In this special guest blog, David Musgrove, content director for BBC History Magazine and HistoryExtra, considers the amazing life of the now-forgotten Victorian showman, athlete, and wheelbarrow pedestrian Bob Carlisle, and how his clever manipulation of newspapers marks him out as a 19th-century influencer. Did the Victorian period have influencers? Yes, but rather than using social media and camera phones, they employed letter-writing and wheelbarrows. I’ve been researching the story of a forgotten 19th-century minor celebrity whose life was widely …
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In October 1947, actress Eileen Isabella Ronnie Gibson, also known as Gay Gibson, disappeared from the ship upon which she was travelling home from South Africa. Her disappearance, which later led to a murder trial, hit headlines across the globe, as the sensational case mirrored plots akin to those to be found in books authored by Agatha Christie. In the first part of this special blog series, which you can read here, we took a look at who Gay Gibson …
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In the 1940s the jitterbug, a type of swing dancing that was pioneered by African American communities in New York during the early twentieth century, took the United Kingdom by storm. The energetic dance, which featured elements of the jive, the charleston, and other swing dances, divided Britain, with it being embraced by those who flocked to dancehalls up and down the country, whilst others viewed it as a morally dangerous American import. In this special blog, using newspapers from …
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As it’s the height of spooky season we’re exploring the history of Halloween at The Archive, with the help of the 93,381 brand new pages that we have added to our collection over the last seven days. Meanwhile, we’re delighted to welcome one brand new newspaper title to The Archive, which is the Middlesex & Surrey Gazette, whilst we have made exciting updates to some of our existing titles from across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. So read on to …
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This week at The Archive we are delighted to present one fantastic brand new title – the Felixstowe Times – which we welcome alongside 141,165 brand new pages. Meanwhile, from Darlington to Derry, from Worcester to Wales, we’ve updated our existing titles from across the United Kingdom and Ireland. So read on to discover more about our new and updated titles of the week, and also to learn about a most scandalous divorce, which was announced in the pages of …
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In the early 1900s British authorities took a new approach to education: open air schools. Inspired by methods of teaching in Germany, these open air schools were intended to provide disadvantaged city children with fresh air, alleviating their poor health and preventing the spread of tuberculosis. In this special blog, using newspapers taken from our Archive, we will investigate the open air schools of the 1900s, from their early inception, to how they continued to play a role in education …
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1889 was the year of the Cleveland Street scandal, in which a male brothel was raided in Cleveland Street, in London’s West End. At the time, sexual acts between men were illegal in Britain, and those who visited the house of assignation on Cleveland Street faced prosecution. However, due to the high social standing of many of the clientele of 19 Cleveland Street, only a few men faced prison time, as the British government were accused of covering up the …
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The aristocratic Mitford sisters – Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica and Deborah – hit the headlines throughout their lifetimes, with tales of scandal and intrigue filling the pages of the press from the 1920s and beyond. Born to David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, and his wife Sydney, alongside brother Thomas, the Mitford sisters often shocked society, whether it be through their political views, or their private lives. In this special blog, we shall unravel the remarkable stories of the six …
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From David Lloyd George’s Welsh terrier to John Major’s sunburnt goldfish, British politics has a rich history of parliamentary pets. These pets in office often stole the limelight from their human colleagues, and were sometimes even officially employed in their roles. In this special blog, we detail twelve parliamentary pets, from canaries to cats. We look at how some animals became symbols of good luck, and how others contributed to political storms. We tell their stories using pages from our …
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Cats have been companions to humans for an estimated 10,000 years, and in this special blog, we present fourteen remarkable cat tales taken from the pages of our newspaper Archive. From felines with a predilection for travel, to heroic cats responsible for saving lives, as well as those who made use of all of their nine lives, we’ve scoured our collection to bring you some of the most extraordinary cat stories from history. Register now and explore the Archive 1. …