Random Last Known Photos Taken Of Legendary Historical Figures (17 items)

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  (#1) Nikola Tesla

  • Dec. at 87 (1856-1943)

  Photo details: 1943

  Nikola Tesla was a Serbian American inventor best known for creating the first alternating current (AC) motor. He and Thomas Edison were rivals, and though they both made accomplished discoveries, Tesla did not match Edison's financial success. Tesla immigrated to the US in 1884 where he secured a job as an engineer at Edison’s Manhattan headquarters. There Tesla improved the design for Edison's DC dynamos for which he expected payment. When he did not receive the compensation Edison had promised, he quit. 

  After years of diligent work, in 1887-1888 Tesla received 30 patents and was invited to address the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. There the man who launched the first AC power system, George Westinghouse, took note of Tesla and invited him to work with him on his AC system. The 1890s warranted much of Tesla and Westinghouse's success. Tesla invented electric oscillators, meters, and the Tesla coil. He became one of the first people to experiment with X-rays and short-range radio communication. Tesla, Westinghouse, and General Electric created the first modern power station by installing AC generators at Niagara Falls.

  Tesla's health declined in his final years and he became obsessed with the number three as well the pigeons we would feed. He lived out the rest of his life in a New York Hotel and continued to work on new inventions for as long as he could.
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  (#2) Amelia Earhart

  Photo details: 1937

  Amelia Earhart was a revolutionary pilot at a time when aviation was a male-dominated field. She was the first woman to cross the Atlantic, the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California across the Pacific, and was the first woman to reach 18,415 feet. Her ultimate goal was to fly around the world, and with her navigator, Fred Noonan, she began the 29,000-mile flight in Miami on June 1, 1937. 

  On July 2, Earhart and Noonan, with 7,000 miles left in their excursion around the world, took off toward Howland Island, a small island in the Pacific, and Earhart's next stop. Do to unpredictable cloudy weather, inaccurate maps, and shoddy radio communications, Earhart was unable to locate the island and disappeared over the Pacific. Rescue efforts began immediately, but no evidence of her fate was ever found. 

  Earhart was an accomplished pilot and revolutionary for feminism at a time when men dominated the social, political, domestic, and business worlds. She worked as a nurses aid during WWI, a social worker, and an aviation pioneer.
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  (#3) Albert Einstein

  • Dec. at 76 (1879-1955)

  Photo details: Princeton, NJ, March 1955

  Albert Einstein spent the years leading up to and throughout WWII earning his education and building his reputation as a notable professor at several prestigious universities across continental lines. After the war, he became a leading figure in the World Government Movement, declined Presidency over the State of Israel, and he worked with Dr. Chaim Weizmann to establish the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

  Einstein is well known for his 1905 paper on the photon theory of light in which he used what he discovered about the inadequacies of Newtonian mechanics to determine that E=mc². A few years later, in 1916, he wrote about another revelation which hypothesized his theory of gravitation. 

  Einstein is a Nobel Prize winner who spent his life studying quantum theory as a professor, ambassador, and clerk. He made discoveries which have since influenced the modern understanding of physics and relativity. 
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  (#4) Ulysses S. Grant

  • Dec. at 63 (1822-1885)

  Photo details: June 27, 1885

  Ulysses S. Grant is best know as the 18th president of the US and commander of the Union army during the Civil War. He spearheaded reconstruction in the late 1860s and was a strong advocate for civil rights. Grant wanted to bring reconciliation to the separated states as well as protect the Black Americans who had been freed. 

  Grant was born Jesse Grant, but while attending the US Military Academy at West Point, a congressman mistook his name as Ulysses and he never corrected it. He served in the Mexican-American War before resigning his post and taking on life as a civilian. Several years later, he volunteered as a colonel at the start of civil unrest in America and was was appointed as general later that summer.   

  Grant was a national hero after the success of the Union army and was later voted as the republican candidate for president against Schuyler Colfax. Grant received more than 52% of the popular vote and by 46 he became the youngest US president to serve at the time.
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  (#5) Abraham Lincoln

  • Dec. at 56 (1809-1865)

  Photo details: April 5, 1865

  Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the US and is responsible for enacting the Emancipation Proclamation which began America's progression toward the abolition of slavery. He was a vocal advocate for freedom during civil unrest among the states and as the war was ending, in 1865, Lincoln's life was taken by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth.

