15 Figures With Only One Chilling Known Photo
In this day and age, people have more photos of themselves than ever before. And it's easy to see why, we have all these devices that instantly take photos where we can immediately view them and even print them if we wish. The age of modesty has been replaced with the dawn of the selfie. This generation gets a lot of hate for being super vain for documenting themselves so much, but it's hard to say whether or not older generations would have done the same thing had the technology been around then. Cameras have also developed by leaps and bounds. Back then, you'd have to stand very still for periods of time to capture one photo. Today, you can just whip out your phone and snap away. The older someone is, the fewer photographs they will have of themselves, especially when they were younger because the technology back then was more cumbersome.
For this reason, there are a lot of famous historical figures from the 19th century especially, that we only have a single photo of. But these singular photos aren't just limited to historical figures, there are some natural occurrences that occur only once, which means a photo of them is even more significant. Whatever the reason, when there is only a single photo of something or someone, it certainly amps up the mystery and appeal. It draws one in and makes them curious to know more. Maybe today's generation can take a cue from this and realize less is more when it comes to documenting one self.
15 Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson is a famous American literary figure from the 19th century. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, Emily lived from 1830-1886. She spent most of her life as a recluse and rarely left her home. The community her family lived in knew her as an eccentric, and she was reluctant to talk to people who would visit the family home. Near the end of her life, Emily rarely left her bedroom. After her death, her sister Lavinia found all her poems, all of which she had written around 1,800 of. Lavinia recognized how strong her sister's work was, and 4 years after Emily's death, Lavinia published her first book of poetry. Her literature has remained in print since 1890, and she is still hailed as one of America's greatest poets. This picture is a daguerreotype photograph that Emily had taken around 1846. It is the only known photo of her.
14 Albert Einstein Working on His Theory of Relativity
This photo was taken in 1934 when 400 students attended a lecture that Einstein was giving in Pittsburgh. They got to watch him work out and derive the equation that arguably made him famous, E=mc2. The Theory Relativity was a game changer in the field of physics and also cemented Einstein's reputation as a leading physicist. This is the only photo we have of Einstein actually working on his famous equation. Unfortunately, the photo is blurry, but this photo was confirmed that the equation is about E=mc2 because you can vaguely make out the mass energy equivalence equation in the lower left hand corner of the second blackboard. This photo lay forgotten in the archives of history for a very long time. No one even realized it existed until two professors from the University of Winnipeg rediscovered it in 2007 and made it public.
13 George and Willie Muse with One of Their Captors
If you haven't heard of the tragic story of George and Willie Muse, well get ready. These two brothers were African American albinos that were born in Truevine, Virginia. When they were nine and six, they were kidnapped by the man in this photograph, Al G. Barnes of Ringling Bros in 1899. He told them their mother was dead and they would never see her again. They became quite famous travelling with the Ringling circus, even doing shows at Madison Square Garden. Their mother, however, never stopped looking for her sons. After almost three decades in 1927, she found them and got them to leave with her. Only a year later the brothers would return to the circus, but this time on their own terms. While there are many photographs of the famous brothers, this is the only photo there is of them with their kidnapper and ultimately jailer.
12 Marilyn Monroe, President JFK, and Bobby Kennedy
President JFK and Marilyn Monroe have managed to captivate the current generation, even decades after their death - separately and together. Bobby Kennedy, of course, is a famous name in America history but has also been in his older brother's shadow both in life and in death. He only cemented his status after experiencing the same fate as his older brother. This is the only known photograph of the three of them together. Marilyn Monroe and JFK have been plagued with rumors that they were having an affair while both of them were alive, and to this day, people continue to discuss whether JFK cheated on Jackie Kennedy with Marilyn. Their affair is one of the most speculated scandals in presidential history. It's not a great photo because all three of them are turned from the camera, but it still carries a strong historical significance.
11 John Willis Menard
John Willis Menard was the very first African American man to be elected to the U.S. Congress in 1869. More than just that, though, he was also a poet and opened up his own newspaper, called The Free South in New Orleans, 4 years before being elected to Congress. He won the seat in Louisiana and was a part of the Republican Party. His win was appealed by his opponent, Caleb Hunt. As a result, John Willis Menard was also the first African American to address the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, Caleb Hunt's appeal was successful and Menard never took his rightfully won seat in Congress. Menard was thought to be too unqualified, and it was seen as too 'early' to allow an African American into such a powerful role in government. His seat remained empty until the next election.
10 Red Crested Tree Rat
This little cutie was thought to be extinct for over a century. That is exactly how long it has been since anyone saw the little red-crested tree rat. And within that time, they only got to write about it! But recently at the El Dorado Nature Reserve in Sierra, Nevada, a group of volunteers were hanging out when this guy jumped up the rail of their balcony where everyone was sitting. Not realizing how important this cute furry creature was, the volunteers quickly snapped a picture. Lizzie Noble was one of the volunteers and she said “He just shuffled up the handrail near where we were sitting and seemed totally unperturbed by all the excitement he was causing. We are absolutely delighted to have rediscovered such a wonderful creature.” Here's hoping that this doesn't remain as the only picture of the red-crested tree rat for long!
9 The Quagga
If you guessed that this animal was in the Zebra family, you would be correct! Known as the last Quagga, this subspecies of Zebra's made its home in South Africa. It went extinct around 1878 in the wild, and finally one living in captivity died in the Amsterdam Zoo in 1883. When the Dutch came to South Africa and began to set up their farms and ranches, they also began to hunt the Quagga because it was competing with their livestock for grazing resources. The front of it, as you can see, has a regular zebra pattern, but the rest of its body has a plain brown, giving it an almost half zebra/half horse appearance. This is the only existing photograph of a living Quagga taken in 1870 at the London Zoo. Pictures like this make us realize that there were more species of animals back then.
