Most People Have No Idea That Photographs Of These Historical Icons Actually Exist
From U.S. presidents and Wild West outlaws to groundbreaking scientists and brave civil rights campaigners, the 19th century is packed with iconic figures. But how many of those do you think were actually photographed? Well, the answer is more than likely to truly amaze you. Read on to see 40 unexpected images from the dawn of photography that captured iconic figures like you've never seen them before.
1. Calamity Jane
Calamity Jane’s life story is a murky one, and it has been very much embroidered over the years — not least by herself. It’s reasonably certain, though, that after a mythically wild life, Jane eventually found a berth with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Sadly, she passed away in 1903 and was buried next to a fellow legendary figure: Wild Bill Hickok. We can see the sharpshooter here in stunningly clear resolution. It's unclear how she earned her nickname, though Jane claimed a military officer gave it to her after she helped put down a Native American uprising. He reportedly said, “I name you Calamity Jane, the heroine of the plains."
2. Vincent van Gogh
If we are to judge artistic merit in dollar terms, Vincent van Gogh has to be near the very top of the tree. Yet during his lifetime, the artist sold only one of his paintings. And that thing about his ear? In reality, he actually only chopped off a part of his ear lobe. That's not to minimize his mental health struggles, though — they resulted in his death in 1890. Despite his troubles, Van Gogh was a passionate man who advised, "Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well."
3. Geronimo
Born in 1829, Geronimo was a legendary leader of the Chiricahua Apache. He stood at the head of his people as they resisted the incursion of settlers onto their ancestral lands. His nemesis was Brigadier General Nelson A. Miles, who induced him to surrender after years of resistance in 1886 with a promise of exile in Florida. Instead, Geronimo and his reduced band of followers were handed a term of forced labor. Geronimo once said this of his legendary status: "I was no chief and never had been, but because I had been more deeply wronged than others, this honor was conferred upon me, and I resolved to prove worthy of the trust."
4. Edgar Allen Poe
Here we see a somewhat disdainful-looking Edgar Allen Poe in a portrait from 1849. Born 40 years previously in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, the author is best remembered for his spine-chilling short stories which have terrified generations of readers. These include such classics as The Pit and the Pendulum and The Fall of the House of Usher. Poe also penned a number of classic poems, like "The Raven" and "Annabel Lee." The author had a surprisingly eerie view of the world. He explained, "The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?"
