Ratjen was born in Erichshof, near Bremen, into a family described as “simple folk”. The father, Heinrich Ratjen, stated in 1938: “When the child was born the midwife called over to me: Heini, it’s a boy! But five minutes later she said to me: It is a girl, after all”. Nine months later, when the child, who had been christened Dora, was ill, a doctor examined the child’s genitalia and, according to Heinrich, said “Let it be....

Thefts, robberies, shootings, and killings became more frequent. The subway cars were very often graffiti-painted or vandalism-damaged both inside and outside. As the New York City Police Department was completely overwhelmed, the public reacted with unease, and the subway was deliberately avoided. Around 1980, the reliability of the vehicles was a tenth of their reliability in the 1960s, and 40 percent of the network required speed restrictions. The subway system became New York’s most ravaged symbol of urban decay, deemed un-patrollable and unsafe even for the most street-savvy commuter....

The magazine chose Jane Amberg from Kankakee, Illinois as its subject, a “modern, young, middle-class housewife.” Around 1927, she went on a blind date with Gilbert Amberg. Three years later they were married, when Jane was 21. LIFE documented the jobs Jane performed to make sure their household ran smoothly. It represented the responsibilities of millions of other American women at the time: seamstress, chauffeur, laundress, chambermaid, cook, dishwasher, waitress, and nurse....

The Italian Cavalry School was absolutely cutting edge, their style revolutionized military cavalry riding around the world. Before them, the dominant cavalry style was to ride erect, in a martial and rigid posture that negated all fluidity to the horse. Italian Cavalry School completely shaped their style around the horse, their leading officer studied how horses jumped without a rider and adapted to it, rather than the opposite. The old jumping seat involved the rider using long stirrups, keeping his legs pushed out in front of him, and his body leaning back, pulling the reins, as the horse took the fence....

Major Clarence L. Benjamin in a jeep was leading a small task force of two light tanks on a routine job of patrolling. The unit came upon some 200 shabby-looking civilians by the side of the road. There was something immediately apparent about each one of these people, men, and women, which arrested the attention. Each one of them was skeleton thin with starvation, a sickness in their faces, and the way in which they stood-and there was something else....

It was during this time that history was made by the first women to obtain taxi licenses in the city. A 1908 report from The Motor-Car Journal mentions a certain Mademoiselle Gaby Pohlen as having “obtained her driver’s license to drive a motor taxicab from the Prefecture of Police.” However, the story of women driving taxis in Paris may have begun even earlier. According to Jeroen Booij, “three ladies supposedly began an apprenticeship in 1906 to drive a motorized carriage in the City of Light....

Mountain Chief was a Blackfoot leader of the 19th century. He belonged to the Kainai or Blood tribe of the Blackfoot Confederacy. His Blackfoot name was Ninna-stako (also spelled Ninastoko, Nina-istako, Ninaa-iistako, Ninaiistako, and other ways), and was a reference to the name of an important mountain in the traditional territory of his band. Mountain Chief began his career as a warrior leader in 1866 at age eighteen, when he led a Blackfoot war party against the Crows at Cypress Hills....

The look of pure joy, accomplishment and disbelief is just a testament to what the mankind can achieve. Aldrin snapped this shot of a teary-eyed Armstrong moments after he returned to the spacecraft and removed his helmet. His ecstasy is palpable; it is the face of a man so clearly awe-struck that all he can do is grin and cry. Armstrong would later describe his emotional state as “elated, ecstatic and extremely surprised that we were successful” – and we see it all, right here....

Dresden was the capital of the state of Saxony, situated on the Elbe River. It was a cultural center, containing famous landmarks as the Frauenkirche, and was dubbed the Florence of the Elbe. Population of the city was largely anyone’s guess as refugees flooded into the city shortly prior to the bombing as Soviet troops advanced to the city’s east, however common estimates put the population at the time of bombings at greater than 650,000....

The Germans actually developed a technique called “milling” to squish enemy troops to death who are hiding in foxholes or trenches, which is essentially wiggling the tank side to side to dig down and crush the occupant of the hole. Part of infantry training was focused on overcoming the soldiers’ fear of tanks and on the ability to control antitank rifles, grenades, and Molotov cocktails to perfections in order to boldly enter battle against the enemy....

