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Once upon a time, taking a photograph was an attempt to preserve a piece
of the present for the future. Maybe it’s still the same today. But with
the advent of cell phones equipped with a camera rivaling the SLRs of
yesteryear and the resulting deluge of photographs, it is easy to get
lost in the colorful world of images.
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The giant manta ray, 1938
This 1,200-lb manta ray was caught by a fishing guide named Forrest
Walker. In this photo, we can see his friends Mr. John Hachmeister and
Mrs. Earl Baum admiring the catch. |
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The first selfie, 1839
Although selfies gained popularity when camera-equipped smartphones
became commonplace, the practice is as old as the photographic camera
itself. This photograph of Robert Cornelius, an American pioneer of
photography, is the first self-portrait, or selfie, and was taken in the
year 1839.
The term was first coined by photographer Jim Krause in 2005. The word
became so popular that it was included as a new word in the Oxford
English Dictionary in 2013. |
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Montparnasse derailment, 1895
Gare Montparnasse became famous for the derailment of the
Granville—Paris Express on October 22, 1895. The engine careered across
almost 30 m of the station concourse, crashed through a 60-cm-thick
wall, shot across a terrace, smashed out of the station, and plummeted
onto Place de Rennes 10 m below, where it stood on its nose. The driver
was fined 50 francs for approaching the station too quickly, and one of
the guards was fined 25 francs as he had been preoccupied with paperwork
and failed to apply the handbrake.
The Lévy and Sons photograph of the event has become one of the most
famous in the history of transportation. |
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First flight of the Wright Flyer, 1908
The Wright Flyer, named after its designers, was the first airplane to
fly. Although its first flying time was just 12 seconds, it marked the
beginning of the pioneer era of aviation, flying 4 times on December 17,
1903.
This photograph by John T. Daniels was first published in 1908. |
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Last photo taken of RMS Titanic, 1912
This is the last known photograph of RMS Titanic before it sank during
its maiden voyage, having collided with an iceberg on the fateful day of
April 15, 1912. This photograph is believed to have been taken on April
12, 1912, by Francis Browne, an Irish Jesuit priest. He sailed with the
ship for the first leg of its journey but had to cut short his journey
when he received a note from his clerical superior that ordered him to
return to his station immediately.
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Testing a bulletproof vest, 1923
In 1923, the Protective Garment Corporation in New York produced a
lightweight bulletproof vest for use by the police forces. To prove its
effectiveness, they decided to hold a live demonstration. The
demonstration took place at the Washington City police headquarters, and
the subjects were W.H. Murphy and his assistant. Shots were fired at
Murphy from a distance of 10 ft. He took 2 shots straight to the chest.
According to an eyewitness, he “didn’t bat an eye.” After the testing,
Murphy gave the deflected bullets to a police officer as a souvenir.
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A Frenchman gives Winston Churchill a light, 1944
A Frenchman lights the cigar of Winston Churchill following the defeat
of the German army. Churchill arrived in Cherbourg on June 10, 1944, a
few days before the Allied forces landed on Normandy beaches as
reinforcements during D-Day.
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