Research Guides: HIST 166A History of Crises: Europe's Twentieth Century: Newspapers & magazines

Tips for Searching Historical Newspapers & Periodicals

If you are using a database with an Advanced Search form, try using the Advanced Search features to refine your search.

Since these databases cover many decades, it can be helpful to limit your search to a specific date range.

Think about what terms that might have been used to in articles about your topic during the time period. For example: the name of a specific person or organization or even a term that wouldn't be used today.

Some databases allow you to limit your search to articles from a specific geographic area. Try doing this when researching events from a specific region.

These databases often sort results in chronological order. In some cases, it might be helpful to sort by relevance/best matches first.

In addition to searching, try browsing these collections to learn about sources that you wouldn't have necessarily thought of searching for.

European Publications

Times (London) Digital Archive
An online, full-text facsimile of more than 200 years of The Times with every page of every issue from 1785 through 1986 (part 1) and through 2012 (part 2).
Sunday Times (London) Historical Archive
The Sunday Times was an entirely separate paper from The Times until January 1967, when both papers came under the common ownership of Times Newspapers Ltd. To this day, The Sunday Times remains editorially independent from The Times with its own perspective on the news. Coverage: 1822-2021

The Economist
Includes every issue of the issue published between 1843-2015.
Moscow News Digital Archive
Contains all obtainable published issues (1930-2014), including issues of the newspaper’s short-lived sister publication Moscow Daily News (1932-1938).

Krokodil Digital Archive
Archive of the satirical magazine, Krokodil, published in the Soviet Union. Covers 1922-2008.
Current Digest of the Russian Press Archive
Presents a selection of Russian-language press materials, carefully translated into English for use in research and teaching. The database is a comprehensive retrospective digest of the news presented to the Soviet and Russian public from 1949-1991 and 2010-2021.

American Publications

ProQuest Historical Newspapers

Includes the American Hebrew & Jewish Messenger (1857-1922), American Israelite (1854-2000), Atlanta Constitution (1868-1945), Atlanta Daily World‎ (1931-2010), Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988), Baltimore Sun‎ (1837-1998), Boston Globe (1872-1993), Chicago Tribune (1849-1999), Chinese Newspapers Collection (1832-1953), Cleveland Call and Post‎ (1934-2010), Communist Historical Newspaper Collection‎ (1919-2013), Jerusalem Post (1932-2008), Jewish Advocate (1905-1990), Jewish Exponent (1887-1990), Korea Times‎ (1956-2016), Leftist Newspapers and Periodicals (1845-2015), Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2005), Los Angeles Times (1881-2000), Michigan Chronicle‎ (1939-2010), Minneapolis Star Tribune‎ (1867-2001), New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993), New York Times (1851-2020), Norfolk Journal and Guide (1916-2010), Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2010), Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2010), St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1874-2003), St. Petersburg Times/Tampa Bay Times (1901-2009), Times of India (1838-2011), Wall Street Journal (1889-2012), and Washington Post (1877-2007)
News, Policy and Politics Magazine Archive
Alongside leading US publications such as Newsweek and In These Times are magazines that are published outside of North America and/or are engaged with international affairs, such as Europe, New Internationalist, and NATO Review. Coverage: 1918 - 2015.
Leftist Newspapers and Periodicals

A collection of English-language publications covering Communist, Socialist and Marxist thought, theory and practice. Issues covered include workers’ rights, organized labor, labor strikes, Nazi atrocities, McCarthyism’s rise after WWII, Civil Rights, and modern-day class struggles which give rise to renewed interest in alternative social organizations. Covers 1845-2015.
Database available through at least May 31, 2028, as part of ProQuest's Evidence-Based Acquisition Program.
Communist Historical Newspaper Collection‎ (1919-2013)

Publications from the Communist Party in the United States.
Database available through at least May 31, 2028, as part of ProQuest's Evidence-Based Acquisition Program.

Publications from additional countries

Chinese Newspapers Collection (1832-1953)
Includes the following English-language Chinese historical newspapers: North China Herald (1850-1941); Canton Times (1919-1920); China Critic (1939-1946); The China Press (1925-1938); China Weekly Review (1917-1953); Chinese Recorder (1868-1940); Chinese Repository (1832-1851); Peking Daily News (1914-1917); Peking Gazette (1915-1917); Peking Leader (1918-1919); Shanghai Gazette (1919-1921); Shanghai Times (1914-1921)
Times of India (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)

The worlds most widely circulated English daily newspaper was founded to serve British residents of West India. Covers 1838-2011.
East African Newspapers (1943 - 2003)
Historical news content from the early 1940s to early 2000s, a period of independence movements and political uprisings in the region. Currently includes: Daily Nation (Kenya, independent), Ethiopian Herald (government-owned, English-language), and The Monitor (Uganda, independent).
Southeast Asian Newspapers (1864-1922)
Newspaper collection covering several countries from the region, including Myanmar (formerly Burma), Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, and featuring multiple languages such as Dutch, English, French, Javanese, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Provides coverage and perspectives on regional and global events of the late 19th and 20th centuries, including the monumental changes that took place throughout the region during the pre- and post-WWII era, and the challenges of early statehood.
Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Newspapers (1870-1972)
Historical news content providing unique insights into the history of individual countries, as well as broad viewpoints on key historical events from the late 19th Century to the present. Content is predominantly in Arabic, but also includes key titles in English and French.
Historical Jewish Press
This site includes the majority of Jewish newspapers and journals published in the past, in a wide variety of languages, plus Palestinian press to 1948, and includes extremely rare newspapers to which access has been previously impossible. Created by the National Library of Israel in partnership with Tel Aviv University.