  Lincoln was not only an advocate for civil rights, but he was a self-taught lawyer known for his honesty and his indiscriminate clientele. He and his wife, Mary Todd, had four children, two of whom passed before their father. He began serving in the US House of Representatives in 1847 and was notably controversial because he opposed the Mexican-American War. 

  Lincoln's Gettysburg address legendarily explained the purpose for the civil war and is famously studied to this day. He also advocated for the 13th amendment, which outlaws slavery, and which was passed after his untimely demise. 
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  (#6) Mark Twain

  • Dec. at 75 (1835-1910)

  Photo details: April 1910

  Samuel Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, was a popular novelist, humorist, and journalist. He is known for his novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as well as narratives such as Life on the Mississippi and The Innocents Abroad. Like his most famous characters, Clemens is said to have been quite the mischief maker as a child. In fact, the events of his childhood, growing up in Missouri in the 19th century,  heavily influenced the content of his later novels. 

  For example, though he was taught that slavery was a social right and was approved of by God, he was naturally disheartened by the institution, something he reflects upon in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He also witnessed several traumatizing events involving the deceased which take shape in his novels. 

  Clemens matured under the instruction of Joseph P. Ament’s Missouri Courier, and later published occasional works in his brother Orion Clemens' weekly newspaper. Eventually he established his own journal in Iowa called the Muscatine before setting up a print shop which he abandoned when he moved to Ohio. He spent some time learning from riverboat captain Horace Bixby, earning adventures that also made it into his later works. 

  By 1865, Clemens had gained literary notoriety and the name Mark Twain became famous. 
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  (#7) John F. Kennedy

  • Dec. at 46 (1917-1963)

  Photo details: Dallas, TX, November 22, 1963

  John F. Kennedy was the 35th president of the US and was slain while driving through a cheering crowd in Dallas, Texas, on November 21, 1963, near the end of his first term. During his short time in office, JFK created the Peace Corps., asked for funding for the mission that eventually put a man on the moon, proposed a civil rights bill and publicly asked Americans to end racism, inspired the American people though his elegance and articulate speeches, and deterred the Cuban Missile Crisis without a war. 

  JFK studied at Harvard University and served as Lieutenant of a patrol torpedo boat stopping Japanese ships from delivering supplies to their soldiers in the South Pacific during WWII. After a traumatic incident where his boat was destroyed and part of his crew was lost, Lt. Kennedy led his men to safety and was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal upon his return. JFK began his political career in 1946 when he ran for Congress in Massachusetts' eleventh congressional district. He went on to serve in the House of Representatives and the Senate before becoming president in 1961. 
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  (#8) Martin Luther King, Jr.

  • Dec. at 39 (1929-1968)

  Photo details: 1968

  In the 1950s and '60s, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a peaceful movement against racial prejudice, advocating for legal equality for African-American people in the US. He is remembered as a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement in America and he believed that everyone is equal regardless or gender, race, or creed at a time when such identifying factors were a point of contention in the culture. 

  Some of Dr. King's most celebrated movements toward change include his "I Have a Dream Speech" during the 1963 March on Washington, his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech where he highlighted that peace did not yet exist for African American people, and his 1963 "Letter From Birmingham Jail" in which he was confined for challenging the injustices of the state. He led a campaign against bus segregation in Montgomery, Alabama, and won when the US Supreme Court ruled such segregated transportation was unconstitutional. He served as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and was the driving force behind several important peaceful marches for equality across the nation. In 1965, his actions resulted in Congress passing the Voting Rights Act which allowed African American men to vote. 

  On April 4, 1968, Dr. King perished as a result of foul play, but his campaign for equality is remembered throughout history. Today, his nearly 13 years of peaceful protesting is taught to be one of the most important aspects of the Civil Rights Movement. 
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  (#9) Robert F. Kennedy

  • Dec. at 43 (1925-1968)

  Photo details: Los Angeles, CA, June 6, 1968

  Robert Kennedy was the 7th of nine children in the Kennedy family, and was the younger brother of the 35th president, John F. Kennedy. He served as campaign manager and Attorney General for JFK and worked tirelessly against organized crime and segregation. He took part in proposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - enacted eight months after JFK's untimely demise - and was instrumental in dissolving tensions from the Cuban Missile Crisis. Eventually Robert Kennedy went on to serve on the United States Senate from New York and took a strong stance against the war in Vietnam. 

