This week’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? took us down under and all over Australia. Craig Revel Horwood was able to learn how his ancestors on both sides of his family came to be in Australia and what activities occupied their days, from mining for gold to clog dancing. Convicts in the family Craig’s family history journey began with his sister’s retelling of their great-great grandfather Moses Horwood being convicted of theft and transported to Australia. While it is …
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The British Newspaper Archive website has just reached another milestone, as page number 20,000,000 was added to the site. An astonishing figure of up to 25,000 pages are now being added to the site each day, and there are now well over 750 historical newspaper titles from the UK and Ireland. The paper that tipped the scales was The Oswestry Advertiser. Subtitling itself as the North Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Mercury & Journal for the Principality of Wales this paper is …
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Purchasing powered by PayPal Now for the first time on The British Newspaper Archive, you can purchase any subscription or credits by using PayPal! In using PayPal, you can purchase using your own currency wherever you are in the world: PayPal currently allows vendors to receive payment in over 100 different currencies. Protecting customers and their information is of the upmost importance to us. PayPal has a Global Privacy Team, headed by our Chief Privacy Officer, focused on our strong …
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April Fool’s Day is the perfect day to delve into a topic that has of late appeared in the headlines: fake news. While its current iteration may seem particularly upsetting, it may be comforting (in a way) to learn that this is not a new phenomenon and it, in fact, plagued late nineteenth century journalism. In the United States, a new brand of ‘journalism’ emerged, coined ‘yellow journalism’—the clickbait of the pre-internet era. Joseph Pulitzer, now known mostly for the …
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Last night, the final episode aired of this series of Who Do You Think You Are? It explored the ancestry of BBC anchor Sophie Raworth, and provided an opportunity to reflect on the discoveries of this series, particularly the passions and professions that have been shared throughout the generations of a family — oftentimes unknowingly! Sophie’s family was no exception to this pattern. Musical Motts An early discovery in last night’s episode was that Sophie has several ancestors who were involved in …
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As we covered in our last blog post, the traditions and opinions surrounding the celebration of Valentine’s Day have evolved and changed over the years. But as we search through three hundred years of stories in The British Newspaper Archive, we see that the day has endured as one of celebration and, occasionally, scandal. In the newspapers, we can see a long tradition of celebrating this day, but we can also observe the emergence of a certain skepticism and cynicism …
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Valentine’s Day in its present iteration is inexorably linked to both romantic love and commercialism. It inspires strong feelings, both for and against this day of chocolate boxes and heart-shaped cards. However, the day and its traditions have not been static. In performing a simple search for ‘Valentine’s Day’ on The British Newspaper Archive, you can start to see the ways in which the holiday — and its reception — have changed (and, occasionally, stayed the same) over the years. …
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On 26 January 1788, the First Fleet arrived in New South Wales, which saw the flag of Great Britain raised at Sydney Cove and the settlement of the first penal colony. The arrival also marked Britain’s proclamation of sovereignty over Australia’s eastern seaboard. This day has since become a national holiday in Australia: Australia Day. To mark this day, we’ve taken a look into its history and evolution. You can find articles on this historic landing of the First Fleet in …
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Whether your ancestors were royalty or the servants of royalty, it can be just as satisfying and surprising to learn where you come from. Last night’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? was no exception, when Ricky Tomlinson learned that he came from a hardworking line of carters in Liverpool. The New York of Europe In the 1800s, Liverpool was a major port city that depended on carters to transport goods from the docks into the city. As …
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Among the oldest continuously published periodicals in the world, Lloyd’s List dates back to 1734. Up until 2013, Lloyd’s List (also known as The List) was printed on a daily basis; since 2013, the publication has been updated hourly in its digital format only. Modern coverage in Lloyd’s List includes such details pertaining to the shipping industry as marine insurance, research and logistics, and international shipping news. Edward Lloyd, the original owner of Lloyd’s Coffee House in London, started Lloyd’s …