U.S. National Archives photos
Photographs from the U.S. National Archives, most of them taken by the armed forces and federal agencies in the course of their work.
Why they are free to use: Photos taken by federal employees as part of their duties are US government works and not under copyright. Each photo's page shows its own licence basis and a credit line.
2,996 photos in the index, by decade:
- 1860s (90)
- 1880s (26)
- 1900s (111)
- 1910s (632)
- 1920s (64)
- 1930s (160)
- 1940s (1,644)
- 1950s (117)
- 1960s (121)
- 1970s (31)
The 1860s
All 90 U.S. National Archives photos from the 1860s

Burial place, Fredericksburg, Va
1860–1865

Fairfax Court House, Va
1860–1865

Pontoon bridge across James River
1860–1865

Negro laborers at Alexandria, near coal wharf
1860–1865

Atlanta fortifications
1860–1865

Brady's photo outfit in front of Petersburg, Va
1860–1865

Army picture gallery
1860–1865

Mathew Brady photograph
1860–1865
The 1880s
All 26 U.S. National Archives photos from the 1880s

Photograph of Chiracahua Apaches Arriving at the Carlisle Indian School
1886

Photograph of Chiracahua Apache Indians After Training at the Carlisle Indian School
1886

Workers on the Interior of the Cut for the French Construction of the Panama Canal
1886

Photograph of building
1887–1940

The Electric Light Plant, La Boca
1887–1940

Floating Equipment: US Steam Tug, "Bolivar," built in 1885 Oil Burning
1887–1940

Gorgas Hospital, CZ (PR)
1887–1940

Colonel George Goethals with Congressional Party, Tivoli Stairs
1887–1940
The 1900s
All 111 U.S. National Archives photos from the 1900s

Photograph with caption "Locomotive 'Sterling". Sept. 30, 1901."
1901-09-30

"John Sontag of the firm of `Evans & Sontag' of Calif. fame. Sontag was shot to death about Sept. 14, 1904. He was not yet dead when this picture was taken."
1904
Empire Police Station - Dec 1904
1904-12

Culebra Cut North of Contractor's Hill looking North
1906-12

Interior of Mess Tent Gatun, Oct 1906
1906-10

Panama Railroad Bridge Over the Chagres River at Barbacoas, Near San Pablo Station, Taken During the Dry Season, 1906
1906

John Frank Stevens (left) with José Francisco de la Ossa (right), 1906
1906

San Francisco Earthquake of 1906: Refugee camp near Fort Mason showing method of supplying water
c. 1906
The 1910s
All 632 U.S. National Archives photos from the 1910s

Bowery bootblack. New York City.
1910-06

Mendicants. New York City.
1910-07

Minnie Pastor, 10 years old, tending stand in New York. New York City.
1910-07

The Middle Locks, Gatun, Looking North, Showing Status of Concrete Work, July 2, 1910
1910-07-02

Gatun Locks - Looking South on Center Line, Upper Locks, July 1910
1910-07

Culebra Cut Looking South- December, 1910
1910-12

East End of Colon Hospital Grounds, showing Nurses Hall, and Quarters for Physicians - 1910
1910

Enemy Activities - Officials - Copy of a German picture showing the attitude of German soldiers toward France and England
1911
The 1920s
All 64 U.S. National Archives photos from the 1920s

Photograph of a de Havilland Mail Plane
1920

Photograph of the Abraham Lincoln Statue Installation in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C., 1920
1920

Photograph of the Abraham Lincoln Statue Installation in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.
1920

Slips between Piers #3 and 4, New York City, N.Y
1920-04-03

West corridor, 3rd floor, extending from Piers 3 to 1 inclusive. Offices to the left are occupied by Port and Zone Transportation Officers, Rail Transportation Division, Commanding General, Chief of Staff and clerks. New York City, N.Y
1920-04-03

Gear Room, Water Transportation Division, between Piers 3 & 4, New York City, N.Y
1920-04-03

Boxers and basketball contestants in the Eastern Dept. elimination meet at the 69th Armory, New York City, N.Y. Eward Kopinski, Light Wt. 138. Fort Hamilton, N.Y
1920-03-30

Students at work in auto repair shop
c. 1920
The 1930s
All 160 U.S. National Archives photos from the 1930s

Harlingen Army Air Field, Texas--Elizabeth L. Gardner of Rockford, Illinois, WASP (Women's Airforce Service Pilot) pilot, takes a look around before sending her plane streaking down the runway at the air base.
1930–1975

The Panama Canal Thatcher Highway Station 247+50 Looking towards Arraijan Sept 15, 1930
1930-09-15

Franklin D. Roosevelt in Albany, New York
1931-01-01

Wright (AV1). Aircraft tender. Aerial, starboard side, underway
1931-10-15

Relief (AH1). Hospital ship, Aerial, starboard side, underway
1931-10-15

Wright (AV1). Aircraft tender. Aerial, starboard side, underway, 10/15/1931
1931-10-15

