60 Eerie Photos From Forgotten Moments In HistoryGirl holding her chicken, 1900s.

There are stories from history that everyone thinks they know inside and out, but as these photos show there’s always more than one way to look at something or someone. Just because the Queen of England looks stodgy right now doesn’t mean that she wasn’t playful in the 1950s, and even though we think of the Great Depression as being a real drag, there were people who knew how to pass the time in interesting ways.

Whether you’re curious about forgotten wars, abandoned buildings, or animals from the late 19th century, we’ve got something here for you. Relax and get ready to learn about forgotten pieces of history, read on!

so if you were able to actually own an animal that produced food you were doing okay. Even though this young woman looks like she’s living a rags to rags story, you have to remember that not only does she own a chicken - which is huge by the way - but she’s in a position to have her photo taken and developed, something that was much harder to do in the early 20th century than it is now.

Many families that owned chickens were able to get by when some families were working as itinerant farmers weren’t so lucky. In many instances, these chickens were both friends and sources of food. 

An Inuit man warms up his wife’s feet in Greenland, 1890s. (photo by Robert E. Peary)

Source: Reddit

 and near the Arctic Circle for generations longer than anyone else who’s spent time in these frosty areas - so if they’re cold then you know you’d be freezing. The Inuit people stretch across the north, from Greenland to Canada, and during the 19th cenBalmoral Castle in Scotland is the home away from home for the British Royal Family. in fact, they’ve been going to the castle for decades for rest and relaxation, usually during the summer. The Queen has been visiting Balmoral in the summer since she was a child, but most of the folks in her kingdom became aware of the family’s trips in the 1950s.

Balmoral Castle in Scotland is the home away from home for the British Royal Family. in fact, they’ve been going to the castle for decades for rest and relaxation, usually during the summer. The Queen has been visiting Balmoral in the summer since she was a child, but most of the folks in her kingdom became aware of the family’s trips in the 1950s.

During that time the Queen, King George VI, Prince Philip and would head out to the countryside for picnics and playtime. The Queen even brought her royal corgis to the countryside with her! It looks like Charles and Anne got up to plenty of trouble while they were in the Scottish countryside, but what else are you supposed to do on vacation? 

Prince Charles watches as Queen Elizabeth helps Princess Anne climb back up a window at Balmoral Castle, Scotland. (1952)

Source: Pinterest

Balmoral Castle in Scotland is the home away from home for the British Royal Family. in fact, they’ve been going to the castle for decades for rest and relaxation, usually during the summer. The Queen has been visiting Balmoral in the summer since she was a child, but most of the folks in her kingdom became aware of the family’s trips in the 1950s.

During that time the Queen, King George VI, Prince Philip and would head out to the countryside for picnics and playtime. The Queen even brought her royal corgis to the countryside with her! It looks like Charles and Anne got up to plenty of trouble while they were in the Scottish countryside, but what else are you supposed to do on vacation? 

A 70 year-old Elizabeth Arnold, believed to be England's only female blacksmith, shoes a horse outside of a 400 year-old forge in Kent. (1938)

Source: Pinteres                                                                                                                                                                                                         Even though she was only a reported 5ft tall, Elizabeth Arnold was a darn good blacksmith who was thought to be the   in England in the early 20th century. She was still working when she was 70 years old and was said to have been able to swing a 10lb sledgehammer like no one’s business.

She lived outside of Kent, which is spot that’s known for its horses. It’s likely that she was up to her elbows in work, and as the only female blacksmith she must have been quite a novelty for the people in the surrounding area. 

Congrats go out to this 50 year-old man with Down Syndrome who recently retired after working 32 years at McDonalds. 

Source: Pinterest

In 2018, after working at the Northmead McDonalds in west Sydney Australia Russell O'Grady retired following 32 years of work in  O’Grady began working at the McDonalds in 1986 at the age of 18 and he immediately became the lynchpin of the team. Just before his retirement from McDonalds O’Grady’s brother had this to say about his retirement:

He's kind of blasé about it but loves his work very much. He's pretty cheeky sometimes. He's my big brother and he keeps me in line.

According a spokesperson for the local McDonalds, there are a lot of people who stop by just to see O’Grady. 

