Color is an integral part of understanding the world around you. Without color, visuals lose context and depth. The following images were originally black and white, but digital editors were able to colorize these photos from the early 20th century. If you’ve ever been curious about what history would have looked like in color, now is your chance to see the past from a brand new perspective…
Room on the Titanic
Rooms aboard the Titanic were nothing to scoff at. For the first-class passengers, no expense was spared. The interior of the boat looked more like a palace. The wealthiest passengers were able to purchase tickets for several suites that were connected to one another; they could then open the interconnecting doors to create one enormous suite.
Hitler’s Tub
Before Lee Miller became a wartime photojournalist, she was a successful fashion model. Later, Miller followed the 83rd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army to Germany, where she documented the atrocious crimes committed in Dachau. She then went to Hitler’s apartment and took a bath. Her boots were muddied after trekking through the concentration camp.
Albert Einstein
After facing antisemitism in Germany, Einstein traveled to America in 1933 to find a new place to settle down. He found a home in Princeton, New Jersey, where he would stay with his wife, Elsa, until his death in 1955.
Walt Disney
Walt Disney was the pioneer of the family-friendly amusement park. By the late 1940s, Disney characters had skyrocketed in popularity, so it made perfect sense to create a theme park to celebrate them. The $17 million park’s construction was completed in July of 1955.
The Rat Pack
This colorized photo of the Rat Pack hanging out in the early 1960s might make you feel like you’re really in the same room as Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, and Dean Martin.
West Meets East
Two Germans brothers who were separated by the Berlin Wall meet again during the border pass agreement of 1963. Regulations were put in place in order to allow those living in the West to see their relatives in the East.
Clint Eastwood
This photo was taken a few years before Eastwood made it big in Hollywood. His first major hit in A Fistful of Dollars took him all the way to Italy. Before landing his breakout role, Eastwood appeared in B-movies like Tarantula and Lafayette Escadrille.
Fighter Pilot
On April 15, 1943, Major Donald James Matthew Blakeslee from Ohio became the first pilot in history to shoot down an enemy plane with the P-47 Thunderbolt.
Smallest Man in the World
Henry Behrens was the smallest man in the world in 1956, standing only 30 inches tall. Here, he can be seen dancing with his cat in the doorway of their Worthington home.
Danish Explorers
This photo depicts Peter Freuchen and his third wife, Dagmar Cohn. Freuchen traveled to Greenland and rode a dogsled 600 miles to hunt and trade with the Inuits. He is wearing a coat made from a polar bear that he killed himself. In 1910, Freuchen was stuck in a blizzard and buried in the snow. He dug himself out of the ice by making a knife from his own frozen feces.
The Hoover Dam
The Hoover Dam was constructed on the border between Nevada and Arizona during the Great Depression. Thousands of workers traveled to the area in hopes of making a better life for themselves. The incredible amount of manpower behind the building of the dam meant the entire process was completed by May 29, 1935.
Light It Up
As the war was tearing Korea in two, the United Nations tried to support South Korea while they battled the communists of the north. On Sept. 10, 1950, the U.S. military burned the island of Wolmi to neutralize anything that South Koreans could use as a weapons hold.
Deadly Fashion
When air travel was introduced in the early 20th century, Colonel Lance of the Aéro-Club de France offered 10,000 francs to anyone who could create a working parachute. Franz Reichelt, a French tailor, used his skills to design a wearable “parachute suit.” He then jumped to his death from the Eiffel Tower while attempting to test the device.
After the Prom
This reference photo for Norman Rockwell’s “After the Prom” illustrates the artist’s eye for detail. Rockwell was interested in capturing smalltown American life, which this photo delivers in a perfectly staged moment.
Building the Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty was meant to serve as a memorial to independence in the United States, built by workers from both France and the United States in order to unite the countries.
Otto von Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck was the founder and first chancellor of the German Empire, leading him to become an authoritarian throughout his ruling. After decades in control over the country, Bismarck was removed from power in 1890.