  Kennedy ran for president in 1968 and won the support of Indiana and Nebraska during the primaries. He was on track to become the official democratic candidate until he was fatally shot on June 5 at 42 years old. 
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  (#10) Franklin D. Roosevelt

  • Dec. at 63 (1882-1945)

  Photo details: Warm Springs, GA, April 11, 1945

  Franklin D. Roosevelt won the democratic nomination and served as the 32nd president of the US in 1932 at the height of the Great Depression. He was the 5th cousin of President Theodore Roosevelt, and sought to serve the American people while combating his own ailments. FDR was elected to the New York Senate in 1910, and became governor in 1928. His ultimate goal was to recover from the economic disaster that left 13,000,000 Americans unemployed. He proposed the New Deal program which implemented a series of programs over FDR's eight years in office that aimed to stabilize the economy and provide jobs. 

  FDR suffered from poliomyelitis which paralyzed him from the waist down over time. He fought to maintain control of his own body, and served the American people while often confined to a wheel chair. He supported Great Britain in the European war while withholding military efforts until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, which eventually forced the US to take part in WWII. He is remembered for his successful reformation of banks, social security, public utilities, and employment.
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  (#11) Diana, Princess of Wales

  • Dec. at 36 (1961-1997)

  Photo details: August 31, 1997

  Diana of Wales is remembered  as "the people's princess," because of her relatability and charm. Diana lived the life she wanted, in spite of royal repercussions. She married Prince Charles in 1981 due to public and familial pressure. The couple appeared to be inlove, but later revealed that they both had reservations. After a tumultuous fifteen years of marriage and two children, Diana and Charles divorced in 1996. One year later, on August 31, 1997, she perished in a car accident, with then boyfriend Dodi Fayed. 

  Diana was widely mourned and her sons went on to restore royal popularity, which faltered with an apparent lack of grief for the fallen princess. Diana worked as a kindergarten teacher prior to her marriage, and continued to put her efforts into charitable causes for the remainder of her life. 
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  (#12) Mahatma Gandhi

  • Dec. at 79 (1869-1948)

  Photo details: 1948

  Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi became known as "Mahatma" by his followers, which translates to "the great-souled one." He was a peaceful activist who resisted prejudice and discrimination as an Indian immigrant in South Africa in the early 1900s. His ultimate contribution to his people was his fight for independence from Great Britain. Gandhi was a devoted Hindu who sought peace between Hindus and Muslims by partaking in hunger strikes and other nonviolent protests. 

  Gandhi lived in South Africa for 20 years, where he led his followers to resist discrimination. In April 1930, he led thousands from Ahmadabad to the Arabian Sea in what is widely known as the Salt March. Nearly 60,000 people were arrested in the Salt March. In fact, Gandhi faced imprisonment consistently throughout his life as a result of his resistance, but ultimately achieved great feats in the fight for civil freedom. For example, Gandhi negotiated a compromise with the South African government which resulted in the recognition of Indian marriages and the abolition of poll tax for Indians.

  Gandhi is most remembered for his passive resistance at a time when war was present throughout the world. He perished in 1948 as a result of foul play. 
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  (#13) Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

  • Dec. at 51 (1863-1914)

  Photo details: Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Sarajevo, Bosnia, June 28, 1914

  Archduke Franz Ferdinand was a part of the royal Habsburg dynasty and was heir to the throne which ruled over the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He and his wife, Sophie, met with foul play in 1914 due to the actions of a Bosnian revolutionary; and his demise jumpstarted WWI. 

  Ferdinand's military service led him to be appointed as the inspector general of the Austro-Hungarian army. As inspector general, Ferdinand advocated for better treatment of Serbians as well as other ethnic groups within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He and his uncle, reigning emperor Franz Josef, disagreeded on many important issues. In one instance, his wife, Countess Sophie Maria, was not a member of the Habsburg dynasty, and therefore was considered unsuitable for marraige, but the couple married in 1899 anyway.

