A century ago, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, as much of the world was still recovering from the devastation of World War I. Rebuilding was just beginning, refugees were returning home, orphans were being cared for, and a global influenza outbreak was being battled. In other news, the Lincoln Memorial was nearing completion in Washington, D.C.; Vladimir Lenin was working to solidify the Soviet Republic; the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed—guaranteeing women the right to vote; a molasses disaster struck Boston; and much more. Please take a moment to look back at some of the events and sights from around the world 100 years ago.
100 Years Ago in Photos: A Look Back at 1919
-
-
Years of war and famine drove families in Petrograd, Russia, to place their children in the hands of caretakers outside the city, and the Petrograd Children's Colony was formed, administered by the American Red Cross. More than 800 children were repeatedly moved eastward toward safety, some of them photographed here in Turgoyak, Siberia, in October 1919. #
The Crowley Company / Library of Congress -
The First Battalion of the 308th Infantry, the famous "Lost Battalion" of the 77th Division's Argonne campaign of the Great War, marches up New York's Fifth Avenue just past the Arch of Victory during the spring of 1919. #
Associated Press -
-
Art Hickman's Orchestra, likely during its 1919–20 New York tour. Band members pictured include Steve Douglas, violin; Walt Roesner, trumpet; Fred Kaufmann, trombone; Clyde Doerr, alto and baritone saxes, oboe, and clarinet; Bert Ralton, soprano and tenor saxes and clarinet; Frank Ellis, piano; Vic King, tenor banjo; Ben Black, plectrum banjo; Bela Spiller, string bass; and Art Hickman, drums, piano, and slide whistle. #
Library of Congress -
-
Helen Keller appears in a promotional photograph for the 1919 motion picture about her life, titled Deliverance. She is seated at a desk in front of a braille typewriter. #
Library of Congress -
-
-
About 100 steel-hulled motorboat escort ships of the United States Navy are tied up, slated for the scrapyard, in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, on November 1, 1919. #
Keystone / Getty -
Stone masons finish work carving one of President Abraham Lincoln's speeches on one of the exterior walls of the under-construction Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. #
Bettmann Archive / Getty -
Nine African American soldiers from the 369th Infantry Regiment (formerly the Fifteenth New York National Guard Regiment), who won the Croix de Guerre, return home from the war aboard the Stockholm on February 12, 1919. #
Corbis via Getty -
-
The trial flight of the Tarrant triplane, in Farnborough, England. The flight ended disastrously, with the aircraft pitching forward onto its nose before getting fully aloft, killing both pilots. #
Hulton Archive / Getty -
In this January 15, 1919, file photo, the ruins of tanks containing 2.5 million gallons of molasses lie in a heap after an eruption that hurled trucks against buildings and crumpled houses in the North End of Boston. The disaster killed 21 people, injured 150 others, and flattened buildings when a giant storage tank ruptured. #
Associated Press -
-
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.