There is a lot more to history than some of the famous photos that we have all seen in textbooks.
Sometimes, the monotony of those same glimpses into history over and over again can really put a damper on learning about the past, but there are some interesting facts and moments that the books often leave out.
Here are fifty rare historical photos that usually don’t make it into history books, but should.
This photo was taken in 1937 by a woman who had concealed a camera in her handbag. Cameras were not allowed in the Supreme Court. As far as anyone knows, this is one of only two photographs that have been taken when the court was in session.
This photographer captured George Willig scaling the exterior of the World Trade Center’s South Tower in 1977. The climb took three and a half hours and resulted in his arrest as well as $1.10 in fines.
During forced labor to clear the bodies at Bergen-Belsen in 1945, British soldiers allowed the German SS guards to take a break, but only if they were lying down in one of the mass graves.
Lyndon B. Johnson was yelling at the pilots of a plane to cut their engines so John F. Kennedy could be heard when he spoke in Amarillo Texas. The future president can be seen trying to calm him down.
This bizarre scene was captured in the 1920s at the Los Angeles’ California Alligator Farm. The alligators were trained and visitors were allowed to roam freely among them.
Los Angeles Public Library via AllThatsInteresting
This 1963 photo catches Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali kidding around together. We can see how this less than serious photo may have been skipped in the history books.
While Redditors question if the image itself might be staged for effect, it depicts a German communist being executed by firing squad in Munich in 1919.
This family photo, taken in Hyannis Port in 1963, captures the family in a less serious moment. It also captures some interior decorating choices that an entire generation would like to put behind them.
This 1903 photograph was taken inside the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company in Tarentum, PA. It captures an earlier method of making the glass compared to what is used today.
Lieutenant Briand Neaudin and Paul Lehman are seen celebrating in this photo. They had been captured by the Germans and liberated by other U.S. airborne infantryman in June, 1944.
Then US Navy Lieutenant-Commander John McCain is being treated by a doctor in this photograph after his A-4 Skyhawk was shot down in North Vietnam in 1967.
This 1885 photograph captures a group of women from India, Japan, and Syria. They had all completed their education as physicians in Philadelphia in that year.
In 1941, Ruth Lee, a Chinese restaurant hostess, would fly a Chinese flag while sunbathing so she wouldn’t be mistaken for Japanese. The photo was taken on a beach in Miami.
This 1991 photograph captures Princess Diana holding the hand of an AIDS patient. In a time when hysteria about the virus was still high, her holding his hand without a glove was significant.
This 1939 photo shows a young Queen Elizabeth in a role we’re generally not accustomed to seeing her in. She spent time as a mechanic during World War II.
The McDonald brothers were captured in this photo in front of their not first McDonald’s prior to it opening. The picture was taken in 1948 in San Bernadino, California.
There is a lot more to history than some of the famous photos that we have all seen in textbooks.
Sometimes, the monotony of those same glimpses into history over and over again can really put a damper on learning about the past, but there are some interesting facts and moments that the books often leave out.
Here are fifty rare historical photos that usually don’t make it into history books, but should.