50+ Must-See Moments In History

Last updated on January 20th, 2026 at 01:41 am

No one can predict the future, but we can better understand the present by looking back at history. 

Here are 100 must-see historical moments – significant events that have shaped our world. From wars and revolutions to scientific discoveries and technological innovations, these are some of the most important moments in human progress. 

Whether you’re a history buff or want to learn more about our fascinating past, check out this list!

A protestant husband and his catholic wife were not allowed to be buried together. Here are their headstones reaching across the two cemeteries in 1888.
Düsseldorf, Germany – before and after
The 13×18 foot (3.96×5.48 meter) cabin Dick Proenneke built in 1968. He lived there alone for 30 years in what is today part of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Alaska. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
Demonstrating how bulletproof vests work, 1923.
A family poses with their covered wagon in Kansas, 1908.
Building the hand and torch of the Statue of Liberty, Paris, 1876.
A 2,000-year-old “fast food” restaurant that was uncovered in Pompeii.
The tallest man to ever live, Robert Wadlow, poses with his family in 1935.
Workers building the Empire State building, c. 1930s
Two women, minutes after voting, London, 1929.
Mother and son pose for a photo, Ireland, 1890.

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Henry Ford in the first car he ever built, 1896.
Two newsies, New York, 1896.
The absolutely massive chain for the Titanic’s anchor, c. 1909.
A woman plays a piano designed for people undergoing bedrest, 1935.
A photo by Berenice Abbot of a woman wiring an IBM computer, 1948.
A man repairs the antenna on the World Trade Center, NYC, 1979. Photo by Peter Kaplan.
Bottling ketchup at the Heinz factory, Pittsburgh, 1897
A meeting of the Mickey Mouse Club, California, c. 1930.
The Great Blizzard of 1888, New York City
A WWI-era German submarine washed ashore in Hasting, England, in 1919.
The intact seal on Tutankhamun’s Tomb, 1922. It went untouched for 3,424 years.
Lumberjacks take a photo with a Douglas fir tree, Washington, 1899.
A woman is ticketed for wearing a bikini, 1957.
The employee cafeteria at Disneyland, 1961.
An unknown soldier, Vietnam, 1965
An Austrian child gets new shoes during WWI
An American soldier talks with a sunbathing German girl in postwar Berlin, Germany, in 1945
Painting the Eiffel tower, 1932.
A girl tries to get a reaction from a royal guard. Stockholm, Sweden, 1970s.
Audrey Hepburn with her pet deer, 1958.
A hippie sells flowers on the road, Oklahoma, 1973.
An East German soldier sneaks a little boy across the Berlin Wall, 1961.
Wojtek the bear, who fought in WW2.
“No dog biscuits today,” London, 1940s
Mom contains her baby with a trashcan while she crochets, 1969.
A Vietnam veteran throws his war medal at the Capitol building in protest of the war. April 23, 1971. 

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