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, October 31, 2012

The Last Living Civil War Widow


In 1934, 19 year old Mandie Acklin married Civil War Veteran William Cantrell, who was 86 years old.  When Cantrell passed away three years later,  Mandie became known as the last living Civil War widow. She died in 2008 at the age of 93. 

The Search For Noah's Ark

Could this be the remains of Noah's Ark?  This recent satellite image taken over the northwest corner of Mt. Ararat in eastern Turkey shows an anomaly located about 15,300 feet up the mountainside. Some experts believe this could actually be the long lost ark. 

Sunday, October 28, 2012

The Perfect Exposure

A photographer catches the Golden Gate Bridge during construction in 1929. This view from  Sausalito looking west shows the city of San Francisco in the distance across the bay.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

The Lonely Hearts Killers

From 1947 through 1949, Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck were believed to have killed as many as 20 women. Known as The Lonely Hearts Killers, the couple would befriend people seeking companionship via the newspapers, eventually killing and robbing them. As a result of their being convicted for only one of the murders, Fernandez and Beck were both executed in the electric chair at New York's Sing Sing Prison on March 8, 1951.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Men Only

Race officials are pictured attempting to remove 20 year old Syracuse University junior Katherine Switzer from the Boston Marathon in 1967. About two miles from the finish line, Switzer abruptly inserted herself in the race, attempting to break the long standing tradition of the male only event.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Long Lost Bible


Twenty year old George Ford, fighting in World War I for the Sherwood Foresters, was killed in action in 1918. His personal belongings were packed in a box and sent to his family in Nottingham, England. Among those belongings was a small Bible which Ford kept in his breast pocket. In 1977, while doing some repair work on a house in Nottingham, a builder discovered the Bible, and found that it had been gathering dust in the attic for 59 years. After a 35 year search by the builder's son, the Bible was returned to George Ford's nephews in Arnold, Nottinghampshire. 

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Brotherly Advice

In a Los Angeles hotel room, US Senator John F. Kennedy (left) confers with brother Robert, his most trusted adviser, during the Democratic National Convention. John would eventually win the nomination of his party and go on to become President. 

Monday, October 8, 2012

Calling Card


On April 23, 1972, Apollo 16 Lunar Module pilot Charles Duke left his family picture, which was sealed in a clear plastic bag, on the surface of the Moon.