History, an unending journey of moments that shape the course of humanity, is often best understood through the words of those who lived it.
In ‘Quotes About History,’ we start on a journey through time, guided by the wisdom and thoughts of great minds, leaders, and visionaries.
These statements highlight the importance of history as a mirror to our past, a compass for our present, and a lighthouse for our future.
Quotes About History
“History is a set of lies agreed upon.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
“The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” – Winston Churchill
“History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals and many copies.” – Alexis de Tocqueville
“The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power.” – Unknown
“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” – Maya Angelou
“History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
“The only thing new in the world is the history you don’t know.” – Harry S. Truman
“We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“History is the story of events, with praise or blame.” – Cotton Mather
“History is a people’s memory, and without a memory, man is demoted to the lower animals.” – Malcolm X
“History is a voice forever sounding across the centuries the laws of right and wrong.” – James Buchan
“The history of the world is but the biography of great men.” – Thomas Carlyle
“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” – Maya Angelou
“History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future.” – John F. Kennedy
“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln
“A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana
“History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.” – Winston Churchill
“The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“The past is really almost as much a work of the imagination as the future.” – Jessamyn West
“History is the sum total of things that could have been avoided.” – Konrad Adenauer
“The history of the world is none other than the progress of the consciousness of freedom.” – Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” – Karl Marx
“The charm of history and its enigmatic lesson consist in the fact that, from age to age, nothing changes and yet everything is completely different.” – Aldous Huxley
“History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
“The history of a nation is, in truth, the history of its religion.” – John Dalberg-Acton
“In history, as in human life, regret does not bring back a lost moment and a thousand years will not recover something lost in a single hour.” – Stefan Zweig
“We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“What is history? An echo of the past in the future; a reflex from the future on the past.” – Victor Hugo
“History is the present. That’s why every generation writes it anew. But what most people think of as history is its end product, myth.” – E.L. Doctorow
Black History Quotes
“We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” — Maya Angelou
“I had no idea that history was being made. I was just tired of giving up.” — Rosa Parks
“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.” — Booker T. Washington
“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
“Do not bring people in your life who weigh you down. And trust your instincts… good relationships feel good. They feel right. They don’t hurt.” — Oprah Winfrey
“The time is always right to do what is right.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” — Langston Hughes
“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible.” — Maya Angelou
“Change is never easy, but always possible.” — Barack Obama
“The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression.” — W.E.B. Du Bois
“I had to make my own living and my own opportunity! But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.” — Madam C.J. Walker
“Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you’ve got to make yourself.” — Alice Walker
“The only way to deal with this life meaningfully is to find one’s passion, discover one’s gifts, and then to give them away.” — Henry Louis Gates Jr.
“You really can change the world if you care enough.” — Marian Wright Edelman
“The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself—the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us—that’s where it’s at.” — Jesse Owens
“In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.” — Thurgood Marshall
“Hold on to your dreams of a better life and stay committed to striving to realize it.” — Earl G. Graves Sr.
“I am where I am because of the bridges that I crossed. Sojourner Truth was a bridge. Harriet Tubman was a bridge. Ida B. Wells was a bridge. Madame C.J. Walker was a bridge.” — Oprah Winfrey
“I will not have my life narrowed down. I will not bow down to somebody else’s whim or to someone else’s ignorance.” — Bell Hooks
“The only way to deal with this life meaningfully is to find one’s passion, discover one’s gifts, and then to give them away.” — Henry Louis Gates Jr.
“We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.” — Jesse Owens
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” — Nelson Mandela
“The function of freedom is to free someone else.” — Toni Morrison
“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” — Audre Lorde
“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.” — Booker T. Washington
“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
“Change is never easy, but always possible.” — Barack Obama
“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” — Langston Hughes
“The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression.” — W.E.B. Du Bois
“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible.” — Maya Angelou
Funny Historical Quotes
“I can resist everything except temptation.” — Oscar Wilde
“I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.” — Clarence Darrow
“I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn’t know.” — Mark Twain
“Behind every great man, there is a woman rolling her eyes.” — Jim Carrey
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” — Winston Churchill
“I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done.” — Steven Wright
“I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning, I will be sober and you will still be ugly.” — Winston Churchill
“I used to be indecisive, but now I’m not so sure.” — Anonymous
“I never forget a face, but in your case, I’ll be glad to make an exception.” — Groucho Marx
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” — Thomas A. Edison
“A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don’t need it.” — Bob Hope
“I can’t die; I’m booked.” — George Burns
“I have Social Disease. I have to go out every night. If I stay home one night, I start spreading rumors to my dogs.” — Andy Warhol
“I told my wife she was drawing her eyebrows too high. She looked surprised.” — Anonymous
“I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done.” — Steven Wright
“I’m on the patch right now. Where it releases small dosages of approval until I no longer crave it, and then I’m gonna rip it off.” — Ellen DeGeneres
“I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.” — Jerome K. Jerome
“When I die, I want to go peacefully like my grandfather did, in his sleep. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.” — Bob Monkhouse
“I used to sell furniture for a living. The trouble was, it was my own.” — Les Dawson
