In the late 1930s a newcomer made her way onto British cinema screens: Princess Kouka. From Sudan, Princess Kouka, born Tahia Ibrahim Belal, had been spotted by film producer Walter Futter, who was determined for her to appear in his next film. Using newspapers from the time, we uncover the legacy of this largely forgotten film star, who travelled to Britain and impressed audiences across the country. ‘A Notable Newcomer’ On 18 December 1936 London’s Daily News reported on the …
Women’s History
American-born jazz age superstar Adelaide Hall (1901-1993) was a Black music legend, who from 1938 onwards made Britain her home. She went on to have a long and successful career in the UK. In this very special blog, as part of Black History Month on The Archive, we will celebrate this jazz age queen who came to Britain and entertained thousands of people via her stage and radio performances, using newspapers taken from our Archive. A Star Is Born To …
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Born in 1909 in Chicago, ‘dancing anthropologist’ Katherine Dunham was known as the ‘matriarch and queen mother of Black dance.’ Her father was a descendant of enslaved West Africans and Madagascans, whilst her mother hailed from Canada. A multitalented artist, academic and activist, for many years Katherine Dunham ran the Katherine Dunham Dance Company, the only self-supporting African-American dance troupe in the mid-twentieth century. It was during this time that Dunham toured the United Kingdom, and in this special blog, …
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This week at The Archive we are delighted to welcome two brand new Wiltshire newspapers to our regional holdings, as we have added 112,971 brand new pages to our collection in all, with updates to our newspapers from across England, Wales and Scotland. So read on to discover more about our duo of new Wiltshire newspapers, and also to learn which of our existing titles have been updated. Meanwhile, this week also marks 110 years since the National Union of …
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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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This week at The Archive we have added 5 brand new Irish titles to our collection, including the Constabulary Gazette, which was the ‘accredited organ of the Royal Irish Constabulary.’ Meanwhile, our other Irish titles cover the counties of Kerry and Wexford, whilst we have added 52,710 brand new pages in all to The Archive over the past seven days. So read on to discover more about our new Irish titles of the week, and also to learn about the …
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Mercedes Gleitze (1900-1981) was the first British woman to swim the English Channel, and the first person to swim the Straits of Gibraltar. In an amazing career that spanned the 1920s and 1930s, Mercedes captured the imagination of the British public and became a household name. Born to German parents in Brighton, Mercedes was one of three sisters. Skilled in languages, she moved to London where she worked as a secretary and stenographer. Whilst living in London she began swimming …
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This week marks 130 years since the first British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship was held at the Royal Lytham and St Annes Golf Club, whilst also marking The Archive’s incredible achievement of reaching over 68 million pages now available to search, as we have added 164,005 brand new pages. Meanwhile, over the last seven days, we have added 9 brand new titles to our collection, with the addition of new pages to our existing titles from across the United Kingdom …
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Born in Nashik, in what was the Bombay Presidency in British India, in 1866, pioneering lawyer Cornelia Sorabji would go on to be the first woman graduate of Bombay (Mumbai) University, and the first woman to study law at the University of Oxford. A pioneering figure, Cornelia Sorabji worked on the behalf of purdahnashins, women who could not communicate with the outside male world. Indeed, she entered upon a legal career to help these women. Cornelia Sorabji’s life, however, was …
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This March at The Archive we are celebrating inspiring women from history, who broke boundaries across different fields, whether they be medical, sporting, political and much more besides. We will be highlighting those inspiring women who broke the mould, and we will be showcasing the achievements of some lesser known women along the way, who deserve recognition for their trailblazing lives and careers. And in this special blog, we will be looking at ten inspiring women from history who you …