Émile Zola (1840–1902) was a French novelist, journalist, and playwright, best known for naturalism and for helping shape theatrical naturalism. A major figure in political liberalization, he became especially influential through his role in the exoneration of Alfred Dreyfus, highlighted by his famous open letter “J’Accuse…!” He wrote widely, including the major twenty-volume Rougon-Macquart cycle, which traces the fortunes of two branches of a family under the Second French Empire, linking characters’ lives to heredity and environment. His career also included early writing that drew attention from authorities, leading to setbacks, and later he became a prominent literary figure with substantial success. In 1898, Zola was prosecuted for libel related to his Dreyfus intervention, was convicted, and went into exile in England before returning. Zola died in 1902 from carbon monoxide poisoning, was buried in Paris, and later his remains were moved to the Panthéon.

In addition to his poetry, he translated and promoted Edgar Allan Poe, wrote Artificial Paradises on drugs, and produced art and cultural criticism that ranged across literature, painting, and music, including influential writing on Wagner. Despite illness, financial difficulties, and personal turmoil, his work left a lasting legacy that strongly influenced later poets and the development of modernist, Symbolist, and other literary movements.

from a photo seen on Tumbl

Victor-Marie Hugo (26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a leading French Romantic writer, poet, playwright, essayist, journalist, human-rights activist and politician best known for the novels The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (Notre-Dame de Paris) and Les Misérables, and for major poetry collections such as Les Contemplations and La Légende des siècles. Born in Besançon, Hugo rose to prominence with plays like Hernani that helped define French Romanticism, produced prolific poetic and dramatic work, and created lasting characters and social themes that inspired operas and modern musicals. Politically active, his positions shifted from early royalism toward liberal republicanism; he campaigned publicly against the death penalty and slavery, served in several legislative roles including senator, and spent years in self-imposed exile after opposing Napoleon III. Hugo was also a prolific visual artist, creating thousands of drawings. He died in Paris and was buried in the Panthéon; his works and public life left a major influence on 19th-century literature, social reform debates, and subsequent adaptations across the arts.

Iron Tail (Oglala Lakota: Siŋté Máza; c.1842–May 29, 1916) was an Oglala Lakota chief and a prominent performer in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, widely photographed and internationally celebrated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was known as a dignified counselor and diplomat rather than a war chief or medicine man, and is often mistaken for Chief Iron Hail (Dewey Beard) in accounts that wrongly attribute Little Bighorn or Wounded Knee connections to him. Iron Tail toured Europe (including performances in Paris and Rome), remained with Buffalo Bill until 1913 and then with the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch show until his death, and was a close friend of Buffalo Bill Cody. His profile served as the model for the Indian Head (“Buffalo”) nickel (1913–1938). He was a frequent subject for photographers such as Gertrude Käsebier, participated in ceremonial events with Major Israel McCreight (who was adopted as an honorary Oglala chief in 1908), and died in 1916; his image and legacy have persisted in photographs, Wild West history, and coinage, though his likeness has sometimes been used without authorization.

Charles Nègre - Italian Street Musicians at Entrance to 21 Quai de Bourbon (1854)

Electrobat Taxis on Manhattan 39th Street (1898)

Two men and a dog - Wald. Dahllöf, Stockholm (1875-1885)

Roland Napoléon Bonaparte (19 May 1858 – 14 April 1924) was a French prince, the 6th Prince of Canino and Musignano, and a scientist who served as president of the Société de Géographie from 1910 until his death. Born in Paris to Prince Pierre Napoléon Bonaparte and Éléonore-Justine Ruflin, he was a grandson of Lucien Bonaparte and the last male-line descendant of that branch. He married Marie-Félix Blanc in 1880; she died in 1882 and their only child was Marie Bonaparte. Bonaparte participated in late 19th-century anthropological and geographical work, including an 1884 expedition measuring and photographing Sami people in northern Norway and, in 1885, photographing Aboriginal Australians who had been brought to Europe and the United States for study and public exhibition. He was a member of several scientific institutions and is noted in bibliographic and authority records for his contributions to geography, anthropology and related fields. He died in Paris and was buried at Cimetière des Gonards.

The 1910 Great Flood of Paris

The first authenticated image of Abraham Lincoln, taken soon after his election to Congress in 1846, attributed to Nicholas H. Shepard

In 2014, as scientists worked to recover gold and other items from the ship, they found more than 100 photos, many in glass case holders. A majority were degraded beyond recognition, but 10 standouts are remarkably clear, including a portrait the group dubbed “Mona Lisa of the Deep” (above and at top), which was found in a pile of the ship’s coal on the seabed.