By Maxime Lagacé
Maxime is the founder of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page.
People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them. James Baldwin
History is who we are and why we are the way we are. David McCullough
I am what time, circumstance, history, have made of me, certainly, but I am also, much more than that. So are we all. James Baldwin
A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history. Mahatma Gandhi
Revolutions are the locomotives of history. Karl Marx
Blood alone moves the wheels of history. Martin Luther
A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots. Marcus Garvey
I do not speak Hebrew, but I understand that it has no word for ‘history’. The closest word for it is memory. David Miliband
Fear not for the future, weep not for the past. Percy Bysshe Shelley
History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again. Kurt Vonnegut
History is a relay of revolutions. Saul Alinsky
The past changes a little every time we retell it. Hilary Mantel
Human history in essence is the history of ideas. H. G. Wells
The history of all previous societies has been the history of class struggles. Karl Marx
History is mostly guessing; the rest is prejudice. Will Durant
Related
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The Best History Quotes
Anybody can make history. Only a great man can write it. Oscar Wilde
I can’t change history, I don’t want to change history. I can only change the future. I’m working on that. Boris Becker
Many of the greatest crimes in history were caused not by hatred, but rather by indifference. They were caused by people who could have done something, but did not even bother lifting a finger. So don’t wait. Get out there. Go and vote. Yuval Noah Harari
History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce. Karl Marx
History is a set of lies agreed upon. Napoleon Bonaparte
Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both. C. Wright Mills
Be honest. We have the science, the technology, and the wealth. What we don’t have is the will, and that’s not a reason that history will accept. Bono
History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats. B. C. Forbes
I believe that we must maintain pride in the knowledge that the actions we take, based on our own decisions and choices as individuals, link directly to the magnificent challenge of transforming human history. Daisaku Ikeda
There are still many causes worth sacrificing for, so much history yet to be made. Michelle Obama
Life moves fast. As much as you can, learn from your history, you have to move forward. Eddie Vedder
We don’t want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker’s damn is the history we make today. Henry Ford
To study history means submitting to chaos and nevertheless retaining faith in order and meaning. Hermann Hesse
History is not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul. Lord Acton
Without words, without writing and without books there would be no history, there could be no concept of humanity. Hermann Hesse
History does nothing; it does not possess immense riches, it does not fight battles. It is men, real, living, who do all this. Karl Marx
The historic ascent of humanity, taken as a whole, may be summarized as a succession of victories of consciousness over blind forces – in nature, in society, in man himself. Leon Trotsky
The history of the world is the biography of the great man. And I said: The great man always act like a thunder. He storms the skies, while others are waiting to be stormed. Thomas Carlyle
Psychology keeps trying to vindicate human nature. History keeps undermining the effort. Mason Cooley
The best prophet of the future is the past. Lord Byron
Part 2. History Quotes That Are…
The Most Famous History Quotes (Roosevelt, Picasso, Emerson, etc.)
History is a pack of lies we play on the dead. Voltaire
Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. Abraham Lincoln
Thank you for coming. We’re gonna make some history together today. Steve Jobs (Co-founder of Apple introducing the iPhone at MacWorld 2007)
The man who has no sense of history, is like a man who has no ears or eyes. Adolf Hitler
Poetry is finer and more philosophical than history; for poetry expresses the universal, and history only the particular. Aristotle
We learn from history that we don’t learn from history! Desmond Tutu
The Revolution introduced me to art, and in turn, art introduced me to the Revolution! Albert Einstein
History is merely gossip. Oscar Wilde
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King Jr
We are not makers of history. We are made by history. Martin Luther King Jr
Condemn me, it does not matter, history will absolve me. Fidel Castro
History shows that there are no invincible armies. Joseph Stalin
After making a mistake or suffering a misfortune, the man of genius always gets back on his feet. Napoleon Bonaparte
Soldiers, if there is one among you who wants to kill his general, his Emperor, here I am. Napoleon Bonaparte
History is a people’s memory, and without a memory, man is demoted to the lower animals. Malcolm X
Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose. Theodore Roosevelt
When I was a child my mother said to me, ‘If you become a soldier, you’ll be a general. If you become a monk, you’ll be the Pope.’ Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso. Pablo Picasso
I won’t predict anything historic. But nothing is impossible. Michael Phelps
Black history is American history. Morgan Freeman
I don’t believe in accidents. There are only encounters in history. Pablo Picasso
There is properly no history; only biography. Ralph Waldo Emerson
To me, this is about preserving history and making it available to everyone. Sergey Brin (Google)
Indeed, history is nothing more than a tableau of crimes and misfortunes. Voltaire
Short History Quotes
One-liners, short history quotes, sayings, thoughts, and captions for your bio, social status, self-talk, motto, mantra, signs, posters, wallpapers, and backgrounds.