Royal Group in the Crimson Drawing Room
This photograph from November 17, 1907, depicts the elites of the European patriarchy only seven years before the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which would trigger World War I. The English and Russian royal families can be seen together in the Crimson Drawing Room at Windsor Castle.
Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali
In February of 1964, the boxer formerly known as Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali. He and Malcolm X shared a brief but powerful friendship before Ali stopped associating with the political leader. X was assassinated in the middle of a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem on February 21, 1965.
Troops Heading to Normandy
These troops from the 101st Airborne Division are seen here on June 5, 1944. They are sitting inside a C-47 with full packs and a bazooka right before takeoff from RAF Upottery Airfield to Normandy, France. The men were preparing to execute “Operation Chicago”, during which the infantry lost 500 soldiers.
Frank Sinatra’s Mugshot
Seeing Frank Sinatra’s 1938 mugshot in color is a whole new experience. The singer was arrested after he was caught sleeping with a woman “of good repute” under “the promise of marriage.”
Firing Squad
A German commando captured in American uniform is being prepared for execution on December 23, 1944.
Boston Strangler
Self-confessed Boston Strangler Albert DeSalvo is taken into custody after his arrest in Lynn, Massachusetts, just north of Boston, on February 25, 1967.
Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton went from the daughter of a poor Appalachian family to the world’s number one country star.
Susan Peters
This photo from 1943 depicts actress Susan Peters nine years before she passed away from chronic kidney infections and pneumonia. While on a hunting trip with her husband, Peters grabbed a shotgun and it discharged into her abdomen, paralyzing her from the waist down. She spent the rest of her life in a wheelchair and took on roles that accommodated her paralysis.
Lady Liberty
The statue of Lady Justice sits atop the Old Bailey in London. This 1937 photo shows it being regilded in preparation for the Coronation of King George V.
Lovers’ Farewell
A soldier says goodbye to his wife at Penn Station in New York City before he returns to war, 1943.
Alfred Hitchcock
Hitchcock was known as the “Master of Suspense” for his films like Strangers on a Train, Psycho, and Rear Window. He passed away from kidney failure on April 29, 1980.
Fritz Haber
Fritz Haber, also known as the “Father of Chemical Warfare”, served as Germany’s leading physical chemist during World War I. He spent the war on call to create deadlier chemical weapons for the army. Haber was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart poses in the cockpit of her plane in the 1930s. Earhart was the 16th woman to receive a pilot’s license and became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic in 1928. She later became the first person in history to fly over both the Atlantic and the Pacific. Earhart disappeared while attempting to circumnavigate the globe from the equator in 1937.
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. He’s known for his work in paint and sculpture. His most well-known sculpture piece is the “Chicago Picasso,” a 50-foot high abstract shape that can be interpreted as an animal or a woman. He refused to accept compensation for the project and donated it to the city.
The Beatles
The Beatles on stage in Hamburg, Germany in 1960. From left to right: John Lennon, George Harrison, Pete Best, Paul McCartney, and Stuart Sutcliffe. Sutcliffe left the group to work on his painting.
Charles Luciano
Mafia boss Charles “Lucky” Luciano is depicted here in Sicily, Italy, after being exiled. December 31, 1948.
Charles Lindbergh
Nearly a decade before the tragic kidnapping of Lindbergh’s baby, Charles Lindbergh can be seen here in the cockpit of an airline at Lambert Field, St. Louis, Missouri in 1923.
New York
When office buildings began springing up around Lower Broadway in the twentieth century, New Yorkers were unsure how to react. This photo depicts New York in the early 1900s.
Colorful Girls
Flight attendants wearing bright, colorful mod outfits in 1965.
Union Soldiers
Union soldiers are taking a rest during the Civil War during 1963. Technological developments at the time allowed for mass tintype production, making war photos available to the American public.
Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball can be seen wearing a green, glamorous outfit in this colorized photograph from the 1940s.
Mugshot of Lee Harvey Oswald
On November 22, 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy as he rode through Dallas, Texas in an open-car motorcade. Oswald was apprehended 30 minutes later.