Unemployed men queued outside a depression soup kitchen opened in Chicago by Al Capone
1931-02

Unemployed men queued outside a depression soup kitchen opened in Chicago by Al Capone, 02/1931
1931-02
The 1940s
All 1,644 U.S. National Archives photos from the 1940s

Informal Remarks At Frankford Arsenal
1940-10-23

Gunners from the British Navy are being instructed by American Naval gunners in the operation of a secret device that is part of the guns aboard the over-age Destroyers turned over too Britain in exchange for Naval & Air bases. The photo was taken at a Canadian port
1940-09-12

Informal Remarks At New York Shipbuilding Company Plant Camden, New Jersey
1940-10-23

13th December 1940: Sheffield blitz
1940

One of 50 old Destroyers crossing Atlantic for new duties under British flag, Fall of 1940.
c. 1940

Wichita (heavy CA45). Aerial, port beam, underway
1940-05-01

US Navy Antarctic Expedition Helicopter returns from survey of South Pole waters. The Coast Guard helicopter is shown landing on the icebreaker Northwind. In the distanc are other ships of Task Force 68.
c. 1940

Wasp (CV7). Port bow
1940-12-27
The 1950s
All 117 U.S. National Archives photos from the 1950s

Bob Hope, radio and screen star, sits with men of X Corps, as members of his troupe entertain at Wonsan, Korea.
1950-10-26

USS Missouri at Hungman
1950-12-26

Loading of USMC tanks at Naval Suppy Center Oakland 1950
1950

U.S. Marines move forward after effective close-air support flushes out the enemy from their hillside entrenchments. Billows of smoke rise skyward from the target area. Hagaru-ri.
1950-12

Almost 100 locomotives--vital to the North Korean transportation system--were destroyed when B-29 Superforts blasted the Northwest Pyongyang marshalling yard and repair center with a 356 ton attack. The maintenance center formerly was one of Korea's largest, handling more than 40 trains a day and wi
1950-11-09

Crossing the 38th parallel. United Nations forces withdraw from Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. They recrossed the 38th parallel.
1950

Navy AD-3 dive bomber pulls out of dive after dropping a 2000 pound bomb on Korean side of a bridge crossing the Yalu River at Sinuiju, into Manchuria. Note: anti-aircraft gun emplacement on both sides of the river.
1950-11-15

Yalu bridges AD-3 Nov1950
1950-11-15
The 1960s
All 121 U.S. National Archives photos from the 1960s

Sikorsky CH-3C in flight over the Mekong Delta, circa in the later 1960s (342-C-KE-19088)
1960

Queen Sirikit of Thailand visiting the U.S. Army's 27th Infantry "Wolfhounds" near Korat, Thailand. Here, Queen Sirikit visits with Colonel William McKean, Commander of the 27th, and U.S. Ambassador to Thailand, Kenneth T. Young, Jr. The U.S. forces in Thailand are used to assist as instructors and
1962-06

Project History - Boulder Canyon Project - Hoover Dam
1962-01-01

Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. Entertainment: Vocalists Peter, Paul, and Mary.
1963-08-28

Photograph of Dr. Wayne Grover and Ambassador of Thailand Visutr Arthayukti Examining Mathew Brady Glass-Plate Negative of President Abraham Lincoln on Exhibit
1963-01-08

Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. Actors Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, and Charlton Heston., 08/28/1963
1963-08-28

USAF - OPERATION PHI HOA II.Vietnamese paratroopers jump from U.S. Air Force C-123 transports in the initial air assault wave during Operation Phi Hoa II, a tactical air-ground envelopment strike during March 1963 against the Viet Cong in the Tay Ninh Province of South Viet Nam
1963-03

Joint Chiefs of Staff meet at the LBJ Ranch
1964-12-22
The 1970s
All 31 U.S. National Archives photos from the 1970s

U.S. Army UH-1H Hueys insert ARVN troops at Khâm Đức, Vietnam, 12 July 1970
1970-07-12

Vietnam. Members of the 1st ARVN Division move along a trail during an assault operation near Fire Support Base O'Reilly.
1970-10-08

Medical supplies by the ton, captured in Cambodia, include penicillin, bandages, vitamins and anti-malaria pills., ca. 1970
c. 1970

Grumman OV-1 Mohawk from the 635th Military Intelligence Company (U.S. Army) in flight over Vietnam, 20 June 1970
1970-06-20

Lockheed HC-130P refuels Sikorsky HH-53C of the 37th ARRS over the Gulf of Tonkin, 16 June 1970
1970-06-16

Republic F-105D Thunderchief of the 354th TFS in flight over Southeast Asia on 6 February 1970
1970-02-06

USAF F-4E with bombs on its way to a target
1970-05-28

7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron crewmen aboard an EC-130
1970-11-21
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- Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information
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