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
![abraham lincoln abraham lincoln colorized photo](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_9d899ed80859-lincoln-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd
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King George V at Buckingham Palace (1914) before the outbreak of war
![king george v king george v colorized photo](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_dfa8ad32490e-king-george-colorized.jpg)
- 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
![j hamilton lewis j hamilton lewis colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_6b59d99fa264-j-hamilton-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Colored History
Erwin Rommel as a Lieutenant, wearing a Pour le Mérite after the Battle of Caporetto, Italy 1917
![erwin rommel erwin rommel colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_a3a9909e9447-erwin-rommell-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Colored History
Marie Curie in her laboratory in Paris, 1912
![marie curie marie curie colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_65a02fb952e2-marie-curie-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Marina Amaral
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his children with Cossack officers, 1916
![romanov family romanov family colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_770d14b8e19a-romanovs-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Marina Amaral
Abraham Lincoln and George McClellan at Antietam, October 2nd/3rd, 1862
![abraham and mcclellan abraham and mcclellan colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_5f33e96d87eb-lincoln-and-mcclellan-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Colored History
Richard Pierce–14 years of age, works as a Western Union Telegraph Messenger. Wilmington, Delaware, ca. May 1910
![western union telegraph messenger western union telegraph messenger colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_46fe97242787-western-union-messenger-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Colored History
Thomas Edison with his second phonograph, photographed by Matthew Brady in Washington, April 1878
![thomas edison thomas edison colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_ba077f675a6a-thomas-edison-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Colored History
Portrait of a Sámi immigrant, Ellis Island, 1910
![sami immigrant sami immigrant](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_0062f1cdf781-sami-woman-ellis-island-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd
School at Anthoston, Kentucky. By Lewis Hine, 1916
![schoolhouse kentucky schoolhouse kentucky colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_c4a79e52f63d-schoolhouse-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Marina Amaral
The Eiffel Tower, July 1888
![eiffel tower eiffel tower colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_6648d27ec80e-eiffel-tower-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd
Suffragists in Parade, c.1910-1915
![suffragists parade suffragists parade colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_8f839331c9a5-suffragists-parade-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Photo Retrofit
The Cow Boy, Sturgis, Dakota Territory, c. 1888
![cowboy cowboy colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_4cdad2de338e-dakota-cowboy-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Colored History
Confederate soldier and family, c. 1860s
![confederate soldier and family confederate soldier colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_50bc5a0fa0bb-confederate-soldier-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd
Harry Houdini steps into a crate at New York Harbor as part of an escape stunt, July 7, 1912
![harry houdini harry houdini colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_a6ad59ff91af-harry-houdini-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Dana R Keller
Post officers model their new Autopeds scooters, Washington DC, 1917
![post officers post officers colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_9d51cf374cbf-post-employees-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Richard Pierce
Licking blocks of ice during heat wave in 1912, NYC
![nyc heat wave nyc heat wave colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_6cc2f740479e-nyc-summer-heat-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Sanna Dullaway
Booker T. Washington in his Tuskegee University office, ca. 1906
![booker t washington booker t washington colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_511a235ef283-booker-t-washington-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Colorized History
The Jersey Shore c. 1905 “Boardwalk at Asbury Park”
![ashbury park boardwalk ashbury park boardwalk colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_79ad62048313-boardwalk-ashbury-park-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Ryan Urban
Charlie Chaplin at 27, no makeup, 1916
![charlie chaplin charlie chaplin colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_b538af711165-charlie-chaplin-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Manuel De Leonardo
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French soldiers during the Franco Prussian War, 1870
![franco prussian war franco prussian war](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_5ad0596ba274-franco-prussian-war-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Marina Amaral
Hans Christian Andersen, Danish author and poet, 1869
![hans christian andersen hans christian andersen colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_6c0f25465483-hans-christian-andersen-colorized.jpg)
- 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
![alfred r waud alfred r waud colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_fc5dad8e2d62-alfred-waud-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Colorized History
Silent film actress Mary Pickford, c. 1920
![mary pickford mary pickford colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_6ca32f52dee9-mary-pickford-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Dana R Keller
Edgar Allen Poe, 1848
![Edgar Allen Poe Edgar Allen Poe colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_c6a70ebe9db2-edgar-allen-poe-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Dana R Keller
Italian immigrants arrive at Ellis Island, 1905. Their worried expressions are caused by lost baggage.
![italian immigrants ellis island italian immigrants ellis island colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_3eb68b69c843-ellis-island-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Marina Amaral
Walt Whitman, 1887
![walt whitman walt whitman colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_b4483776aa92-walt-whitman-colorized.jpg)
- 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
![seth kinman seth kinman colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_f1dc65dcca83-seth-kinman-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Colored History
Japanese Archers c. 1860
![japanese archers japanese archers](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_60a9c18792d3-japanese-archers-colorized.jpg)
- 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
![mary winsor mary winsor colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_a02d917374c4-mary-winsor-colorized.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Richard Pierce
John L. Burns, the 'Old Hero of Gettysburg,' with gun and crutches, ca. July 1863
![john burns john burns colorized](https://orion-uploads.openroadmedia.com/md_e6bb7efd73c2-john-burns.jpg)
- Photo Credit: Colorized History
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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