  Though he never took his place on the throne, Ferdinand is remembered for his humanitarian advocacy, military service, and as being a key insight for the outbreak of WW1. 
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  (#14) Elvis Presley

  • Dec. at 42 (1935-1977)

  Photo details: Graceland, August 16, 1977

  Elvis was discovered right after he graduated high school in 1953, when he recorded a few songs at the Memphis Recording Service studio. The studio owner, Sam Phillips, was so impressed he invited the rock star back to record with guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black. The trio was a radio hit which led to Elvis's first single with Sun Records, also owned by Phillips. 

  RCA bought Elvis's contract in 1955 and he later produced the number one pop crossover "Heartbreak Hotel" under their label. His career skyrocketed with a steady stream of number one singles after "Heartbreak Hotel." 

  Elvis spent time in the Army from 1958 to 1960, and he won his first Grammy in 1967 for the gospel album, How Great Thou Art. He became known for his performances, entertaining audiences with scandalous dancing and hip-shaking. The life of fame and fortune took its toll, however, and he suffered a heart attack in 1977. 
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  (#15) Vladimir Lenin

  • Died at 54 (1870-1924)

  Photo details: 1923

  Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov, later known as Vladimir Lenin, was exposed to radical thinking while studying law at university. Around this time, his older brother, who served as a member of a revolutionary group, was dispatched. Lenin was later expelled from his university for his radical policies, though he still managed to complete his law degree in 1891. 

  Lenin became a revolutionary himself in St. Petersburg, Russia, but was eventually exiled to Siberia along with his contemporaries. It was in Siberia that he officially changed his name to Lenin, and subsequently became a leader of the "Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Worker's Party." 

  With German assistance, Lenin returned to Russia and successful overthrew the country's provisional government in what is known as the October Revolution. The revolution incited three years of civil unrest, and once he was in power, Lenin disregarding those who were suffering under his rule and was entirely merciless toward anyone who opposed him. He suffered a stoke in 1922 and perished two years later with concerns about the potential of Joseph Stalin's rise to power. 
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  (#16) Adolf Hitler

  • Dec. at 56 (1889-1945)

  Photo details: Germany, April 28, 1945

  Hitler is responsible for leading the Nazi party during WWII and evoking the demise of over 6 million Jewish victims and the suffering of countless others. Hitler managed to come inoto power in part because there was already an undercurrent of anti-Semitism in Europe. His memoir warned of his dangerous ideals regarding "purity" and "superiority," yet he manipulated his way to chancellor of Germany in 1933. 

  Hitler spent the subsequent years during WWII imprisoning his victims in concentration camps ruled the the Nazi party. Those who suffered at the hands of the nationalist party in Germany became refugees after WWII and were displaced across Europe. Eventually, they began to seek restitution and healing by telling their stories and acquiring wealth from the now struggling Nazi party. 

  Survivors and modern psychologists use their experiences to understand how to prevent the events of the Holocaust from ever taking place again, as well as how to heal through literature such as, Understanding Genocide, Man's Search for Meaning, Night, The Drowned and the Saved, and many more.  
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  (#17) Mao Zedong

  • Dec. at 83 (1893-1976)

  Photo details: Beijing, China, May 27, 1976

  Mao Zedong is a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which he sought after he was exposed to Marxist literature. In 1927, the CCP's former allies, the Kuomintang nationalist party (KMT), chased the communist group out of northern China and into northwest China. There the CCP set up a new base, and when WWII broke out, the groups became allies once again. Their partnership was short lived, however, and in 1949, Mao Zedong and the CCP ran the KMT out of the country and started the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). 

  Under communist rule, the country's industrial farms and businesses are owned by the state, and any opposition is "ruthlessly oppressed." Mao attempted to instate his own form of communism which would mobilize labor on a massive scale. The program, called the "Great Leap Forward," failed, and millions suffered from famine and poor harvest. 

  Mao attempted to restore order with military power. In the final years of his life, he wanted to reconcile with the US, Japan, and Europe. 

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