Faris Tuohy, who fought in WWII, is holding a photo from 1944. That’s him on the left, holding a cup of coffee, after one of many hellacious battles. He will be 95 this April. 

Source:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          What a photo to have. Faris Tuohy is certainly lucky to still be here, especially after the battles he’s been through.  Tuohy fought with the 3rd Battalion, independent 22nd Marine Regiment. On this day he’d just finished a two day battle for Engebi in Eniwetok Atoll where they went toe to toe with Japanese soldiers.

During the battle Tuohy’s battalion killed 736 Japanese soldiers, and reportedly only 19 of the soldiers surrendered. The photo that Tuohy is holding is one of the few that the U.S. allowed to be released in America, and it shows the intense scars of war.                                                                                                                                                In 1931, Mary Smith earned six pence a week in east London by shooting a pea into the windows of the sleeping workers. Knocker-uppers also used long bamboo sticks, batons and canes to rouse residents of the upper floors.

How much would you pay someone to wake up in the morning? Beginning in the 18th century and stretching all the way to the early 20th century, to wake them up in various ways. Mary Smith made her bones shooting peas into the windows of workers, and people called knocker uppers would literally bang on the windows of their clients.

In order to have a knocker upper wake you up you could do one of two things: put a note on your door saying when you wanted to be woken up, or reach out to the knocker upper in person and let them know when to bang on your window. Thank goodness someone invented the alarm clock                                                                                                                                                                           .The first McDonalds in Moscow on opening day, 1990. It was the largest McDonald’s in the world at the time, with seating for 900 and a staff of 600 workers.

Source: Reddit                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 What says “freedom” more than McDonalds’? In 1990 the Soviet Union welcomed McDonald’s into mother Russia and people lined up for hours in order to get their first taste of American fast food. The 900 seat restaurant was certainly a marvel to  who weren’t used to this kind of thing, with one journalist calling the restaurant, “the expression of America’s rationalism and pragmatism toward food.”

A giant fast food restaurant was only the beginning of change in Russia. Two years after McDonald’s came to town the Soviet Union came to an end and Mikhail Gorbachev stepped down as the head of the government.

Transporting logs in Northern Michigan, 1908.

Source: Reddit

Well this is one way to move some product. In the early 20th century there were no massive truckslumberjacks had to rely on real, legitimate horse power. That, or the had to force the logs down river. However when there’s no water to use you’ve got to do what you can, and these fellows look like they’re having a great time.

At Michigan in the time the logging industry was booming, and the lumberjacks were filling their pockets with cash with every tree that they felled. This towering stack of logs shows just how many trees loggers were moving in the early 1900s. 

In 1997, Tom Petty took this picture at Jim Morrison's grave site, which shows Jim's ghostly image in the background.

Source: Reddit

Who better to capture the spirit of  than the leader of the Heartbreakers himself, Tom Petty? In 1997 Tom Petty snapped a quick pic of rock historian Brett Meisner while hanging out in front of Morrison’s final resting place in the Pere Lachaise cemetery in France. Prior to his death Mesiner claims that he didn’t even notice the ghostly presence until 2002.

Meisner said that he continued to experience paranormal activity following the taking of the photo, most of it bad. He said, “At first it was sort of interesting to see how many people felt a spiritual bond with Jim and the photo, but now the whole vibe seems nega                                                                                                                               A Dad from Salt Lake City, Utah, designed this beautiful headstone for his wheelchair-bound son.

Source: Reddit

This headstone is absolutely heartbreaking and absolutely astounding. In 1988 Ernest Robison’s son was born paralyzed from the neck down due to a lack of oxygen. He lived until the age of 11 until he passed away from complications due to his condition. Rather than simply get a standard headstone for his son, Ernest designed this statue that shows his son reaching for the heavens.

The Robison’s went onto create a non-profit organization that helps people with disabilities get rehab equipment that they can’t afford. Robison said, “Instead of sadness, the statue makes our son Matthew’s grave a place of happiness. Many others have found that true also.”

Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall switching outfits in France (1996).

Source: Pinterest

Has there ever been a cooler couple on the planet? When  got together with model Jerry Hall in 1977 they were the toast of England. In between the release of Black and Blue and Some Girls Jagger and Hall were splashed across the pages of the dirt sheets and they relished the attention.

