15 Of The Rarest Photographs In History

[Tuesday Afternoon]

One wonders what this gentleman is thinking as he gazes down upon the newly constructed Transcontinental Railroad in Nevada in 1868.



ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the first computer ever made. The 1946 machine was hailed as a “Giant Brain” with a speed of one thousand times that of electro-mechanical machines. ENIAC used common octal-base radio tubes and it her early use would burn a few of these out every day causing the machine to be inoperable much of the time. After a memory upgrade in 1947 ENIAC was moved to Maryland where it was in continuous operation until 1955. Philadelphia City proclaimed February fifteenth 2011 as, “ENIAC Day” to celebrate this famous machine’s sixty-fifth anniversary.



After the German defeat in Berlin, this was one of the first photographs taken of the dictator’s hidey hole, Führerbunker. It is reported that in the months that Hitler lived underground he was almost pathologically afraid to go outside. The man became thin and emaciated and some of the final military decisions made by him were catastrophic disasters for Germany. His proclamations and orders were contradictory and confusing for his commanders in the field. Hitler had the bunker constructed to withstand the wholesale bombing of Berlin by the allies. It had thirteen feet of concrete in the roof alone.



This 1899 photograph shows the last Russian Tsar horsing around with a friend. In 1917 he and his entire family were butchered by the Bolsheviks. His full inherited title was, Emperor of Russia, Grand Duke of Finland, and titular King of Poland. Shortened it was officially, Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias. During his reign Russia experienced many defeats, most notably against Japan, and much civil turmoil causing economic and military collapse. The alleged incompetent handling of Russia’s involvement in the Great War by the Tsar, which cost the lives of more than three million Imperial Soldiers, is believed to be one of the main causes of the fall of the Romanov dynasty.



This rare picture depicts New York’s Times Square in 1911.



Quoted as being, “The only surviving authenticated portrait of Billy the Kid. This tintype portrait sold at auction in June 2011 for USD $2,300,000.


more at link:
http://www.wizzed.com/?s=15+rarest+photographs

[Adsos Letter]

1. Wow.

That Times Square shot is gorgeous!

[surrealAmerican]

11. It is ...

... although I have a hard time believing that there wouldn't be numerous other photos of Times Square by that time. By 1911 photography was pretty widespread.

[Triana]

2. You'd never know it but ENIAC was programmed by WOMEN mathematicians / programmers

They weren't recognized for their work until some 50-60 years later, when some of them were dead. I think they're all gone now except perhaps one.

All that time, males were given credit for having built the computer and photos showed the women in the picture - however they were said to be just 'models'. They were not. They were the women who programmed the thing to calculate missile trajectories -- programming without which the damned thing would have just been a roomful of useless metal.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

5. Women's History Month!

It's time to start correcting the public record.

If we're going to be seen as human, we better PUT THE INFO out there: Women's Accomplishments.

[AllyCat]

7. Yes!

[AllyCat]

8. Fascinating. I didn't know this. Thank you.

[Triana]

12. Some links...

...

http://fortune.com/2014/09/18/walter-isaacson-the-women-of-eniac/

http://eniacprogrammers.org/

These women were the first 'computers' of our digital age.

[bvf]

14. Grace Hopper springs to mind.

Last edited Thu Apr 2, 2015, 02:12 PM - Edit history (1)

Don't rightly know if she was involved with ENIAC, but she was primarily responsible for a little thing called COBOL, IIRC.

[tclambert]

15. Hopper first worked with the Harvard Mark I, a partly mechanical computer that predated ENIAC.

She programmed the Harvard Mark I in 1944, two years before ENIAC was announced. ENIAC was first in being completely electronic, and "Turing complete." The Mark I was electro-mechanical and not quite Turing complete. As far as I can find out, Hopper never worked on the ENIAC. She was later brought in to program the UNIVAC I, a successor to ENIAC, but somehow appears to have missed ENIAC.

She was called "the grandmother of COBOL." Business interests at the time tried to come up with their own programming languages, but couldn't create a standardized universal one. They asked the Department of Defense to step in, and seeing the advantage for their own computer use as well as business, the DoD agreed to sponsor an effort largely based on previous work on compilers done by Hopper. And she sat on the original CODASYL (Conference on Data Systems Languages) committee that designed COBOL.

[bvf]

16. Thanks. I was going completely

on memory there, which I admit isn't what it used to be!

[fizzgig]

3. incredible

thanks for posting

[workinclasszero]

4. That was awesome

Thanks for posting

[BlancheSplanchnik]

6. love. these pics.

A lot of sadness there, too...

[Sherman A1]

9. K&R!

Thanks for posting!

[lovemydog]

10. Love them!

Thanks TA.

[Joe Chi Minh]

13. That Billy the Kid photo

reminded me of a video on the UK Daily Telegraph site of a Danish longbow archer, which went viral.

I was wondering how he'd have made out as a gunslinger in the Wild West. Most of it beggars belief, but the finale....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/virals/11367934/High-speed-archers-video-of-incredible-trick-shots-goes-viral.html

[Dont call me Shirley]

17. Awesome pics, Tuesday Afternoon.

I love the Man in Nevada photo, so much depth.

[bvar22]

18. To me, it looks like he is saying,

"I got to get OUT of here. They have ruined this place.

[Dont call me Shirley]

19. I feel a deep sorrow emanating from him.

And they continue to ruin this place a thousandfold.

One may also see this pic as a road of hope to end the loneliness.

[sheshe2]

20. Magnificent

Thanks for posting them, TA.

[mopinko]

21. just a historical correction. touring's machine was the first computer.

christopher broke the enigma code. unfortunately, that information was surpressed for 50 years, so eniac took the bragging rights. and of course, no pictures exist.
watched 'imitation game' last night. positively infuriating.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

22. still have not seen Imitation Game. It is on my list. Maybe I can catch it next wkend.

Yeah, Bragging Rights .... and proof that History can be/is subjective.

I copied and pasted from the site so, that is why this text.

I did "think" about it ... but, decided it was .... you know ... something to argue/ponder/discuss.

Thanks for the comment/clarification, mopinko