Unnerving Historical Photos That Will Leave You Speechless

ENTERTAINMENT | February  5, 2018 | By Jason Owen
A Presidential Visit

President Abraham Lincoln visits the famous sight of Antietam in 1863. He is accompanied by Allan Pinkerton and Major General John A. McClernand. The photo was taken in front of the headquarters tent of the U.S. Secret Service according to archives in the Library of Congress.
 Four-Year-Old Bill Clinton (1950)

Former President Bill Clinton is seen here in these early photos from his childhood. In the image with the pony, Clinton is 4-5 years old. The other image was taken during the 1950s.
Famous Gangsters' Bloody End

Bonnie and Clyde were the infamous American gangsters of the Great Depression. Their exploits have been glamorized through the years, but the duo’s gang most often robbed small stores and rural gas stations.

The two met a bloody demise when they were ambushed by law officers near Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, in 1934. Their bullet-riddled car is seen here.
Witnesses to Devastation

On Jan. 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members.

Witnesses on the ground react to watching the heartbreaking scene. 
A Grand Visit

Famous German theoretical physicist Albert Einstein is seen here with his wife (front) and a group of their friends.

Practice for a Big Speech              

Hitler practices a speech and mannerisms in front of a photographer so he can study his movements and dramatic impact. Hitler was famously a rousing public speaker.

General Eisenhower, Patton Examine Stolen Artwork in a Nazi Mine (1945)

Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower is accompanied by General Omar N. Bradley and General George S. Patton, Jr., as they inspect stolen art hidden in a German salt mine by Nazi soldiers.
Brighter Than a Thousand Suns

This startling and heartbreaking image shows a young girl who survived but was blinded by the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945. The bombing killed an estimated 90,000-146,000 people in Hiroshima in total.
The Final Execution

On Aug. 14, 1936, in Owensboro, Kentucky, 20,000 people gathered around a scaffold to witness the public hanging of Rainey Bethea. A media frenzy ensued after some foul-ups in the execution. It would lead to nationwide changes and be the last public hanging in the country.
Loss of a Legend

The widow of John Lennon posted this photo of the famed Beatles musician to commemorate his birthday. The full post read, “Over 1,057,000 people have been killed by guns in the U.S.A. since John Lennon was shot and killed on December 8, 1980.”
Medal Ceremony

On Aug. 8, 1936, Jesse Owens set an Olympic record in the long jump competition at the Summer Olympics to take home the gold medal. Owens proudly stood atop the medal podium with a military-style salute as German Luz Long gave a Nazi salute with his arm extended.
A Veteran Mourns

Joseph Ambrose, a World War I veteran, sits at the official dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., in November 1982. Ambrose holds the American flag that covered the coffin of his son who died in the Korean War in 1951.
Beard-less Abe

The photo on the left was taken in Beardstown, Illinois, (that’s not a joke) in 1858 and shows the famous 16th president of the United States before he grew out his signature beard. Lincoln joined the Republican Party in 1858 and was elected president two years later.

The image on the right shows Lincoln still without his beard in 1860.
He's Got Jokes

Singer, songwriter, actor, and social activist Harry Belafonte cracks a joke that hits home for civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., in this photo from the 1960s.
Orville Wright (1944)

Orville Wright, one of the inventors of the airplane, boards a plane for his last flight, piloted by Howard Hughes.
The Redwoods

Early 1900s luggers hold a 28-foot saw and stand in the cut out trunk of a massive Redwood tree in California in this hand-colored photograph dated to 1907.
The Sun Sets on Mars

In this file photo from NASA, the sun sets behind the rocky terrain of Earth’s neighboring planet, Mars.
 A Killer Among Us

Rodney James Alcala appeared on The Dating Game in 1978. Alcala was sentenced to death for five murders between 1977 and 1979. As recently as 2013, Alcala pled guilty to two additional murders in New York City in the early 1970s. His true victim count remains unknown.