Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated 100 years ago on Sunday 28 June 1914, starting the chain of events that lead to World War One. The first reports about the assassination were printed in British newspapers the following day. You can read many of them online at The British Newspaper Archive. Read reports about Franz Ferdinand Manchester Evening News: ‘What the tragedy will mean’ The article published in the Manchester Evening News included a report about what the assassination of …
A 13-year-old schoolboy has held the record for the highest cricket score for over 100 years. Arthur Edward Jeune ‘James’ Collins, also known by the initials A. E. J. Collins, scored an incredible 628 not out in June 1899. The cricket match took place over four days at Clifton College in Bristol. Blackburn Standard reports a score of ‘628 not out’ A copy of the Blackburn Standard printed on 1 July 1899 reveals that Collins achieved the majority of …
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Uruguay’s Luis Suarez has hit the headlines once again, having been accused of biting an Italian player during last night’s World Cup match. The British Newspaper Archive can reveal that biting isn’t a modern phenomenon in football matches. An article describing Sunderland football team’s experience in Germany has been discovered by one of our customers in a copy of the Dundee Courier from 1913. 100-year-old Dundee Courier reports that ‘biting is allowed’ The Dundee Courier included a shocking report …
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Ever wondered what happens behind the scenes at The British Newspaper Archive? We sat down with Product Director Ian Tester to find out who he is and what he does. What does your job involve? I’m responsible for growing the business in all its myriad forms. My role covers marketing, building a better product, tweaking the pricing, choosing newspapers that we think will be of most interest and generally keeping everything running smoothly. Less excitingly, it also involves balancing …
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You could win one of these fascinating history books on our Facebook page this week: How to enter Comment on our Facebook post to let us know which book you’d like to win before 23:59 (GMT) on Monday 23 June 2014. We’ll contact three lucky winners the following day. What you could win Alex Daley, Fighting Men of London: Voices from Inside the Ropes Gill Hoffs, The Sinking of RMS Tayleur: The Lost Story of the Victorian …
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Denise Bates, historian and author of Breach of Promise to Marry: A History of How Jilted Brides Settled Scores, explains why local newspapers are often more useful for historical research than national newspapers. ************** Breach of promise was a legal claim. It allowed a man or woman to demand financial compensation from their ex-fiancée or ex-fiancé if they broke their engagement to marry. Newspapers are the best source of information about breach of promise cases, but there is …
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Newspapers are a fantastic resource for family history research. They can reveal incredible details about your ancestors. View 3 newspaper articles for free You’ll find millions of pages from local British and Irish newspapers at The British Newspaper Archive. They date from the 1700s to the 1950s. Register a free account and the first three newspaper articles you view are on us. Create a free account Find a photo of your ancestor Lisamarie has …
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England took part in the World Cup for the first time in 1950. Like this year’s tournament, the football matches were held in Brazil. The English national team met the United States in the group stages and suffered a shocking 1-0 defeat. The game has gone down in football history and has a rather interesting urban myth attached to it. Many say that English newspapers reported a 10-1 win, assuming that there had been a typing error in the message they received …
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Thousands of historical newspaper pages were added to The British Newspaper Archive in May, including three great new titles. We hope you enjoy exploring the new additions. Search the newspapers More newspaper titles available to search You’ll now find editions of London’s Penny Illustrated Paper, the Dundee, Perth and Forfar People’s Journal and the Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald online. 56 other titles were also updated, including the Aberdeen Journal, the Kent & Sussex Courier and the …
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Today we commemorate the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings. On 6 June 1944, Allied forces invaded Normandy which was, at that point, occupied by the German Army. It is estimated that over 8,000 people lost their lives on this one day. D-Day reported in British newspapers News of the invasion reached British newspapers during the day on 6 June 1944, so you’ll find initial reports in late editions or in the copies published the following day. Explore D-Day …