The full text of letters and diary entries, often from works that have been previously published as books containing collections of letters or diaries. Use the Browse indexes to find works about specific historical or life events.
Use the date range limit to narrow your search to a relevant time period.
1690-1923
Historical newspapers from every state in the U.S.
1732-1950
National and regional British newspapers representing different political and cultural views.
1789-1924
Historical newspapers from the Library of Congress, including Nevada newspapers.
1931-2010
Black newspaper from Georgia that was the first in the US to publish a daily edition.
1893-2010
Black newspaper from Maryland that was the first to have correspondents reporting on World War II, foreign correspondents, and female sports correspondents.
1909-2010
African American newspaper from Chicago, Illinois.
1849-2014
Major daily newspaper from Chicago.
1934-2010
Black newspaper from Ohio that played a prominent role in encouraging political participation, Black solidarity and self-reliance.
1934-2010
Black newspaper from California; the oldest and largest black newspaper in the West.
1881-2015
Historical California newspaper.
1939-2010
Black newspaper from Detroit that documents African American culture, history, politics, and the arts.
1922-2010
Black newspaper from New York that was the largest black community weekly in the United States. Contributors to the newspaper have included W. E. B. Du Bois, Roy Wilkins and Malcolm X.
1851-2020
Historical New York newspaper.
1916-2010
Black newspaper from Virginia known for in depth research.
1912-2010
Black newspaper from Pennsylvania that is the oldest continuously published Black newspaper in the US.
1911-2010
Black newspaper from Pennsylvania that had a circulation of over 250,000 subscribers.
1877-2007
Daily newspaper from Washington, DC.
1800-1900
American newspapers including the New York Herald, Lynchburg Virginian, The Hawaiian Gazette, Rocky Mountain News, Southern Illustrated News (VA), Daily Inter Ocean (Chicago), the Milwaukee Sentinel, and many more.
1785-2019
The Times (London) newspaper.
free online collections (find more on Historic Newspapers page)
search tips
Search for articles published in popular magazines and journals from different times in history.
1843-2015
Issues of The Economist, a news magazine with a global scope published in London.
1903-1995. Film industry and fan publications.
1800-1900
Magazines revealing British life in the Victorian age and the events, lifestyles, values, and ideas that shaped their world.
1800-1900
Magazines by and for British imperial colonizers, settlers, missionaries, and travelers.
1902-2013
London Times Literary Supplement publishes essays, letters, poems and articles.
Collections of several types of primary sources curated around a topic or theme.
1850-1990s
Search three archival collections representing 20th century advertising and marketing from Adam Matthew Publishers.
1493-1945
Primary sources from the Gilder Lehrman collection about American history from the earliest settlers to the mid-twentieth century.
1400-1950s
Primary sources for American Indian history in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Manuscripts, artwork and rare printed books from pre-contact through the mid-20th century.
1830-1939
Pamphlets, maps, books, ephemeral material and rare printed sources related to the history of the American West.
Part of Americana combined search portal
1948-1980
British government files from the Foreign, Colonial, Dominion and Foreign and Commonwealth Offices documenting the history of South Africa's apartheid regime.
Can also be searched as part of the Archives Direct combined search portal
1940-present
Primary sources from more than 35 countries related to LGBTQ activism and the HIV/AIDS crisis.
Also searchable in Gale Primary Sources.
1901-2000
Records from the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations detailing the interaction between civil rights leaders and the federal government; includes FBI files on Martin Luther King Jr; records of the NAACP.
1817-1949
Academic and literary journals, journals of sinology, and missionary periodicals in English about China.
1858-1949
Primary source collection for the study of China and its relations with the West in the late Qing and Republican periods.
1606-1822
British government documents from the CO 5 series about administering the American colonies.
Part of Americana combined search portal
1834-1966
Primary source documents about African colonies generated by the Foreign and Colonial Offices of the British government between 1834 and 1966.
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
1833-1969
Government and agency records from the British National Archives concerning Central and South America and the French- and Spanish-speaking Caribbean.
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
1839-1969
Government and agency records from the British National Archives concerning the Levant and the Arabian peninsula, Iran, Turkey, Egypt and Sudan.
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
1824-1961
Government and agency records from the British National Archives concerning the United States, Canada and the English-speaking Caribbean, with some coverage of Central and South America.
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
1800-1920
Primary source material for the study of American social, cultural, and popular history in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
1919-1980
British Foreign Office files dealing with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan between 1919 and 1980.
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
1947-1980
Archival collection from the British Foreign Office focused on the political and social history of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
1919-1952
Archival collection from the British Foreign Office focused on Japan: sections on Japanese Imperialism and the War in the Pacific, 1931-1945; Occupation of Japan, 1946-1952; and Japan and Great Power Status, 1919-1930.
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
1971-1981
Archival collection from the British Foreign Office focused on the Middle East in the 1970s.
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
1880s-1990s
The J. Walter Thompson Company advertising agency archives include brand case studies and account files about campaigns for Kellogg’s, Kodak, Kraft, Oscar Mayer, Pan Am, the US Marine Corps, and more.
Part of the American Consumer Culture combined search portal.
1957-1963
Archival collection from the British National Archives focused on Harold Macmillan’s government and selected policy committees.
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
1935-1965
Market research reports and supporting documents regarding the American consumer boom of the mid-20th century from the archives of Ernest Dichter and the Institute for Motivational Research.
Part of the American Consumer Culture combined search portal.
1913-1965
Selected sets of documents from the archives of the NAACP.
