Historic Figures Who Were Actually Photographed

Fascinating Historical Figures That We're Lucky To Have Photos Of
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Fascinating Historical Figures That We’re Lucky To Have Photos Of
Jackson Sawa
| 2/26/26
Keep in mind that the first photograph, or at least the oldest surviving photograph, was taken in 1826 or 1827 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. So, in the grand scheme of human history, we have only had the ability to photograph people and events for a minuscule amount of time, never truly knowing what countless of history's most famous individuals looked like. Luckily, we do have photographs of some.
Annie Oakley
White/Underwood Archives/Getty Images
Phoebe Ann Mosey, famously known as Annie Oakley, was a female sharpshooter who became a sensation while working in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Oakley became skilled as a shooter from a young age in order to feed her family by hunting.
She caught the attention of the public when she won a sharpshooting contest at the age of 15 and joining Buffalo Bill's show in 1885. During her time with the show, she was paid the most of anyone except for Bill himself.
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Butch Cassidy
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Jonathan Blair/Corbis via Getty Images
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Born Robert LeRoy Parker, Butch Cassidy was a notorious train robber during the Old West. He was also the leader of a criminal outlaw unit known as the "Wild Bunch" and was eventually forced to flee the country with his partner Alonzo Longbaugh, "The Sundance Kid," and Etta Pace.
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It is believed that Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed in a shootout with the Bolivian Army in 1908. Today, Cassidy is considered to be an icon of the Wild West.
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Leo Tolstoy
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Universal History Archive/Getty Images
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Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, commonly referred to as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Since his early successes, he has been considered one of the greatest of all time.
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Between the years 1902 and 1906, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, 1902, and 1909. Some of his most notable works include Anna Karenina, War, and Peace, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, among several others.
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John Quincy Adams
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Born on July 11, 1767, John Quincy Adams was a lawyer, diplomat, and statesman. He was the eldest son of John Adams, the second president of the United States. During Quincy Adam's career, he was a member of the US Senate and House of Representatives for Massachusetts, as well as an ambassador.
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In 1825, he became the sixth president of the United States as a member of the Democratic-Republican Party and in the 1830s became associated with the Whig Party.
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Harriet Tubman
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Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images
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Closely associated with the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman was born into slavery and eventually escaped. However, she then dedicated herself to securing the freedom of others.
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She personally led 13 missions to rescue more than 70 other slaves relying on a network of antislavery activists and safe houses that is now referred to as the Underground Railroad. Furthermore, during the Civil War, Tubman continued her fight for freedom when she served as an army scout and spy for the Union Army.
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Andrew Jackson
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Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
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Andrew Jackson worked as a frontier lawyer before becoming a US Senate member, House of Representatives, and a justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court.
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Jackson was also a renowned soldier, leading troops in the Creek War, the War of 1812, and the First Seminole War. He ran for president in 1824, in which he lost to John Quincy Adams. After forming the Democratic party, Jackson ran again in 1828, winning without question.
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Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke Of Wellington
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Wikimedia Commons
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Arthur Wellesley was a major political and military leader in Britain during the 19th century. An Anglo-Irish soldier, he served as the country's prime minister twice and is credited with defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.
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Considered one of the finest British military tacticians in history, he managed to win several battles against superior forces while still limiting his own men's losses. His victory over Napoleon led him to become a national hero, and he was named the first Duke of Wellington in 1814.
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Vincent Van Gogh
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Jacobus Marinus Wilhelmus de Louw/Wikimedia Commons
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An artist in the 19th century, Vincent van Gogh was a dutch post-impressionist painter that is noted for completing more than 2,000 works in just one decade. Considered to be one of the pioneers of modern art, his work went relatively unnoticed when he was alive.
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However, following his death, he became known as one of the greatest influences in Western art history. Unfortunately, Vincent van Gogh suffered from psychotic episodes and delusions that he ignored until he eventually took his own life in 1890.
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Frederick Douglass
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Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
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Frederick Douglass was a political leader and revolutionary during the 19th century. After managing to escape slavery in Maryland, he became an anti-slavery activist as a leader in the abolition movement in both Massachusetts and New York.
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His intellect and influence went directly against the belief that African-American's lacked the capacity to be independent American citizens, with many Northerners even surprised that he was once a slave. Later in his life, against his approval, he became the first African-American to be nominated for Vice President of the United States.
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Martin Van Buren
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Brady-Handy Studio/Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
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Martin Van Buren is credited with being one of the key founders of the Democratic Party. Over his political career, he served as the governor of New York, the tenth Secretary of State, the eighth Vice President, and eighth President of the United States.
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With Andrew Jackson's support, Martin Van Buren won the presidential election of 1836, although he lost his 1840 reelection to William Henry Harrison. Van Buren ran for president a final time in 1848 under the Free Soil Party.
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Samuel Wilson Or "Uncle Sam"
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Unknown/Wikipedia Commons
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Uncle Sam is a symbol of the United States government and American culture that first came into use during the War of 1812. He is typically viewed as a man with a top hat, white hair, and beard, along with other American-related regalia.
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It is rumored that the character is based on a man named Samuel Wilson, who worked as a meatpacker during the War of 1812. His barrels contained the letters U.S. for the United States, with some joking that it stood for "Uncle Sam."
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Abraham Lincoln
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The 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln began his career as a lawyer, Illinois state legislator, congressman, and Whig Party Leader. After he won the presidency in 1860, pro-slavery states began to secede from the Union, and the Civil War began.
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Lincoln then led the country through the Civil War, preserving the Union, until he was ultimately assassinated in 1865. To this day, he is considered one of the greatest presidents to ever hold office.
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Billy The Kid
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Streuff/ullstein bild via Getty Images
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Born Henry McCarty, Billy…

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