In 1990 Jagger and Hall took part in a private marriage ceremony in Bali, Indonesia before moving to Richmond, London and having four kids while continuing to create and appear in fashion ads. Throughout the ‘90s their relationship went through several permutations, and after Jagger and Hall decided to call it quits the ceremony in Bali was declared invalid, unlawful, and null and void by the High Court of England in 1999. 

A married couple begs for the husband to not be deported to Germany in 1936.

                                                                                                              In 1936 Otto Richter, a 21 year old German citizen, was faced with a terrible decision, or accept deportation to Germany where he was supposed to then go to Canada and request a legal entry to the United States. Richther escaped from Nazi Germany so this deportation was essentially a death sentence.

He petitioned to stay in America and did his best to get sympathy for his cause, but three years after this photo was taken Richter was deported to Germany. It’s unfortunate that he wasn’t allowed to stay safe in the states during World War II.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Joh Lennon and Yoko Ono on their wedding day 50 years ago. (March 20, 1969)

Source: Pinterest                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                The most well known couple in rock history, John and Yoko were married on March 20, 1969 in Gibraltar after meeting three years earlier while Lennon was still married to his first wife Cynthia. The two went through a few different ideas for where they’d be married - on a boat to France was the first choice - they finally made do with a spot where they could be married as soon as Lennon’s divorce was finalized.

The ceremony took all of 10 minutes, and was attended by David Nutter, the band’s photographer. Following the ceremony John and Yoko went to Amsterdam where they staged                                                                                                                                                                                               The Harlem Hellfighters back from WWI, wearing their Cross of War medals. (1919) 

Source: Pinterest                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  One story that begs to be told is that of a completely African-American infantry unit who spent more time fighting in World War I than any other American unit. Even though these brave men fought harder than anyone else in the war they were still faced with horrific racism and segregation once they returned home.

Most of the Harlem  were from New York City, and they were the first black troops to join the National Guard following years of petitioning the government to let them serve. According to Arthur P. Davis, “To be somebody you had to belong to the 15th Infantry.                                                                                                                       Roller skating in style, 1909.

Source: Reddit                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

  has been one of the world’s favorite past times since 1760 when Belgium inventor John Joseph Merlin introduced them as a way for folks to feel the freedom of ice skating anywhere they wanted. When skates came to America they’d changed from simply having wheels attached to wooden shoes which made the skates hard to maneuver.

These new “quad” skates made it easier for folks to maneuver around while they were on wheels, which is really what you want. It’s likely that the folks in this photo wouldn’t have been able to hold onto their hats if they were still using 16th century skates. 

Sioux girl with her doll, 1890.

Even though they were displaced long before the end of the 19th century, by 1890 the Sioux Nation had yet to face their worst indignity. Over the course of their existence the Sioux were split into being the Dakota and the Lakota, and on December 29, 1890, the 7th Cavalry Regiment surrounded the Lakota in order to force them to move to Omaha, Nebraska.

Elton Knee Creek, so the 7th Calvary fired on them until 150 of the Lakota Sioux were dead. After burying the men, women, and children in a mass grave the 9th Calvary moved onto a nearby reservation in order to watch over the remaining Sioux.                                                                                                                                    Elton John, Diana Ross, and Cher backstage at the Grammy Awards. (1975)

Source: Reddit

The 17th annual Grammy Awards may have been hosted by Andy Williams, but  Cher, and Diana Ross stole the show. At the time, John was at the height of his bedazzled showman persona, following the release of Caribou, an album that features "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me.” At the same time Cher was riding a Golden Globe win for The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.

Diana Ross was also having a killer beginning to the 1970s. In ’74 she was the first African-American woman to co-host the 46th Academy Awards. Why these three didn’t get to host the Grammys is lost on us. 

Santa Claus costume from the early 1900s.

Source: Reddit                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    AH! No thank you! So it turns out that  wasn’t always the cherubic figure that we know and love. It seems in that at one point Santa Claus was actually some kind of paper mache demon. Imagine seeing this creature coming down your chimney in the middle of the night, even if he said that he was just popping in to bring you presents you wouldn’t believe him.

All jokes aside, people were just scraping by in the early 20th century and the fact that this fellow could put together a Santa costume is laudable, even if it’s terrifying.