“It’s always darkest before the dawn. So if you’re going to steal your neighbor’s newspaper, that’s the time to do it.” — Anonymous
“I can resist everything except temptation.” — Oscar Wilde
“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” — Jimmy Dean
“I’m not arguing, I’m just explaining why I’m right.” — Anonymous
“I never feel more alone than when I’m trying to put sunscreen on my back.” — Jimmy Kimmel
“I told my wife that a husband is like a fine wine; he gets better with age. The next day, she locked me in the cellar.” — Anonymous
“I used to be a boy trapped in a woman’s body. But after 9 long months, I was finally born!” — Anonymous
“I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.” — Groucho Marx
“I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.” — Mae West
“I’m not a vegetarian because I love animals. I’m a vegetarian because I hate plants.” — A. Whitney Brown
“I’m not arguing, I’m just explaining why I’m right.” — Anonymous
Black History Inspirational Quotes
“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.” — Booker T. Washington
“In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.” — Thurgood Marshall
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” — Maya Angelou
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
“The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression.” — W.E.B. Du Bois
“We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.” — Jesse Owens
“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” — Langston Hughes
“The time is always right to do what is right.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
“Change is never easy, and it often creates discord, but when people come together for the good of humanity and the Earth, we can accomplish great things.” — Wangari Maathai
“Success is not about the destination; it’s about the journey.” — Dr. Mae Jemison
“The only way to deal with a fear is to face it head on.” — Tina Turner
“We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” — Maya Angelou
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” — Harriet Tubman
“We all require and want respect, man or woman, Black or white. It’s our basic human right.” — Aretha Franklin
“You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” — Malcolm X
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” — Frederick Douglass
“I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know that I’m going to be positive and not wake up feeling desperate.” — Bill Cosby
“Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated.” — Coretta Scott King
“Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you’ve got to make yourself.” — Alice Walker
“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.” — Bobby Unser
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” — Nelson Mandela
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” — Frederick Douglass
“The greatest gift you can give someone is your time because when you give your time, you are giving a portion of your life that you will never get back.” — Oprah Winfrey
“You can’t let your failures define you. You have to let your failures teach you.” — Barack Obama
“I am where I am because of the bridges that I crossed. Sojourner Truth was a bridge. Harriet Tubman was a bridge. Ida B. Wells was a bridge. Madame C.J. Walker was a bridge.” — Oprah Winfrey
“We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.” — Angela Davis
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” — Winston Churchill
“Do not bring people in your life who weigh you down. And trust your instincts — good relationships feel good. They feel right. They don’t hurt.” — Oprah Winfrey
“The only way to deal with the future is to function in the present.” — RZA
“Your silence will not protect you.” — Audre Lorde
Quotes by Famous Historians
-History has no proper scientific value and is used only for educative purposes. – G.M. Trevelyan
-Being dangerous folks, historians can upset everything. – Nikita Khrushchev
-Historians can be compared to deaf individuals who continue to answer queries none has asked. – Leo Tolstoy
-History can be considered to be the open Bible; historians will not explain it unfailingly. – G.M. Trevelyan
-God has no power to change the past, unlike historians. – Samuel Butler
-Let us provide an opportunity for historians to write about something. – Propertius
-Historians can be considered to be unsuccessful novelists. – H. L. Mencken
-The historian’s function will be to comprehend the past so that it is feasible to understand the present. – Edward Hallett Carr
-History is simply what has been told by historians, and it is not what has actually taken place. – Julian Barnes
-We still expect that future historians will explain the gloomy symptoms of the present society as the childhood diseases of an aspirant civilization. – Albert Einstein
-Historians happen to be gossiping and teasing the dead. – Voltaire
-We can consider historians prophets who have turned their faces backward. – Friedrich Schiller
-History will repeat itself, first in the form of tragedy and then as farce. – Karl Marx
-The course of history can be changed by some determined spirits which an unsatisfied faith in their quest has fired. – Mahatma Gandhi
-The historians of Jesus had supernaturally brought Jesus into this world, and they were grateful for taking him out in a similar manner once more. – Thomas Paine
-The hunt stories will always glorify the hunter until the lions eat the historians. – Proverb
-Unlike historians, God has the power to change the past. – Samuel Butler
-Historians are known to provide the vital raw material intended for the market. – Eric Hobsbawm
-It is imperative to shock the historians at regular intervals. – Peter Burke
-Historians usually overlook the most significant loss suffered by Germany in the war. – Gustav Stresemann
-While history is known to repeat itself, historians will repeat one another. – Philip Guedalla
-One must not leave history at the hands of historians. – Ferdinand Marcos
-It will be a good idea to be like Churchill. Write history after making it. – Ferdinand Marcos
-Most folks tend to miss out on opportunities since they are dressed in overalls.- Thomas Edison
-Historians are known to write about Stalin favorably since he did big things. – Jonah Goldberg
-Historians happen to be gossips teasing the dead. – Voltaire
-History, unlike historians, never repeats itself. – Arthur Balfour
-Historians do not perform the tedious job of choosing and also shaping any readable story. – Barbara Tuchman
-One can compare historians to deaf individuals that always answer questions that none has asked them. – Leo Tolstoy
-The price increases every time history is going to repeat itself. – Proverb
-Historians exercise tremendous power, and a few of them are aware of this. – Frank Herbert
-Historians have the ability to recreate the past. They also can modify the future. – Frank Herbert
-The best way to alter history will be to be a historian. – Jerry Falwell
-Any historian will view trade as the principle of freedom that will get rid of slavery. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
-Researchers and historians can work in the East after Germany was reunified in the year 1990. – Stephen Kinzer
-Cancelled checks to future historians will be similar to the Dead Sea Scrolls like it appears to us. – Brent Staples.
-Historians are going to explain stuff simply by telling a narrative. – Donald Kagan
-We all happen to be historians in our own way. – Jeanette Winterson
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