History In Color: 25 Iconic Black And White Images Brought To Life

By Erin Kelly | Edited By John Kuroski
Published March 8, 2017
Updated October 18, 2021

As the maxim goes, a picture speaks a thousand words. But in color, they say even more. We give you these amazing photos of history in color.

Hines Boys Bw
Hines Boys Color
At The Fair Bw
History in Color At The Fair Color
Battle Of Saipan Bw
History in Color Battle Of Saipan Color
Buster Keaton Bw
History in Color Buster Keaton Color
Dorothy Sebastian Bw
Dorothy Sebastian Color
Lange Heat Wave Bw
Lange Heat Wave Color
Jane Russell Bw
Jane Russell Color
Migrant Mother Bw
Migrant Mother Color
Paddock Station Bw
Paddock Station Color
Sarah Vaughan Bw
Sarah Vaughan Color
Sideshow Barker Bw
Sideshow Barker Color
Rita Hayworth Bw
Rita Hayworth Color
West Indian Troops Bw
West Indian Troops Color
Women Tuba Bw
Women Tuba Color
Brigitte Bardot
History In Color Mark Twain
History In Color Elizabeth Taylor
VJ Day Kiss
History In Color Walt Whitman
British Troops In Color
History In Color Bullet Proof
Charles Darwin In Color
Stuffed Toy Child
Hindenburg Disaster In Color
Nikola Tesla In Color

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44 Historic Photos Of Native Americans Brought To Life In Striking Color
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Some of these Connecticut high school boys in 1909 have been newsboys for eight or nine years already. US National Archives
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Some of these Connecticut high school boys in 1909 have been newsboys for eight or nine years already. Colours of Yesterday/Facebook
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At the 1942 fair in Klamath Falls, Oregon.Russell Lee/The Library of Congress
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At the 1942 fair in Klamath Falls, Oregon.Colours of Yesterday/Facebook
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An injured Japanese father and child in 1944 during the Battle of Saipan. W. Eugene Smith/Life Magazine/Flickriver
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An injured Japanese father and child in 1944 during the Battle of Saipan. Colours of Yesterday/Facebook
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Buster Keaton making New Year’s resolutions in 1929.Pinterest
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Buster Keaton making New Year’s resolutions in 1929.Colours of Yesterday/Facebook
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Metro Goldwyn Mayer star Dorothy Sebastian brushes up on her flying instructions, circa 1929.Flickr/A Diamond Fell From the Sky
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Metro Goldwyn Mayer star Dorothy Sebastian brushes up on her flying instructions, circa 1929.Colours of Yesterday/Facebook
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A 1936 drought refugee from Polk, Missouri, awaiting the opening of orange picking season in Porterville, California.Library of Congress
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A 1936 drought refugee from Polk, Missouri, awaiting the opening of orange picking season in Porterville, California.Colours of Yesterday/Facebook
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Jane Russell in a promotional shot for the 1943 film The Outlaw. Flickr/siddacool
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Jane Russell in a promotional shot for the 1943 film The Outlaw. Flickr/siddacool
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Fresh socks are given to evacuated troops from Dunkirk in 1940 at Paddock Wood station in Kent, England.Colours of Yesterday/Facebook
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Fresh socks are given to evacuated troops from Dunkirk in 1940 at Paddock Wood station in Kent, England.Colours of Yesterday/Facebook
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Singer Sarah Vaughan, circa August of 1946.Wikipedia
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Singer Sarah Vaughan, circa August of 1946.reddit/Captain-cliche
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1942 Sideshow barker at the Klamath Falls, Oregon circus.Russell Lee/The Library of Congress
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1942 Sideshow barker at the Klamath Falls, Oregon circus.Colours of Yesterday/Facebook
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Rita Hayworth, born Margarita Carmen Cansino, was a 1940's screen idol and top WWII pin-up girl. Flickr/siddacool
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Rita Hayworth, born Margarita Carmen Cansino, was a 1940's screen idol and top WWII pin-up girl. Flickr/siddacool
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West Indian and Australian troops in 1917 during the Battle of Ypres, stacking 8-inch shells at a dump. Imperial War Museum
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West Indian and Australian troops in 1917 during the Battle of Ypres, stacking 8-inch shells at a dump.Colours of Yesterday/Facebook
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Two women with a tuba, Washington, D.C., 1928. Harris & Ewing Collection/Shorpy Photo Archive
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Two women with a tuba, Washington, D.C., 1928. Colours of Yesterday/Facebook
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French actress, singer, model, and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot.Flickr/siddacool
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Mark Twain in the garden, 1900. Reddit/Zuzahin
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Elizabeth Taylor on the set of the film ‘Giant’, 1956. Photographer: Frank WorthReddit/Malakon
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V-J Day in Times Square, August 14th, 1945. Photographer: Alfred Eisenstaedt.Sanna Dullaway/Deviant Art
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Walt Whitman portrait, 1887. Reddit/DanarKeller
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British Troops in England, September 20th, 1939. Reddit/BenAfleckIsAnOkActor
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H.W. Murphy, testing his bulletproof jacket, October 13th, 1923. United States Library of Congress.Reddit/BenAfleckIsAnOkActor
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Charles Darwin portrait, March 7th, 1874. Reddit/mygrapefruit
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Boy with Stuffed Toy in London during WWII, 1945. Photographer: Toni Frissel. Reddit/HansLucifer
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Hindenburg Disaster, May 6th, 1937. Photographer: Murray Becker. Reddit/danarkeller
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Nikola Tesla, 1893. Photographer: Napoleon Sarony. Reddit/danarkeller
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Photo-editing software has never been more affordable or easier to use, and as a result various artists have used the technology to physically alter the way we view our past. Indeed, we can now see centuries-old events in color, which inevitably has the effect of making the events captured by camera seem more "real." Don't believe us? Check out these photos of history in color and see for yourself:

Next, check out the world's first selfie and history's cool kids: the best of old school cool.

author
Erin Kelly
author
Erin Kelly
An All That's Interesting writer since 2013, Erin Kelly focuses on historic places, natural wonders, environmental issues, and the world of science. Her work has also been featured in Smithsonian and she's designed several book covers in her career as a graphic artist.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
John Kuroski
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.
Citation copied
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Cite This Article
Kelly, Erin. "History In Color: 25 Iconic Black And White Images Brought To Life." AllThatsInteresting.com, March 8, 2017, https://mirror2.pbh-network.com/history-in-color/. Accessed October 3, 2025.
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