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The Amazing Career of Indian Lawyer Cornelia Sorabji

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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Hot Off The Press – New Titles This Week

This week at The Archive we are delighted to welcome 119,494 brand new pages, as well as the eight brand new titles which are joining us too, covering the commercial, military and agricultural interests of Britain in the first half of the nineteenth century. We also have some exciting and comprehensive updates to ten of our existing titles this week, so read on to discover more about these, as well as our new titles of the week, and to find out about the murder of Lord William

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Our Special International Titles

At the British Newspaper Archive, we have started to digitize international newspapers from the British Library.  These rich titles explore the story of the British Commonwealth, from the time when the sun didn’t set on the British Empire through to states gaining their independence.   At times, the subject of the newspapers brings us face to face with the stark and sometimes inhuman reality of colonialism and the legacy of the British Empire across the world. Below we will explore some

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Hot Off The Press – New Titles This Week

This week at The Archive we have added nearly 180 years of historic headlines, with 167,302 brand new pages joining us, spanning the years 1820 all the way through to 1999. We have four very exciting new titles joining us this week too, with additions to our collection of international newspapers, as well as to our Irish and national holdings. Read on to discover more about our new titles, the updates we have made to our existing publications, as well as one of the

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Hot Off The Press – New Titles This Week

This week on The Archive we have added 78,808 brand new pages – incorporating two very special new titles and spanning nearly 100 years of headlines. Register now and explore the Archive Meanwhile, we have added over 10,000 pages to Truth, the groundbreaking journal founded by man of many trades Henry Labouchère. Theatre owner, politician and writer, Labouchère was a divisive character who used the pages of Truth, amongst other things, to campaign against women’s suffrage. One of Truth‘s many claims to fame is that it featured in 1890 an article

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The Homeward Mail – News from the East

The British Newspaper Archive brings you news from India, China, and further East during the height of the British Empire.  The Homeward Mail from India, China and the East was first published in 1857 by Messrs. Smith, Elder, & Co. and provided Britain with news from its colonies in the East.  The publishing company also produced the first Dictionary of National Biography and worked with major authors such as Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, Alfred Tennyson, and Arthur Conan Doyle.  Along

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A. E. J. Collins and the highest recorded cricket score

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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The ‘new game of badminton’ in India

Did you know that badminton originated in India? Versions of the game had been played by local children for years and it was adopted by British military officers stationed there. We’ve found this charming illustration of ‘the new game of badminton in India’, printed in The Graphic in 1874: View the whole newspaper page The Graphic – Saturday 25 April 1874 Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.   British in India family history records If you’re interested in

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