construction. You can see the layout of the bridge but there is still a lot to build. March 23 1909.
The construction of the Manhattan Bridge on the East River in New York City. This photograph was taken on March 23, 1909. The bridge finished construction in 1909 and first opened up on the 31st of December 1909. Credit: Library of Congress // Public Domain

7. Soviet Prisoner of War, 1940

An injured Prisoner of War from the Soviet Union with a bandage around his bloody head, with clothing wrapped around his body. He looks cold as he is near the Arctic Circle where temperatures can get to -43 degrees Celsius
An injured Soviet Prisoner of War (POW) dressed in new clothes near the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi, Finland, during the Winter War on the 6th of January 1940. Credit: Military Museum of Finland // CC BY 4.0

8. Dr. Wernher von Braun with 5 F-1 Engines

Aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun standing next to five F-1 rocket engines in 1969.
Dr. Wernher von Braun, an aerospace engineer that was a leading figure in Nazi German rocket technology, and then United States rocket technology, photographed standing in front of five F-1 rocket engines in circa 1969. Credit: Wikimedia Commons // Public Domains

The real reason Jennifer Love Hewitt vanished from Hollywood

As one of Hollywood’s hottest young stars of the 1990s, Jennifer Love Hewitt was poised to become a celebrated actor with respectable adult performances for decades to come.

But in 2015, the star of the hit TV show Ghost Whisperer, the “it girl” who tabloids loved, ghosted Hollywood, leaving fans speculating on the reason behind her disappearance.

It is not an exaggeration to say that Jennifer Love Hewitt was one of the biggest teen stars of the nineties. I mean, who didn’t fall for Jennifer Love’s Hewitt?

According to me, she possessed the most captivating smile, and there was something truly heartwarming and genuine about her presence.

After appearing in several TV commercials, Hewitt, now 44, had her big break when she was only 10 with the Disney Channel’s Kids Incorporated (1989 to 1991).

The show, about young people who perform in a rock band, served as a launching pad for many celebrities, like Fergie of the Grammy-winning band Black Eyed Peas, Mario Lopez, of Saved by the Bell and Access Hollywood, And Eric Balfour who had starring roles in 24 and Haven.

Of course, also Hewitt, who was later cast as a regular on the popular TV drama Party of Five, where she starred with an ensemble cast of Scott Wolf, Matthew Fox, Neve Campbell, and Lacy Chabert.

When Party of Five ended after six seasons in 1999, Hewitt then went on to star in touchstone films of the 1990s like the teen horror franchise I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997 and 1998) and the teen drama Can’t Hardly Wait (1998). 

Jennifer Love Hewitt attends “The Greatest Show on Earth” 125th Edition of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Opening Night Performance to Benefit Variety – The Children’s Charity on April 27, 1995 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

In 2001, Hewitt starred as the daughter of Sigourney Weaver’s character in the film Heartbreakers, an appearance that Roger Ebert critiqued in his review as Hewitt spending “the entire film with her treasures on display, maybe as product placement for the Wonderbra.”

Hewitt, who’s had a turbulent relationship with the media since she started filling out as a woman, said in a 2018 interview with LA Times, “It wasn’t actually until later, in the time when I took the step back, that I went “ugh.” It’s the worst–that’s not what I want to be remembered for.” She continued, “I don’t want my kid to Google me one day and see ‘She looks terrible’ or ‘She has big boobs and she’s hot.’ I don’t want that to be who I am.”

In 2002, she co-starred with Jackie Chan in the spy parody Tuxedo, where she was mostly covered up, oftentimes wearing the superpower-holding tuxedo.

Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ross McCall at the World premiere of ‘The Break-Up’ / Shutterstock

Returning to TV in 2005, she played Melinda Gordon, a woman who communicates with the dead, in Ghost Whisperer.

Though the show failed to earn the respect of critics, it still had a loyal following. Hewitt said she was crushed when Ghost Whisperer was abruptly canceled in 2010, leaving viewers hanging.

“For me, it was a total shock… I thought our next season probably would be the last, just because the show had been on for a really long time,” she said. “It’s hard to come up with new things that will keep people intrigued, but I never thought in a million years that was going to have been our last season.”

