Stumbling across a black and white photo in an old book is an intriguing find for history buffs. Yet it can sometimes be hard to connect with a black and white photo on a personal level. The subjects are faded and distant; we can’t gauge the color of their eyes or the flush in their cheeks, or see the intricate lines in their face.
Your perception of history may change entirely when you discover that people across the world colorize black and white photos. Here are some of the most compelling colorized black and white photos on the web—images that practically bring history to life.
Abraham Lincoln, 1865

- Photo Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd
King George V at Buckingham Palace (1914) before the outbreak of war

- Photo Credit: Marina Amaral
J. Hamilton Lewis, representative for Washington (1897-1899) and Senator for Illinois (1913-1919, 1931-1939). He was the first Senator to hold the title of 'Whip' in the Senate, later served once more as the 5th Whip, and served in the Spanish-American war - ca. 1913

- Photo Credit: Colored History
Erwin Rommel as a Lieutenant, wearing a Pour le Mérite after the Battle of Caporetto, Italy 1917

- Photo Credit: Colored History
Marie Curie in her laboratory in Paris, 1912

- Photo Credit: Marina Amaral
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his children with Cossack officers, 1916

- Photo Credit: Marina Amaral
Abraham Lincoln and George McClellan at Antietam, October 2nd/3rd, 1862

- Photo Credit: Colored History
Richard Pierce–14 years of age, works as a Western Union Telegraph Messenger. Wilmington, Delaware, ca. May 1910

- Photo Credit: Colored History
Thomas Edison with his second phonograph, photographed by Matthew Brady in Washington, April 1878

- Photo Credit: Colored History
Portrait of a Sámi immigrant, Ellis Island, 1910

- Photo Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd
School at Anthoston, Kentucky. By Lewis Hine, 1916

- Photo Credit: Marina Amaral
The Eiffel Tower, July 1888

- Photo Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd
Suffragists in Parade, c.1910-1915

- Photo Credit: Photo Retrofit
The Cow Boy, Sturgis, Dakota Territory, c. 1888

- Photo Credit: Colored History
Confederate soldier and family, c. 1860s

- Photo Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd
Harry Houdini steps into a crate at New York Harbor as part of an escape stunt, July 7, 1912

- Photo Credit: Dana R Keller
Post officers model their new Autopeds scooters, Washington DC, 1917

- Photo Credit: Richard Pierce
Licking blocks of ice during heat wave in 1912, NYC

- Photo Credit: Sanna Dullaway
Booker T. Washington in his Tuskegee University office, ca. 1906

- Photo Credit: Colorized History
The Jersey Shore c. 1905 “Boardwalk at Asbury Park”

- Photo Credit: Ryan Urban
Charlie Chaplin at 27, no makeup, 1916

- Photo Credit: Manuel De Leonardo
French soldiers during the Franco Prussian War, 1870

- Photo Credit: Marina Amaral
Hans Christian Andersen, Danish author and poet, 1869

- Photo Credit: Dana R Keller
Alfred R. Waud, renowned sketch artist, known mostly for work as an artist correspondent during the American Civil War, seen here sketching at Gettysburg, July 1863

- Photo Credit: Colorized History
Silent film actress Mary Pickford, c. 1920

- Photo Credit: Dana R Keller
Edgar Allen Poe, 1848

- Photo Credit: Dana R Keller
Italian immigrants arrive at Ellis Island, 1905. Their worried expressions are caused by lost baggage.

- Photo Credit: Marina Amaral
Walt Whitman, 1887

- Photo Credit: Dana R Keller
Seth Kinman, one of the earliest settlers of California, sitting on a chair he gave to President Andrew Johnson made out of a grizzly bear. He also gave a chair made of elk horns to President Lincoln, ca. 1865

- Photo Credit: Colored History
Japanese Archers c. 1860

- Photo Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd
Mary Winsor, founder and president of the Limited Suffrage Society, holds a sign during the American suffrage movement; ca. 1917

- Photo Credit: Richard Pierce
John L. Burns, the 'Old Hero of Gettysburg,' with gun and crutches, ca. July 1863

- Photo Credit: Colorized History
Featured photo: Jordan J. Lloyd; Additional photos: Jordan J. Lloyd, Marina Amaral , Colored History, Photo Retrofit, Dana R Keller, Richard Pierce, Sanna Dullaway, Ryan Urban, Manuel De Leonardo