11 vintage photos and little-known facts about the major cities of the world

At the beginning of the 19th century, the city suffered from a cholera epidemic and food riots. Anyway, it was also the period of rapid growth of the city and its population. By the beginning of the 20th century, the city had the population of 4 million people.

Being the icon of the American spirit, Boston was actually named after an English town.

Throughout its rich history, the former capital of Turkey has been known by such names as New Rome, Byzantium, Augusta Antonina, Constantinople, Kostantiniyye, Ä°stanbul, Stamboul, and Islambol. It was founded in 330 AD.

The word "Toronto" means "meeting place" in the Huron language. Today, Toronto remains the most populous city of Canada.

Many people believe that the most famous bridge in England is called the London Bridge. Its official name is the Tower Bridge. The London Bridge exists, but it's located further down the river.

Moscow is named for the river that runs through it, the Moskva. In Russian, the names of the city and the river are pronounced the same (as "Moskva").

The original name of the city was "Lutetia". Today, there are 38 other cities and towns named "Paris" in the world.

As of 2019, Shanghai is the largest city in the world. Beijing, the capital of the country, is the second largest.

Tokyo was founded in the late 1200s as a small fishing village. Its first name was Edo, the settlers were called the people of Edo, and the epoch they lived in was also called Edo.

Philadelphia is known as the city of firsts. It is home to America's first library (1731), hospital (1751), medical school (1765), national capital (1774), stock exchange (1790), zoo (1874), and business school (1881).

New York is probably the most famous city in the world. As it turns out, at the beginning of the previous century, it looked a lot like today's New York: skyscrapers were already erected, the business was booming, more and more people were coming to the big apple and born there. Of course, overpopulation, diseases and increase in crime were also inevitable.