His 30 Year War

Hiroo Onoda is pictured in 1974 surrendering to authorities in the Philippines. In December of 1944 during WWII, Onoda, an intelligence officer, originally was assigned to Lubang Island in the Philippines. There he was to 'do whatever he could' to hamper enemy efforts to take the island. He and three other Japanese soldiers survived an attack on the island, and managed to escape into the nearby mountains.

Onoda held up there for the next 30 years, never knowing that the war was over. During  that time, his three fellow soldiers died, and repeated efforts to find him included dropping leaflets, which he believed were fake. Hiroo Onoda had told Norio Suzuki, a college student who had met up with him a few years earlier, that the only way he would surrender would be to his commanding officer. In February of 1974, Suzuki returned to Lubang Island with Onoda's former commanding officer, who persuaded him to surrender.  

The Afghan Girl

The cover of the June 1985 issue of National Geographic featured this picture of an Afghan girl taken at a Pakistani refugee camp. The 12 year old had been orphaned  after the Russians had invaded her homeland in 1984, killing both her parents. Journalist Steve McCurry was covering the war torn area for the magazine, and he would eventually photograph the girl who would become known around the world as simply the Afghan Girl. 

Sharbat Gula is pictured in 2002  after Steve McCurry returned to Afghanistan and successfully located the then 29 year old mother of three and her family. Up until that time, neither Gula nor her husband had ever heard of or seen the 1985 photograph. 

1917 WWI Draft Card

George Herman "Babe" Ruth's World War I draft card (1917)

The Eduard Bohlen

The Eduard Bohlen ran aground in heavy fog on September 5, 1909 along the Skeleton Coast of Namibia. Over the years, the wreck sits half burried in the sand, a result of having drifted far inland.

Madame Curie

Marie Curie won the Nobel Peace Prize for physics and chemistry, the only woman ever to do so for both categories. She did so for her discovery of the theory of radioactivity. Her work kept her constantly exposed to radiation throughout her working life, contributing to her death on July 4, 1934 from aplastic anemia. She was 66 years old. To this day, her papers have been stored in special lead lined boxes, and anyone wishing to research them must do so wearing protective clothing.

This Is Not A Drill

The U.S.S. Ranger's Naval Dispatch from the Commander in Chief Pacific (CICPAC) announcing Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December, 1941.

San Francisco In Ruins

San Francisco pictured from an airship 2000 feet above the city on May 28, 1906.

Mind Destruction

While giving the Nazi salute, German students from some of the world's finest colleges gather in German cities, including Berlin on May 10, 1933 to burn books with "unGerman" ideas. 

Papal Transportation

Pope Pius IX once referred to himself as a 'Prisoner of the Vatican'. The private railroad car that he used for his frequent trips through the Papal States is pictured (circa 1859). Today, the car remains on exhibit in the Museum of Rome.

The Dakota: 1912

The Dakota Park Apartments, located in New York's Central Park West and West 42nd Street, is pictured in 1912. Built in 1880, it is perhaps best remembered today as the place where famed Beatle John Lennon was shot to death on December 8, 1980. In addition to Lennon, other famous celebrities who called The Dakota home included Lauren Bacall, Leonard Bernstein, Judy Garland, and Rex Reed. Today the building is on the National Register of Historic Places and also is a  National Historic Landmark.