British History

Nineteenth Century UK Periodicals, Part I: Women's, Children's, Humor, and Leisure provides insight into the evolving life of British culture, where reading for leisure, women's rights, children's entertainment, and sports grew as publishing expanded. Part II: Empire explores Britain's empire-building throughout the nineteenth century through the periodicals from its colonies, covering the public response to the abolition of the slave trade, the First Opium War, Queen Victoria's assumption of the title of Empress of India, and the "Scramble for Africa."

The Illustrated London News Historical Archive, 1842-2003 combines information and the power of pictures to provide unique perspective on virtually every aspect of modern life and those who helped shape it over more than 160 years. With its debut in 1842, the Illustrated London News (ILN) became the world's first fully illustrated weekly newspaper, marking a revolution in journalism and news reporting. The publication presented a vivid picture of British and world events—including news of war, disaster, ceremonies, the arts, and science—with coverage in the first issue ranging from the Great Fire of Hamburg to Queen Victoria's fancy dress ball at Buckingham Palace.

The Telegraph Historical Archive is the fully searchable digital archive of what was once the world's largest-selling newspaper. Launched in 1855, the Telegraph is generally seen by press historians as the start of a new era of journalism that emerged following the repeal of stamp duty and signaling the first step towards the mass-market journalism of the Daily Mail.