You can probably only picture these famous faces when they were old, but here they are like you’ve never seen them before.
Abraham Lincoln Circa 1846-1847. Age 36-38. (His first known photographic image.)Nicholas H. Shepherd/Library of Congress
Mahatma Gandhi 1906. Age 36-37.Wikimedia Commons
Albert Einstein Circa 1904-1905. Age 24-26.Wikimedia Commons
Adolf Hitler Circa 1914. Age 24-25.National Archives
Mother Teresa Circa 1928-1929. Age 18.Vittoriano Rastelli/Corbis via Getty Images
Saddam Hussein 1963. Age 25-26.Laurent VAN DER STOCKT/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Richard Nixon Circa 1930. Age 17.Fox Photos/Getty Images
Queen Elizabeth II 1952. Age 26.Douglas Miller/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Joseph Stalin 1902. Age 23-24.Wikimedia Commons
Hillary Clinton 1969. Age 21.Wellesley College/Sygma via Getty Images
Stephen Hawking 1965. Age 23.Hawking.org
Vincent van Gogh 1873. Age 19.Wikimedia Commons
Vladimir Putin 1971. Age 18-19.Laski Diffusion/Getty Images
Theodore Roosevelt 1880. Age 21-22.Library of Congress
Bill Gates 1977. Age 22.Public Domain
Bill Clinton 1963. Age 16. (Left, shaking hands with President John F. Kennedy.)Arnold Sachs/Getty Images
Pope Francis Date unspecified.Jesuit General Curia via Getty Images
Barack Obama 1990. Age 28.Joe Wrinn/Harvard University/Corbis via Getty Images
Mark Twain Circa 1859. Age 24.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images
Sigmund Freud 1872. Age 15-16. (With his mother.)Wikimedia Commons
John McCain 1965. Age 28-29.Library of Congress
Winston Churchill 1895. Age 20-21.Imperial War Museums/Wikimedia Commons
Pablo Picasso 1908. Age 26-27.Wikimedia Commons
Maya Angelou 1957. Age 28-29.Library of Congress
Nikola Tesla 1879. Age 23.Wikimedia
Fidel Castro 1955. Age 28-29.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images
Gerald Ford 1933. Age 20.Gerald R. Ford Library
Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1904. Age 22.Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
Ernest Hemingway Circa 1918. Age 18-19.National Archives
Frederick Douglass Circa 1847-1852. Age 28-32.Samuel J. Miller/Art Institute of Chicago/Wikimedia Commons
Calvin Coolidge Circa 1891-1895. Age 19-22.Wikimedia Commons
Eleanor Roosevelt 1908. Age 23-24. (With husband Franklin Roosevelt and two of their children.)Wikimedia Commons
Dwight Eisenhower 1912. Age 21-22.National Archives
Benito Mussolini 1903. Age 20.Wikimedia Commons
Thomas Edison Circa 1878. Age 30.Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons
Vladimir Lenin 1887. Age 17.Culture Club/Getty Images
Harry Truman 1912. Age 27-28.National Archives
Marie Curie Circa 1886. Age 18-19. (Left, with her sister.)Wikimedia Commons
Mao Zedong 1927. Age 33-34.Wikimedia Commons
Herbert Hoover 1898. Age 23.State Library of Western Australia/Wikimedia Commons
Susan B. Anthony Circa 1848-1849. Age 28.Wikimedia Commons
Pope John Paul II 1945. Age 24-25.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images
Muammar Gaddafi Date unspecified.Stevan Kragujević/Wikimedia Commons
Nelson Mandela 1937. Age 19.Wikimedia Commons
From Abraham Lincoln to Albert Einstein to Queen Elizabeth II, some of modern history’s most famous faces exist in our minds solely as they appeared in old age. Just try to picture Lincoln, or, say, Winston Churchill or Mahatma Gandhi as a young man and you’ll probably come up blank.
Abraham Lincoln
Circa 1846-1847. Age 36-38. (His first known photographic image.)Nicholas H. Shepherd/Library of Congress
Mahatma Gandhi
- Age 36-37.Wikimedia Commons
Albert Einstein
Circa 1904-1905. Age 24-26.Wikimedia Commons
Adolf Hitler
Circa 1914. Age 24-25.National Archives
Mother Teresa
Circa 1928-1929. Age 18.Vittoriano Rastelli/Corbis via Getty Images
Saddam Hussein
- Age 25-26.Laurent VAN DER STOCKT/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Richard Nixon
Circa 1930. Age 17.Fox Photos/Getty Images
Queen Elizabeth II
- Age 26.Douglas Miller/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Joseph Stalin
- Age 23-24.Wikimedia Commons
Hillary Clinton
- Age 21.Wellesley College/Sygma via Getty Images
Stephen Hawking
- Age 23.Hawking.org
Vincent van Gogh
- Age 19.Wikimedia Commons
Vladimir Putin
- Age 18-19.Laski Diffusion/Getty Images
Theodore Roosevelt
- Age 21-22.Library of Congress
Bill Gates
- Age 22.Public Domain
Bill Clinton
- Age 16. (Left, shaking hands with President John F. Kennedy.)Arnold Sachs/Getty Images
Pope Francis
Date unspecified.Jesuit General Curia via Getty Images
Barack Obama
- Age 28.Joe Wrinn/Harvard University/Corbis via Getty Images
Mark Twain
Circa 1859. Age 24.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images
Sigmund Freud
- Age 15-16. (With his mother.)Wikimedia Commons
John McCain
- Age 28-29.Library of Congress
Winston Churchill
- Age 20-21.Imperial War Museums/Wikimedia Commons
Pablo Picasso
- Age 26-27.Wikimedia Commons
Maya Angelou
- Age 28-29.Library of Congress
Nikola Tesla
- Age 23.Wikimedia
Fidel Castro
- Age 28-29.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images
Gerald Ford
- Age 20.Gerald R. Ford Library
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- Age 22.Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
Ernest Hemingway
Circa 1918. Age 18-19.National Archives
Frederick Douglass
Circa 1847-1852. Age 28-32.Samuel J. Miller/Art Institute of Chicago/Wikimedia Commons
Calvin Coolidge
Circa 1891-1895. Age 19-22.Wikimedia Commons
Eleanor Roosevelt
- Age 23-24. (With husband Franklin Roosevelt and two of their children.)Wikimedia Commons
Dwight Eisenhower
- Age 21-22.National Archives
Benito Mussolini
- Age 20.Wikimedia Commons
Thomas Edison
Circa 1878. Age 30.Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons
Vladimir Lenin
- Age 17.Culture Club/Getty Images
Harry Truman
- Age 27-28.National Archives
Marie Curie
Circa 1886. Age 18-19. (Left, with her sister.)Wikimedia Commons
Mao Zedong
- Age 33-34.Wikimedia Commons
Herbert Hoover
- Age 23.State Library of Western Australia/Wikimedia Commons
Susan B. Anthony
Circa 1848-1849. Age 28.Wikimedia Commons
Pope John Paul II
- Age 24-25.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images
Muammar Gaddafi
Date unspecified.Stevan Kragujević/Wikimedia Commons
Nelson Mandela
- Age 19.Wikimedia Commons
Whether it’s because these people didn’t truly make their mark on history until late in life or because they didn’t assume their now iconic appearance until at least middle age, they’ll live on in our minds, not to mention the history books, looking old.
But if you’ve ever been curious about what some of modern history’s most important leaders, thinkers, and artists looked like in their youth, take a look at the rarely-seen photos above.
Next, see what some of modern history’s most reviled dictators looked like when they were just kids. Then, see 29 images of American presidents when they were young.
