History Thru The Lens

Welcome to my blog site!

My interests in history and photography come together in this photoblog. Featured in this blog are historical pictures such as the above photo of the RMS Olympic and her sister ship the RMS Titanic, which would prove to be the last one of them together side by side. Hopefully all who visit will enjoy it and recommend the site to their friends.

NOTE:
You may click any picture in this blog to view it on its' own screen.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The Boardwalk

The famous Atlantic City Boardwalk is pictured in the Summer of 1920.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

It's A Small World

A few days before their wedding, Alex Voutsinas and his fiancee Donna were looking through her family's pictures from her childhood days. Alex was holding a picture taken at Disney World in which Donna, then 5 years old, was posing with her two brothers and a Disney character. To the left in the background, he then noticed a man resembling his father, pushing a stroller with  him in it. As it turned out, they in fact had crossed paths 20 years before they ever met.

Donna met Alex through work and not realizing their incredible coincidence, they fell in love and eventually married. What makes this even more unbelievable is that they both lived in different countries at the time; he in Canada, and her in Florida. Now, after 8 years together with 3 children, they  decided to share their story.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Avoiding Capture

On April 20, 1945, in order to avoid capture by approaching American troops, Leipzigs Deputy Mayor and Municipal Treasurer Dr. jur. Ernst Kurt Lisso (at desk), his wife Renate Stephanie (in chair) and their daughter Regina Lisso all committed suicide in the New Town Hall by taking cyanide.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Then And Now

This ad appeared in the March 19, 1979 edition of Le Point. In this simple ad that then pictured one of America's most identifying landmarks, we are poignantly reminded now of her painful history. 

Sunday, March 6, 2011

World War I Color Pics

This photograph was taken on the western front of World War I. While color photography was around prior to 1903, it was the Lumiere brothers, Auguste and Louis who would patent the process in 1903 and develop the first color photos of World War I in 1907.

Friday, March 4, 2011

President John Hanson

On March 1, 1781, our country was formed and the Articles of Confederation were adopted. With that, Congress unanimously chose John Hanson as the first president of the United States. Under the Articles, the president was allowed to only serve one term, and Hanson was succeeded by six other presidents between 1783 and 1788. Ultimately, the Articles of Confederation never worked properly, and so the Constitution that we follow today was adopted, and George Washington was elected the first president under that Constitution. In history, the first seven presidents remain forgotten.

The Kennedy Coconut

Lieutenant John F. Kennedy served as commander of the PT109 during World War II. His boat was struck and sunk by a Japanese destroyer, stranding him and his crew in the Solomon Islands. Kennedy carved a message on a coconut shell which was delivered by a native to the PT base a Rendova, and they were all eventually rescued. 

The message read:       NAURO ISL
                                   COMMANDER...NATIVE KNOWS POS'IT...
                                   HE CAN PILOT...11 ALIVE
                                   NEED SMALL BOAT...KENNEDY

Kennedy later had the coconut shell encased in a clear paperweight, which he kept on his desk in the Oval Office.