Sometimes, one simple picture can tell you more about history than any story you might read or any document you might analyze.

These photographs all tell stories about the historical figures or events that they represent. Once taken simply to document their present, they now help us witness the past. Many photographs only become iconic shots years later, once we understand their importance and historical context.

From historical landmarks and famous people to the basic daily routines of the past, these pictures portray the past in a way that we can empathize with and understand more intimately.

WE presents the 20 most remarkable images from the past that are absolutely magnificent.

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past
pitorreo

A young Elvis Presley holding records, 1950

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past
sevenstring

The Californian lumberjacks who cut down giant redwoods, 1915

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past
reddit

Albert Einstein with Hopi Indians, 1922

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past
novosti-n.org

Marina Shalyapina — the first ’’Miss Russia,’’ 1931

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past
pinterest

A mugshot of fortune tellers, New York, 1943

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past
militarymodelling

No time to explain! Donkey rescue, 1940s

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past
michaeljordan

Micheal Jordan vs Micheal Jackson playing basketball, 1992

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past
tickld

Chester Macduffee next to his newly patented, 250 kg diving suit, 1911

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past
reddit

The first Google team. The best is yet to come! 1999

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past
imgur

Worker and supervisor at a car factory, Moscow, USSR, 1954

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past

Yuri Gagarin, Aleksey Leonov, Boris Volynov and Victor Gorbatko having a picnic in Dolgopridny, 1963.

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past
wikipedia

Carving George Washington’s face into Mount Rushmore, USA, 1932

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past
theatlantic

The astronaut Charles Duke left his family picture on the moon before departing. ’’This is the family of Astronaut Duke from Planet Earth. Landed on the Moon, April 1972,’’ he wrote on the back of the picture, 1972

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past
picturahistoria

A ’’knocker-up,’’ who woke up sleeping people. The early 20th-century version of an alarm clock, Great Britain, 1900.

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past
pelfind

High school graduate Brian Hugh Warner — better known by the stage name Marilyn Manson, 1987

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past
wikipedia

The Frisbee pioneers — Ken Westerfield and his dog, 1970

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past
dailymail

The First space selfie by Buzz Aldrin, 1966

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past
pelfind

5-year-old Sylvester Stallone, 1951

20 utterly fascinating Photos from the past
homeportal

Steve Jobs dangling his daughter Eve in Foothills Park, Palo Alto, California, 2002