We learn from history that we learn nothing from history. George Santayana
History passes the final judgment. Sidney Poitier
Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history. Plato
History provides no precise guidelines. Douglas Hurd
History develops, art stands still. E. M. Forster
History is nothing but assisted and recorded memory. George Santayana
History takes time. History makes memory. Gertrude Stein
History has been the history of warfare. Godfrey Reggio
History is nothing if not an epic tale of missed opportunities. Graydon Carter
History is more or less bunk. Henry Ford
Ideas shape the course of history. John Maynard Keynes
Patriotism ruins history. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Difficulty is the excuse history never accepts. Edward R. Murrow
History’s a resource. Laura Linney
History laughs at both the victim and the aggressor. Mahmoud Darwish
Never doubt that you can change history. You already have. Marge Piercy
Human history is highly nonlinear and unpredictable. Michael Shermer
The main thing is to make history, not to write it. Otto von Bismarck
Sometimes, history needs a push. Vladimir Lenin
Related: 7 Ways You Can Change the World (huffpost.com)
Inspirational History Quotes
Our history is not our destiny. Alan Cohen
When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor. Elon Musk
The history of mankind is the instant between two strides taken by a traveler. Franz Kafka
On the day when man told the story of his life to man, history was born. Alfred de Vigny
Work hard, have fun and make history. Jeff Bezos (Amazon)
We are all tourists in history, and irony is what we win in wars. Anatole Broyard
Every renaissance comes to the world with a cry, the cry of the human spirit to be free. Anne Sullivan
History speaks to artists. It changes the artist’s thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images. Anselm Kiefer
What does the artist do? He draws connections. He ties the invisible threads between things. He dives into history, be it the history of mankind, the geological history of the Earth or the beginning and end of the manifest cosmos. Anselm Kiefer
History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, however, if faced with courage, need not be lived again. Maya Angelou
Whatever we do or fail to do will influence the course of history. Arthur Henderson
The only history is a mere question of one’s struggle inside oneself. But that is the joy of it. One need neither discover Americas nor conquer nations, and yet one has as great a work as Columbus or Alexander, to do. D. H. Lawrence
Live out of your imagination, not your history. Stephen Covey
It had long come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things. Leonardo da Vinci
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
Today is either the beginning of the end, or the end of the beginning. Today we are making history. Eckhard Pfeiffer
People who make history know nothing about history. You can see that in the sort of history they make. Gilbert K. Chesterton
The public history of modern art is the story of conventional people not knowing what they are dealing with. Golda Meir
If it’s a good idea, go ahead and do it. It’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission. Grace Murray Hopper, inventor of the COBOL computer language
What fascinates me are the turning points where history could have been different. Hilary Mantel
Alternate history fascinates me, as it fascinates all novelists, because ‘What if?’ is the big thing. Kate Atkinson
If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree. Michael Crichton
Whether in commerce, science, or politics — history remembers the artists. Naval Ravikant
Funny History Quotes
History books that contain no lies are extremely dull. Anatole France
Hindsight is the historian’s necessary vice. Hilary Mantel
On human stupidity: It is one of the most powerful forces that shape history. Yuval Noah Harari
Human blunders usually do more to shape history than human wickedness. A. J. P. Taylor
History is a pack of lies about events that never happened told by people who weren’t there. George Santayana
When the great history of trouble is written, my family will stand extremely high in the table of contents. Allan Sherman
History is an account, mostly false, of events, mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers, mostly knaves, and soldiers, mostly fools. Ambrose Bierce
I felt like a pickle stepping into history. Bill Clinton
Long before history began we men have got together apart from the women and done things. We had time. C. S. Lewis
People take the longest possible paths, digress to numerous dead ends, and make all kinds of mistakes. Then historians come along and write summaries of this messy, nonlinear process and make it appear like a simple, straight line. Dean Kamen
The historian will tell you what happened. The novelist will tell you what it felt like. E. L. Doctorow
Anyone who believes you can’t change history has never tried to write his memoirs. David Ben Gurion
Watch the History Channel if you want it literal and historically perfect. Emily Blunt
Every historian discloses a new horizon. George Sand
A poet in history is divine, but a poet in the next room is a joke. Max Eastman
Historian: an unsuccessful novelist. H. L. Mencken