Christopher Robin
Christopher Robin served as the inspiration for his father’s beloved tale Winnie the Pooh. Robin had a difficult time growing up with a father who mined his life for stories. He grew up resenting the character that shared his name. Here, Robin is seen with his fiancee, Lesley de Selincourt.
Bob Dylan
1965 was the peak of Bob Dylan’s artistry. It marked the year he went electric, received media attention for becoming the nation’s poet, and got into the mysterious motorcycle incident that made him disappear from the public eye for eight years.
Child Laborer
This colorized photo of an 11-year-old coal miner was taken in 1908. By 1910, there were nearly 2 million children working in coal mines. After the NCLC sent photographers to take pictures of children in the mines, people were outraged, and by 1916 the Child Labor Act was put in place. Appropriate shift lengths and age requirements were determined for young workers.
Day at the Beach
During the early 20th century, beachgoers didn’t have access to instant photographs like we do now. They had to pay photographers to get their photo taken having fun in the sun.
The Wedding of Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Queen Victoria and King Edward VII are seen here with their family at a wedding in Coburg, Germany, in 1894.
Cologne Cathedral
The foundation for the Cologne Cathedral was laid in 1248, but nobody knew it would take over 200 years to complete. The south tower was finished in 1473. However, the construction of the cathedral came to an end after a grand total of 632 years.
Vivien Leigh
Colorized photo of Vivien Leigh taking a break from filming on the set of Victor Fleming’s Gone with the Wind (1939).
Dinner with Hans von Luck
Hans-Ulrich Freiherr von Luck und Witten, known as Hans von Luck, was a commanding officer in the 7th Panzer Division. A photo caption in the album reads, “With Tommy flyers at Fécamp, 12 Juni 1940.”
Abandoned Plane
A 190A-8 burned and looted in September and October of 1944. Melsbroek, Belgium.
Awarded Officers
Flight Lieutenant R.H.A. Lee and Flying Officer K.H. Blair after being awarded the DSO and the DFC, respectively, by King George VI. The photo was taken at RAF Hornchurch, Essex, on July 27, 1940.
The Titanic
Although the Titanic was launched on May 31, 1911, it wasn’t considered seaworthy until the following year. The ship took its maiden and only voyage on April 10, 1912.
Birth of the Flag
“Birth of the Flag” was painted in 1911 by Henry Mosler. This photo was taken six years later of women in the “tableau” pose, imitating the painting in 1917.
Heir to the Throne
Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich Romanov can be seen here aboard the Imperial yacht Polar Star in 1907. Tsarevich was the youngest and only son of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. He had hemophilia and passed away at the age of 13 while his entire family was executed in a different room.
Guitar Girls in the USSR
1970s photo taken of four girls playing the guitar in the USSR during the reign of the Communist party.
Downtown Baltimore
Eutaw Street is where people go to see the Orioles play during baseball season, or take a stroll around downtown Baltimore.
Lieutenants During WWII
Lieutenants Bobby de la Tour, Don Wells, John Vischer, and Bob Midwood of the twenty-second Independent Parachute Company are seen here setting their watches on June 4, 1944, at the RAF Harwell Base.
Barrage Balloons
Barrage balloons are used in order to raise cables that create a risk of collision for the enemy, making their approach impossible. This depicts LCT with barrage balloons afloat, unloading supplies on the shores of Omaha Beach for the breakout from Normandy.
Crossing the Storm
This colorized photo from 1940 was taken by John Vachon. The photograph was meant to evoke feelings of anticipation. Vachon took the photo “Crossing the Storm” in McHenry, County, North Dakota.
Martha Gellhorn
Gellhorn was a war correspondent who made sure she was always out in the middle of the action. Gellhorn was the only woman who landed in Normandy on D-Day.
Churchill and Roosevelt
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Marrakesh, French Morocco. The photo was taken on January 24, 1943, following the Casablanca Conference.
Astrid Kirchherr
Kirchherr was the woman who first photographed the Beatles. She is depicted here in a self-portrait.