Articles by The BNA

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 FerdinandManchester Evening News: ‘What the tragedy will mean’The article published in the Manchester Evening News included a report about what the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand could

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 his team’s total score. Out of a

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 from

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 newspapersNews 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 reports in local newspapersHere’s a

Gill Hoffs, author of The Sinking of RMS Tayleur: The Lost Story of the ‘Victorian Titanic’ used The British Newspaper Archive extensively for her research. She got in touch to tell us the touching story of the ‘Ocean Child’.We’d love to hear about what you’ve discovered too – email [email protected]**************Put simply, my book could not have been written without The British Newspaper Archive. The 1854 disaster made headlines around the world, but has since been largely forgotten. It was the

Guglielmo Marconi applied for a patent for his new invention – the radio – on 2 June 1896. The British and Irish newspapers available online at The British Newspaper Archive reveal just how popular it became.You can explore thousands of adverts for Marconi radios like these, published up until the 1950s.Oh! Why don’t we get a Marconi? Dover Express – Friday 16 October 1936Image © Local World Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.View the whole newspaper pageThe man behind your

The FA Cup final on Saturday 17 May 2014 will see a showdown between Arsenal and Hull City. This is the first time Hull have reached the final.Hull City’s greatest achievement in cup competitions up to this point was in 1930, when they reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup. Rather strangely, they also faced Arsenal in that match.The British Newspaper Archive is a great place to research football history as you’ll find original match reports and reactions to the games.

Roger Bannister became the first man to run a mile in under four minutes on 6 May 1954.You can search British newspapers from 1954 online at The British Newspaper Archive, so we took a look to see how the incredible feat was reported.‘Something typically British about this new world record’The Aberdeen Evening Express published an article about Roger Bannister the following day, proudly stating that ‘Britain’s great mile-runner has achieved the ambition of all athletes; he has broken the four-minute

Geoff Dibb, author of Oscar Wilde – A Vagabond with a Mission, got in touch to tell us about his research and how The British Newspaper Archive has helped.We’d love to hear about your own research experiences – email [email protected] to tell us your story.**************Researching Oscar Wilde in librariesI began researching Oscar Wilde’s lecture tours of Britain and Ireland after reading a letter from Wilde, written while lecturing in Leeds. I live about 10 miles south and was amazed that

The WW1 Gallipoli Campaign began on 25 April 1915, resulting in the loss of approximately 50,000 men from Australia, Britain, France and New Zealand.A poignant letter from an attending nurse was sent to an Australian woman living in London and printed in the Tamworth Herald.‘It breaks my heart to see them’The letter describes the nurse’s work at the Dardanelles during World War One and includes this incredibly moving comment:‘It’s a sad time for us all, but you can be