Archives of the NAACP: Board of Directors, Annual Conferences, Major Speeches, and National Staff Files; Branch Department, Branch Files and Youth Department Files; Special Subjects.
The NAACP's Major Campaigns--Education, Voting, Housing, Employment, Armed Forces; Legal Department Files; Scottsboro, Anti-Lynching, Criminal Justice, Peonage, Labor and Segregation and Discrimination Complaints and Responses.
Also searchable in Gale Primary Sources.
1969-1974
Archival collection from the British Foreign Office focused on the Nixon presidency and impeachment (FCO 7 and FCO 82).
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
1900-2000. Campaign materials, periodicals, propaganda, government records, oral histories, and ephemera from fringe political movements on the right and the left.
1950-1975
Primary sources documenting music and popular culture in the US and Britain, 1950-1975, including manuscripts, video, photos, underground magazines and more.
Part of Americana combined search portal
1945-1950
Records from the National Archives of the UK reveal challenges facing Displaced Persons, refugees and humanitarian aid organizations in the aftermath of World War II.
1490-2007
Case studies documenting slavery in America, the Caribbean, Brazil and Cuba, along with material examining European, Islamic and African involvement in the slave trade.
1850-1950
Primary sources like catalogs, price lists, and brochures reflecting the history of consumer advertising and marketing and life and leisure in America. Includes department store catalogs, cosmetic advertisements, real estate brochures and much more.
Part of the American Consumer Culture combined search portal.
Part of Americana combined search portal
1903-1962
Original documents from the National Archives on the suffrage question in Britain, the Empire and colonial territories.
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
Digitized collections of books published during different time periods.
1749-1900
Printed menus, advertisements, cards, playbills, poems and other printed items never intended to last.
1820-1922
Pamphlets with advice and opinions about all kinds of 19th century controversies.
Part of America's Historical Imprints combined search portal
1639-1800
Complete books, pamphlets and broadsides published in North America before 1800.
1801-1819
Complete books, pamphlets and broadsides published in North America between 1801 and 1819.
Part of America's Historical Imprints combined search portal
1701-1800
Books on all subjects published in English between 1701 and 1800.
1600-1926
Cross-search five Making of Modern Law databases: Making of Modern Law: Foreign, Comparative and International Law 1600-1926, Making of Modern Law: Foreign Primary Sources, Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources 1620-1926, Making of Modern Law: Treatises, 1800-1926, and Making of Modern Law: Trials 1600-1926.
Good for: Finding primary source materials on exploration, trade, colonialism, slavery and abolition, the western movement, Native Americans, military actions and more.
Contains: Historical books, pamphlets, serials and other documents about North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean.
Dates covered: 1500-1926
Official government publications, including laws, treaties, and records of legislative proceedings.
United States
1789-present
Contains searchable full text of all U.S. bills and resolutions from 1789 to the present.
Individual bills may be directly accessed or searched via a composite bill profile page that links out to its various versions.
1751-present
Government reports, laws, legislative histories, ebooks and selected scholarly articles related to branches of the United States armed forces.
Research government administration of the armed forces along with issues confronting the military on and off the battlefield with access to primary source documents including committee prints, government reports, congressional hearings, legislative hearings, etc. The database also includes books, serials, periodicals and scholarly articles.
Great Britain
1834-1966
Primary source documents about African colonies generated by the Foreign and Colonial Offices of the British government between 1834 and 1966.
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
1833-1969
Government and agency records from the British National Archives concerning Central and South America and the French- and Spanish-speaking Caribbean.
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
1839-1969
Government and agency records from the British National Archives concerning the Levant and the Arabian peninsula, Iran, Turkey, Egypt and Sudan.
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
1824-1961
Government and agency records from the British National Archives concerning the United States, Canada and the English-speaking Caribbean, with some coverage of Central and South America.
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
1919-1980
British Foreign Office files dealing with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan between 1919 and 1980.
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
1947-1980
Archival collection from the British Foreign Office focused on the political and social history of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
1919-1952
Archival collection from the British Foreign Office focused on Japan: sections on Japanese Imperialism and the War in the Pacific, 1931-1945; Occupation of Japan, 1946-1952; and Japan and Great Power Status, 1919-1930.
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
1971-1981
Archival collection from the British Foreign Office focused on the Middle East in the 1970s.
Part of the Archives Direct combined search portal.
1600-1926
Cross-search five Making of Modern Law databases: Making of Modern Law: Foreign, Comparative and International Law 1600-1926, Making of Modern Law: Foreign Primary Sources, Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources 1620-1926, Making of Modern Law: Treatises, 1800-1926, and Making of Modern Law: Trials 1600-1926.
1945-1950
Records from the National Archives of the UK reveal challenges facing Displaced Persons, refugees and humanitarian aid organizations in the aftermath of World War II.
Digitized photos and art images.
Art digital images and related data.
A repository of hundreds of thousands of digital images in the areas of art, architecture, the humanities, social sciences and related data; the tools to actively use those images; and a restricted usage environment that seeks to balance the rights of content providers with the needs and interests of content user.
These links allow you to search across multiple databases at the same time.
Includes 19th Century UK Periodicals, Archives of Sexuality & Gender (LGBTQ History), British Library Newspapers, The Economist (1843-2014), Eighteenth Century Collections Online, Nineteenth Century Collections Online, Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers, Sabin Americana (1500-1926), China and the Modern World, London Times Digital Archive, and London Times Literary Supplement.
Freely available online collections
Microfilmed research collections