This month we head across the pond to highlight our British collection of newspapers. We have papers from cities across England. We also have issues from Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. Our archives date back to 1700 and cover more than 300 years of history.

This clipping from The Post Man and The Historical Account from 1700, advertises a book that scholars consider the world’s first scientific journal. It was published by Sir Hans Sloane. Sloane was King George’s doctor, a scientist, and an avid collector of objects from all around the world. Upon his death, Sloane willed his collection of 71,000 items to Britain. This collection became the foundation for the British Museum.

The events leading up to the Revolutionary War are covered from a British perspective in this collection. In one last attempt to avoid war, The Derby Mercury published this letter sent by the Continental Congress to “The Inhabitants of Britain” in 1775. The letter asked for compassion and understanding and pointed out injustices.

The American Revolution has been just one of many conflicts covered by British papers. This dispatch published in The Morning Post in 1814 described when the British set fire to the White House. “The following buildings were set fire to and consumed – the Capitol, including the Senate-house and House of Representation, the arsenal and the President’s palace,” the report said.

The royal family has long dominated British newspaper headlines. In 1837, the papers reported on the crowning of Queen Victoria. The Jackson’s Oxford Journal celebrated her marriage to Prince Albert; and this 1861 headline in The Morning Chronicle announced the death of Prince Albert.

Queen Victoria reigned during a time of rapid industrial growth. British newspapers recorded the deaths of many men, women and children who worked in unsafe working conditions in factories and mines.

The Shefflield and Rotherham Independent reported on a violent storm in 1838. It filled ventilation shafts with water at the Huskar Colliery, resulting in the deaths of 26 child mine workers. Queen Victoria pressed for an inquiry on working conditions. In 1842, the Children’s Employment Commission released a report that made its way to the papers and caused a sensation. The report found it was not uncommon for children as young as five to work 12-hour days in the mines. They hauled heavy loads through narrow shafts, some just 18-inches tall. The Mines and Collieries Act of 1842 was designed to protect women and children from these conditions.

Industrialization led to increased pollution. The Guardian reported on the great smog of 1952. An anticyclone caused high pressure that trapped pollutants and formed a layer of smog over London. Visibility was reduced to inches. The smog claimed more than 4,000 lives during the 5-day event, and thousands more after.

To learn more about these stories, or to research your British ancestors, search our British collection on Newspapers.com!

If you have ancestors from Kansas or an interest in Kansas history, we’re pleased to announce a partnership with the Kansas Historical Society that will ultimately make available nearly 11 million pages of newspapers, primarily from pre-1923. We’re halfway through digitizing this collection and adding more records every day! The entire archive will be digitized by year’s end!

Kansas became the 34^th state in 1861, months before the start of the Civil War. In a clipping from The Lecompton Sun, an early Kansas pioneer remembered the conflict over slavery that led to bloody battles in Kansas in an era known as the Border War or Bleeding Kansas. Lecompton’s Constitution Hall is where the territorial government drafted a pro-slavery constitution which would be used for obtaining Kansas statehood. This constitution was ultimately rejected at a national level and never went into effect.

After the Civil War, railroads expanded to Kansas. Military posts were installed to protect the railroad. This led to the creation of small towns dotting the rail line and plenty of newcomers. This clipping from The Dodge City Daily Globe in 1912 heralded the new railroad that would double the town’s population — unless, of course, you wanted to “Get Outta Dodge!”

Newspapers from early Kansas communities provide a glimpse into the daily life of settlers. This page from the Weekly Republican in Cherryvale is a typical example. Like many other Kansas towns, the population of Cherryvale tripled from 1880-1890 because of westward expansion. Early newspapers recorded births, deaths, and other details of settlers lives.

Expansion led to increased confrontation with Native American tribes as their land was given to whites. This clipping from the El Dorado Republican recounts the incredible story of a woman kidnapped by the Sioux tribe in 1877. She later concluded that Native Americans had been treated unjustly by settlers. Tribes were forced to smaller reservations and tensions were high.

In 1874, Russian immigrants arrived in Goessel, and according to legend, came with kitchen crocks full of Turkey Red winter wheat seed. The wheat berries contained more protein and proved well-suited for the climate. Until then, corn was the Kansas crop of choice. Today Kansas is one of the world’s top wheat producing regions.

In 1886, developer Ben Blanchard was drilling for oil when he hit salt instead. The town of Hutchinson sprang up and the Kansas salt industry was born.

The famous landmarks of Castle Rock and Monument Rocks in Gove County have been landmarks for many including explorer John C. Freemont and travelers on the Overland Trail. Monument Rocks was the first designated National Natural Landmark in Kansas. The monuments have also been a gathering spot for many Kansans over the years.

Search our archives to learn more about Kansas history or to document your early Kansas ancestors through this historical newspaper collection!