Like a historian, I interpret, select, discard, shape, simplify. Unlike a historian, I make up people’s thoughts. Hilary Mantel
Yeah, I read history. But it doesn’t make you nice. Hitler read history, too. Joan Rivers
You don’t hate history, you hate the way it was taught to you in high school. Stephen Ambrose
I feel like I’m too busy writing history to read it. Kanye West
The historian is a prophet looking backward. Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel
Deep History Quotes
Freedom has no history. Andrew Cohen
The people who have really made history are the martyrs. Aleister Crowley
History reports that the men who can manage men manage the men who can manage only things, and the men who can manage money manage all. Will Durant
False history gets made all day, any day, the truth of the new is never on the news. Adrienne Rich
A myth is far truer than a history, for a history only gives a story of the shadows, whereas a myth gives a story of the substances that cast the shadows. Annie Besant
Reason is the historian, but passions are the actors. Antoine Rivarol
History is witness, and will never forget. Wladimir Klitschko
You cannot amputate your history from your destiny, because that is redemption. Beth Moore
History is information. Memory is part of your identity. David Miliband
If history is any indication, all truths will eventually turn out to be false. Dean Kamen
If history and science have taught us anything, it is that passion and desire are not the same as truth. E. O. Wilson
Isn’t history ultimately the result of our fear of boredom? Emile M. Cioran
Who has fully realized that history is not contained in thick books but lives in our very blood? Carl Jung
When you lose your temper or even feel irritated: remember that human life is very short. Before long all of us will be laid out side by side. Marcus Aurelius
The history of the past interests us only in so far as it illuminates the history of the present. Ernest Dimnet
Memoirs are the backstairs of history. George Meredith
Universal history is the history of a few metaphors. Jorge Luis Borges
Each one writes history according to his convenience. Jose Rizal
The writer may very well serve a movement of history as its mouthpiece, but he cannot of course create it. Karl Marx
It is not history which uses men as a means of achieving – as if it were an individual person – its own ends. History is nothing but the activity of men in pursuit of their ends. Karl Marx
Human history is not the product of the wise direction of human reason, but is shaped by the forces of emotion — our dreams, our pride, our greed, our fears, and our desire for revenge. Lin Yutang
Skepticism is a virtue in history as well as in philosophy. Napoleon Bonaparte
The past itself, as historical change continues to accelerate, has become the most surreal of subjects – making it possible… to see a new beauty in what is vanishing. Susan Sontag
Sometimes history takes things into its own hands. Thurgood Marshall
What is history? An echo of the past in the future; a reflex from the future on the past. Victor Hugo
History should be written as philosophy. Voltaire
Wise History Quotes
If you want the present to be different from the past, study the past. Baruch Spinoza
History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals and many copies. Alexis de Tocqueville
No harm’s done to history by making it something someone would want to read. David McCullough
We must admit that history is enjoyable to a large extent because it enables us to pass judgement on the past. Douglas Hurd
It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature. Henry James
The game of history is usually played by the best and the worst over the heads of the majority in the middle. Eric Hoffer
History never looks like history when you are living through it. John W. Gardner
History is a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells
The very ink with which all history is written is merely fluid prejudice. Mark Twain
We’ll be remembered more for what we destroy than what we create. Chuck Palahniuk
The so-called lessons of history are for the most part the rationalizations of the victors. History is written by the survivors. Max Lerner
Every moment happens twice: inside and outside, and they are two different histories. Zadie Smith
History is a vast early warning system. Norman Cousins
When it comes to the past, everyone writes fiction. Stephen King
History is Philosophy teaching by examples. Thucydides
Part 3. Conclusion
Study the past if you would define the future. Confucius
Further Readings
- Topic: Education and Culture
- 100 Education Quotes That Will Inspire You To Keep Growing
- 200 Travel Quotes To Feed Your Wanderlust
- 100 Teacher Quotes Every Teacher Will Relate To
- 100 Writing Quotes From The Best Writers In The World
- The Most Influential People of All Time (ranker.com)
- 100 Book Quotes Every Book Lovers Will Love
- 100 Learning Quotes To Inspire You To Learn (Forever)
- 100 Knowledge Quotes That Will Change Your Perspective
- 100 Reading Quotes Every Book Lover Can Relate To
- 100 Curiosity Quotes To Increase Your Desire To Learn
Table Of Contents
Part 1
Top 15 Images
Best Quotes
Part 2
History Quotes That ARE
Famous
Short
Inspirational
Funny
Deep
Wise
Part 3
Conclusion