8 Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. He served from 1861 until he was assassinated in April 14, 1865, while watching a show at Ford's Theatre. Lincoln was the commander in chief during some of America's darkest and bloodiest times, the Civil War, which had brother fighting against brother. He is largely credited for keeping the country together and not letting the war ultimately split it apart. This is the only known photo from his second inaugural address, which transpired just over a month before John Wilkes Booth shot and killed him. This speech is especially memorable in history because it contained some of Lincoln's most profound quotes. People who have analyzed the photograph say that you can see John Wilkes Booth in standing in the top row on the top platform. An eerie foreshadowing of what was to come perhaps?
7 Contanze Mozart
Constanze Mozart lived from 1762 to 1842 in Austria. She was the wife of one of the most famous classical composers ever, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Experts estimate that this photo was taken around 1840, which would have made Constanze around 78 when this photo was taken. She is the woman sitting on the left in the front row, next to a man named Max Keller, who was a Swiss composer. The photo was taken in the town of Altoettling, and the town's archives support the fact that this is the only known photograph of Contanze Mozart. She was not only Mozart's wife, though. She was a composer in her own right and played a large role in getting her husband's works published after his death. She also influenced the Baroque style in his compositions, which is evident in the last movement of the 41st Symphony.
6 Regina Jones
This name might not be super familiar too you, but it is a very important one in religious and feminist history and the movement itself. Regina Jones was born in Berlin, and in 1935, she became the first woman to be ordained Rabbi. She did not have an easy road getting there, though. Feeling unfulfilled in her teaching career, she went to the Higher Institute for Jewish Studies in Berlin. There she took all the courses anyone with the intention on becoming a Rabbi would. She was rejected from a number of Rabbi's who refused to ordain her because she was a woman. Finally, Rabbi Max Dienemann, who was president of the Liberal Rabbi's Association ordained her in December of 1935. Jones met an early death at the age of 42 at Auschwitz. This is the only known photograph of her.
5 Abraham Lincoln Laid to Rest
Our second Abraham Lincoln entry! What can we say, he lived in a time where there were not 100 plus photos taken at every event. This is a shame, considering he lived during one of the most important times in American history. This is the only existing photo of the 16th President after his passing, laid out in his coffin. This was taken at his wake, which 120,000 people attended! His widow, Mary Todd, forbade anyone to take photos once the wake began. Photographer Jeremiah Gurney Jr. knew he could not let this moment go without being memorialized and took a photograph before the viewing was opened up to the public. We couldn't help but wonder if Mary Todd ever found out. And if she did, how mad was she? What makes this photo even more significant is that it sort of serves as a reminder that Lincoln died before his time.
4 The Tarpan
It is astounding to think that humans are quite adept at making an entire species go extinct. This is rather unfortunate back then because they were hardly able to manage capturing a single photo of a living one. The Quagga is not alone in this distinction, it is joined by the Tarpan. The Tarpan was a wild Eurasian horse that is believed to have finally gone extinct in 1909 in Russia. While it is not even totally certain that that is a Tarpan in the photo, it is the closest image we have to one. They were smaller in stature than the horses of today, and many attempts have been made to breed horses to look like the Tarpan after it went extinct. The reason they were hunted to extinction was because horse meat was a hot commodity and good source of protein for people back then. Not only that, they also would deplete farmers hay storages.
3 Annie Chapman
Jack the Ripper terrorized the streets of London in the 19th century. With the grip of terror he had on the city (which managed to remain to this day), one would think he had killed a lot of people and was operating for a long period of time. Perhaps his reputation spread fast because of the brutal way he killed his victims and the fact that he was never found. But the fact of the matter is that Jack the Ripper only killed 5 women, and he was only 'operating' in London from August of 1888 to November of that year before he mysteriously stopped his killings. He remains one of the longest enduring mysteries because he was never captured. Annie Chapman was one of his unfortunate victims, and this is the only photo of her alive. She was 47 when she met her end at the hands of Jack the Ripper.
2 David Owen Dodd
The name David Owen Dodd may not be familiar to you, unless you are from the American South (Arkansas to be exact). David Owen Dodd was sentenced to die at the young age of 17 by Union forces. He had to go to Little Rock for his father on business. But on his way back to Arkansas, he was stopped at a checkpoint, and the Union soldiers there found a note in his shoe that was written in Morse code. Once translated, it was discovered that the note contained information about all the Union forces in Little Rock. He was sentenced to die for being a spy. The Union officer who sentenced him told him repeatedly that if he gave up his informant, he would not have to pay with his life, but David Owen Dodd refused. He is seen as a hero in the South now, and this is the only existing photo of him.
1 The Prophet Joseph Smith
It is not totally certain if this is indeed a photo of the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints (Mormons), but it is the closest thing we have. The original copy of the daguerrotype photo is in the hands of LDS Church, and they have not confirmed or denied if it is actually him. There is a strong argument to be made that it is him, mostly based on the likeness this photo shares with his death mask. He published the book of Mormon when he was 25-years old based on visions he had. In these visions, he was visited by God the Father, Jesus Christ, and an Angel that instructed him to take their message to the masses. By the time he died at the age of 38, he had already attracted tens of thousands of followers to his religion. There is more than one Christian denomination that follows him to this day, including the current LDS Church and the Community of Christ.