Montana’s nickname is the “Treasure State.” You can join the treasure hunt by exploring our updated archives for newspapers in Montana! We’ve added issues from The Billings Gazette; The Montana Standard in Butte; The Independent Record in Helena; and The Missoulian.

Our archives date back to 1874, two years before the Battle of the Little Bighorn between Native Americans and George Armstrong Custer, and 15 years before Montana achieved statehood!

After parts of Montana were acquired through the Louisiana Purchase, President Thomas Jefferson sent the expedition of Lewis and Clark to survey the land. Clark left his name chiseled on a rock about 25 miles outside of Billings.

The Billings Gazette: The first edition of The Billings Gazette in 1885 almost didn’t happen. A fire roared through the building destroying the press. After salvaging the pieces, the first editorial lobbied for the creation of a fire department. Billings earned the nickname “Magic City” after the Northern Pacific Railway came to town in 1882 and the city experienced rapid growth. Within months, nearly two thousand buildings were erected. The paper recorded the worst train wreck in Montana history when a 1938 flash flood roared through a creek bed weakening a trestle bridge. A train crashed through the bridge sending rail cars plunging into the water below.

The Montana Standard: We have issues dating from 1928. Read how Butte got its start with the discovery of gold, silver and copper. The city earned the nickname “The Richest Hill on Earth,” after billions worth of metals were mined at the Anaconda and other mines. A tragic 1917 mining disaster resulted in the loss of at least 166 lives when a carbide lamp ignited a blaze that spread throughout the shafts trapping miners.

The Independent Record: With issues dating back to 1874, early editorials were sympathetic to the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. (known as “The Company.”) The Company owned The Independent Record in the 1920s. In 1959, Lee Enterprises purchased the paper allowing an independent and open community forum.

Early Helena prospectors struck gold in 1864, in a creek they named Last Chance Gulch. Helena became the territorial capital of Montana. In 1894, the paper lobbied for Helena to become the state capital. Helena was a gold camp that would grow up to become a permanent thriving city.

The Missoulian: We have issues dating back to 1892! Read about the establishment of the University of Montana in 1895 where Missoula native Jeannette Rankin was educated. She was the first woman elected to Congress in 1916 – before women in American could vote! Rankin was a leader in the suffrage movement and introduced legislation in 1919 that led to the enfranchisement of all women.

To learn more about the rich history of Montana, search our archives at Newspapers.com!

If you have ancestors from Georgia, or you’re interested in Civil War history or Georgia history, we’re thrilled to add The Atlanta Constitution to our growing newspaper archives. We have issues dating back to 1868!

The Constitution started in 1868. The nation was just emerging from the Civil War. The city of Atlanta had been virtually destroyed just four years earlier when General William T. Sherman’s troops set fire as they left, burning 4,500 homes. Only 400 homes survived. The smoldering ruins had cooled but wounds were still raw. Atlanta was operating under martial law.

Three partners got together to buy a small newspaper, The Opinion. Carey Wentworth Styles, James H. Anderson, and W.A. Hemphill decided it was time to lift martial law and return to a constitutional form of government. They changed the paper’s name to The Constitution.

The population of Atlanta was small back then. The entire city could fit in SunTrust Park with seats to spare! Atlanta welcomed new arrivals with open arms. Help was needed to rebuild. When a ship full of immigrants from Germany was blown off course and ended up in the South instead of Baltimore, an article reprinted in the Atlanta Constitution said, “We extend a hearty welcome to the new comers.” They are “just such as are needed at this time to rebuild broken fortunes of our beloved State and City.”

Evan P. Howell, a great rebuilder of the city, bought a controlling interest in the paper in 1876. In 1887, The Constitution introduced the South’s first women’s page called “Society Salad.” It announced marriages, cotillions, anniversaries, and news from outlying communities like Buford and Conyers. It’s a wonderful resource for piecing together the family tree of early citizens.

Today, Atlanta is Georgia’s largest city and a center of culture and industry. Coca-Cola was founded here in 1891. One of the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson International, started out as the tiny Candler Field in 1925. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born and is buried here, and the city hosted the 1996 Summer Olympics.

The Atlanta Constitution, as the paper came to be known, attracted top notch talent like Clark Howell and Henry W. Grady who helped shaped the paper and the city. In 1950, The Atlanta Constitution and The Atlanta Journal merged ownership but continued to operate separate papers until 2001 when they combined publication. Today Cox Media Group maintains The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s dominant position as the largest daily newspaper publisher in the Southeast. The paper has been awarded numerous Pulitzer Prizes.

You can access issues of The Atlanta Constitution through 1922 with a basic subscription; issues between 1923-2001 are copyrighted and accessible with Publisher Extra. Search The Atlanta Constitution archives here.