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Today is a momentous day in the history of the British Newspaper Archive – we have reached 100 million newspaper pages – all available for you to search at the click of a button. Indeed, to be accurate, we now have over 100 million newspaper pages for you to enjoy, as we tipped over this incredible figure with the addition of 206,718 brand new newspaper pages this week.Our 100 millionth newspaper page comes from none other than the wonderfully historic Dundee Courier. Read on to…

As we move now into February we have been extremely busy here at The Archive, adding 139,438 brand new pages to our collection, with the addition of two brand new titles over the past seven days. Meanwhile, we have made significant updates to a range of our existing titles, with 26 titles updated in all.So read on to discover more about our two new titles of the week, one of which represented the interests of the various Nonconformist Protestant groups of…

‘No more thrilling a tale of guilt and crime, and scarcely one so eloquent in its lessons and cautions to those who are in danger of entering upon a life of unbridled passion, is to be found in all the history of poor humanity than this story of William Palmer.’So reads an article in the Sheffield Independent, 17 September 1888, regarding one William Palmer, better known as the Rugeley Poisoner. William Palmer, a former doctor, was convicted in 1856 for the murder…

This week on The Archive we have added 20,428 brand new pages, encompassing seven new titles, which cover England and Wales, as well as a brand new title from Jamaica, a first for the British Newspaper Archive.Register now and explore the ArchiveWe have three new titles joining us this week from Yorkshire, strengthening our collection of newspapers from England’s largest county. We have two new titles from the West Yorkshire town of Batley, including the Batley Reporter and Guardian,…

On 27 September 1888, in the midst of a series of horrific murders in Whitechapel, the Central News Office in London received a letter, signed by ‘Jack the Ripper’.Known as the ‘Dear Boss’ letter because of the way it was addressed, the letter changed the way British newspapers reported the Ripper murders.Read newspapers from 1888Facsimiles of the ‘Dear Boss’ letter in the newspapersThe name ‘Jack the Ripper’ reached the British press and general public on 3 October 1888, when Scotland Yard…

On 10 January 1863 the Metropolitan Railway was opened in London. An unprecedented feat of engineering, the Metropolitan Railway was the first underground railway in the world, forming the basis of the London underground and other global underground systems.In this special blog, we take a look at the historic first three days of the Metropolitan Railway’s existence, from its grand opening on Friday 10 January 1863, to the teething problems it encountered when it opened to the public on the Saturday and Sunday,…

This week sees 100,598 brand new pages joining The Archive, with updates to fourteen of our existing titles, as well as five new titles joining our collection.We are delighted to continue to augment our Scottish newspaper holdings, with four brand new Scottish titles added this week. This includes the Ayrshire Post, a weekly title which was founded in 1880 and covers south and east Ayrshire, and another weekly title, the Wishaw Press, which covers north Lanarkshire. Making up our trio of…

We are delighted this week to feature a very special blog post from the High School of Dundee, written by Niall Joss, which explores how pupils connected with the First World War through the British Newspaper Archive and a war memorial.How did the British Newspaper Archive and a war memorial inspire primary school children to connect with the First World War?With the centenary of the end of First World War just passed, how can children born in the…

With Halloween approaching, we wanted to see what we could find related to the topic of hauntings in The British Newspaper Archive.Of children and hauntingsOften the origins of a haunting myth are rooted in death and loss. Sometimes the myth grows and morphs to such a point where its origin is indeterminate. Other times, the sad truth of its origin is unexpectedly revealed, as with the ‘grim discovery’ at a ‘haunted house’ in 1921, reported in The Scotsman.This…

In the month of August, we have looked at occupations and employment through the newspapers.  To finish our theme this month, we are taking a closer look at coal miners, specifically in the 19th century.  An initial search for miners reveals explosions, accidents, and strikes in the vast amount of mines operating across Great Britain.  We will look at these topics in closer detail.The first coal mine was sunk in Scotland, under the Firth of Forth in 1575.  As the…