Youth of Yesterday: What Teenagers Around the World Looked Like 100 Years Ago (24 Photos)
Every generation views its youth as fundamentally different from those who came before. But what did teenagers and young adults actually look like a century ago? While it’s hard to peer into their inner lives, a look back at old photographs reveals fascinating comparisons across different countries and cultures—and the visual journey is striking. 
Algeria. Images like this were commonly featured on postcards. 
Germany. Left: Gertrud and Ursula Falke, daughters of German writer Gustav Falke. 
Nepal and China. 
England. Left: A Kensington schoolgirl. Right: A group of children heading off to fish in the Serpentine in London's Hyde Park. 
Scotland and Ireland. The photo on the right is one of the earliest color photographs taken in Ireland, dating to around 1913. It shows a 14-year-old girl in traditional dress. 
Romania and Albania. The photo on the right shows two Albanian girls around 13 or 14 years old. The girl on the left would later become world-famous as Mother Teresa. 
Japan. Left: Maiko (apprentice geisha) relaxing on a balcony. Right: Students at Fukuoka High School, the first school to introduce sailor-style uniforms. 
Argentina and Mexico. The solemn girl on the right is 13-year-old Frida Kahlo. 
Spain. Left: Maria Cristina and Beatriz. Right: 16-year-old Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. 
Poland and Estonia. Estonian girls posing in a movie scene, playing dress-up as adults. 
Greece and Cyprus. Left: Young Greek guerrilla fighter Konstantinos Mourikis. Right: A school class taught by Maria Christodoulou. 
Hungary. 
Austria and Luxembourg. Left: Prince Ernst von Hohenberg, one of the four children of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Right: Princess Antonia of Luxembourg. 
India. 
Australia and New Zealand. 
United States. Left: A 16-year-old Walt Disney. Right: A Kiowa girl. 
Belgium. Siblings Prince Leopold and Princess Louise of Belgium. 
Netherlands. 
Sweden and Finland. The girl on the left is Princess Ingrid of Sweden. 
France. Right: A young René Lacoste, future tennis champion and founder of the Lacoste brand. 
Philippines. 
Italy.