Gordon had received a severe whipping for undisclosed reasons in the fall of 1862. This beating left him with horrible welts on much of the surface of his back. The unusual, but common, way these scars grew outward from the skin is a certain type of scar tissue called “keloid”. It is caused by an excessive protein called collagen within the healing tissue and raises the tissue. People of color are more likely to develop keloid scars....

The history of the Soviet Union’s automotive industry traces its origins back to the late 1920s and persisted until the nation’s dissolution in 1991. It commenced with the establishment of significant car manufacturing plants and the restructuring of the AMO Factory in Moscow during the initial five-year plan in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Throughout this period, the Soviet automotive landscape flourished with innovations, culminating in the creation of some of the most noteworthy racing and concept cars....

The eruption (a VEI 5 event) was the only significant volcanic eruption to occur in the contiguous 48 U.S. states since the 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak in California. However, it has often been declared as the most disastrous volcanic eruption in United States history. The eruption was preceded by a two-month series of earthquakes and steam-venting episodes, caused by an injection of magma at shallow depth below the volcano that created a large bulge and a fracture system on the mountain’s north slope....

The tracks were non-functional so some were fitted with concealed wheels underneath and were towed from place to place by a pair of horses. Dummy tanks, representing Allied models, were also found to have been constructed by the Germans, even though they deployed only a small number of real tanks. It is possible they were used in training, rather than for military deception. Dummy tanks saw significantly more use during World War II....

Based on laws implemented to limit the immigration of Indians, Canadian officials deemed the passengers illegal arrivants, and consequently, the ship and its passengers were refused entry and detained for two months on Vancouver Harbour. The ship was eventually forced to depart for Calcutta, with 340 passengers, with the exception of the ship’s doctor and his family (given priority passage on another ship), and the remaining twenty passengers, granted entry into Canada since they were considered returnees....

Each image becomes a window into an era defined by elegance, tradition, and evolving customs, painting a vivid portrait of the matrimonial celebrations that graced the bygone years. Brides commonly opted for long-sleeved gowns made from luxurious fabrics such as satin or silk. These dresses, often embellished with lace and intricate beadwork, exuded grace and modesty. Veils were a significant symbol, veiling the bride as a representation of her purity....

Tinker wasn’t just an ordinary gadget; it could wash cars, weed gardens, take babies for walks, and even accompany its owner on shopping trips. However, there was one major limitation—Tinker could only operate within a 200-meter radius of Weston’s garage. From there, Weston controlled the robot using a custom-built control panel, keeping it within arm’s reach, technologically speaking. What set Tinker apart from many early robots of its time was its advanced engineering....

Inejiro Asanuma was the leader of the socialist party in Japan. He was unusual in postwar Japan for his forceful advocacy of socialism, and his support of the Chinese Communist Party was particularly controversial. Asanuma was assassinated during a televised political debate for the coming elections for the House of Representatives. While Asanuma spoke from the lectern at Tokyo’s Hibiya Hall, Yamaguchi rushed onstage and ran his yoroidōshi (a traditional samurai sword) through Asanuma’s ribs on the left side, killing him....

These are mugshots of Australian convicts who were dealt with by police for chilling murders, robberies burglaries and other crimes in the 1920s and 1930s. Australia’s Justice & Police Museum has released 2,500 photographs of female criminals from the 1920s. The pictures of murderers, bigamists, bootleggers and prostitutes provide a fascinating glimpse into life in Australia in the early 20th Century. These “special photographs” were mostly taken in the cells at the Central Police Station, Sydney and are, as curator Peter Doyle explains, of “men and women recently plucked from the street, often still animated by the dramas surrounding their apprehension”....

The tattoos depicted the story of the wearer’s family, their ancestral tribe, and their position within that group. Moko were associated with mana and high social status; however, some very high-status individuals were considered too tapu to acquire moko, and it was also not considered suitable for some tohunga to do so. Receiving moko constituted an important milestone between childhood and adulthood, and was accompanied by many rites and rituals....