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H. R. Locke, c. 1895 · Library of Congress
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Abraham Lincoln:
The Life Behind the Legacy
From a Kentucky log cabin to the presidency, Civil War and a nation changed forever.
The Sailor Who Went
Around the World Alone
Charles Blondin:
A Life Above Niagara
Archival portraits: Alexander Gardner / Library of Congress (digitally cleaned); Hollinger & Co. / Library of Congress; Charles Reutlinger / Paris Musées, Musée Carnavalet (CC0). Image sources and historical context are linked in each story.
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US Presidents 6–10: John Quincy Adams to John Tyler
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The First Five US Presidents: Washington to Monroe
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Calamity Jane: The Woman Behind the Wild West Legend
Meet Martha Canary, the real Calamity Jane, through public-domain portraits, frontier publicity, and the disputed stories that shaped her legend.
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Joshua Slocum: The Sailor Who Went Around the World Alone
Joshua Slocum rebuilt an old boat and sailed it around the world alone. Explore the Spray, his extraordinary voyage, and…
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American Presidents
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Victorian Lives
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Journeys, discoveries and remarkable lives →
Browse matching stories from the archive. Jack Black is shown in a historical engraving from Henry Mayhew’s London Labour and the London Poor.
Bringing History To Life explores remarkable people and the images they left behind. Created by Matt, with sources, image credits and room for the uncertainties of history.
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