In 2012, Hewitt earned her first Golden Globe nomination for her starring role in the Client List, where she plays a single mother, who makes a living as an erotic masseuse to support her children.

Wikipedia Commons / lukeford.net

While filming Client List, Hewitt, also a singer, met her first and only husband, Brian Hallisay, who in the show plays the deadbeat dad to her on-screen children.

In real life, Hallisay is a great husband and father of three. The two married in 2013 and had their first daughter, Autumn, days after they wed. The pair then had Atticus in 2015, and Aiden in 2021.

Having worked tirelessly since she was a child, Hewitt slipped away from the spotlight in 2015, explaining that she needed time to be a wife and mother.

“There was a lot going on in my own life that just felt like I needed some space and some time to kind of be. I’ve really enjoyed the break, and I feel like now, the last few months, having gone back into acting, it’s really done a beautiful thing for me in that it’s made everything that I do in my acting/entertainment life not less important but less like, ‘It’s everything all the time,’ like it used to be.”

Shutterstock

In her time away, Hewitt was also trying to heal from the death of her mother, who was 67 when she died of cancer in 2012, a loss she says still “feels very raw.”

During this challenging period in her life, Jennifer made the decision to leave Twitter as well. For some reason, she faced a great deal of hate on the platform.

Being pregnant, she couldn’t handle all the negativity and hostility, so she chose to step away from Twitter, which caused quite a stir.

”Unfortunately with all the negativity people choose to send on twitter as well as threats to their own well being I’m sad to say Twitter is no longer for me,” Jennifer wrote in 2013.

Jennifer Love Hewitt is seen on October 10, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by SMXRF/Star Max/FilmMagic)

Since starting her career in 1989, Jennifer Love Hewitt has embarked on an incredible transformation journey, both physically and emotionally.

Unfortunately, she has also experienced the downsides of Hollywood, celebrity status, and objectification by tabloids. Some online media outlets went too far and made some really derogatory and harsh comments when bikini photos of Jennifer were leaked, highlighting her weight gain. Some of these outlets commented on her bikini pictures, saying things like “I know what you ate last summer.”

Jennifer could handle the tough comments, but she worried about how the pictures and headlines were impacting other girls struggling with their body image.

Jennifer Love Hewitt arrives at the FOX Summer TCA 2019 All-Star Party at Fox Studios on August 7, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic)

In a powerful response, she directed a message to all the ”girls with butts, boobs, hips and a waist” and instructed them to “put on a bikini, put it on, and stay strong”.

The Ghost Whisperer star encouraged them to proudly wear a bikini, stay strong, and embrace themselves as they are. Jennifer has gone through several weight journeys, sought the help of personal trainers, and strives to live a healthy lifestyle.

Today, she “never looks at the scale” and she doesn’t count calories. The 90’s star looks healthier than ever and remains active on social media and regularly shares updates about herself on her Instagram and Facebook accounts.

Jennifer Love Hewitt and Kenneth Choi in the Breaking Point episode in 2020 / Getty Images

In 2020, following a three-year hiatus, Hewitt returned to work with “renewed energy and vigor,” appearing in the TV series 9-1-1, that follows the lives of first responders.

Starring as Maddie Buckley, a former nurse turned 911 operator, the show–now in its eighth season–gave Hewitt a platform to develop her profile, from one where she was earlier typecast as a symbol, to a mature, seasoned actor.

jenniferlovehewitt/Instagram

“I also feel like I have new things to pull from as an actress that I didn’t have before. I think it’s so odd as actors that we, especially kid actors, which I was, we’re expected to pull from all these life experiences that so many of us haven’t had,” Hewitt told the LA Times. “I feel like I acted for a lot of years from my heart, but not really, truly understanding some of the things that I understand now.”

It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost 25 years since we fell in love with Jennifer Love Hewitt’s infectious smile on Party of Five!

As the mother of three, it’s great she’s found the balance between work and family life, and we look forward to seeing her in even more mature roles in the future!

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