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Primary Source Timeline
See our Primary Source Timeline to browse a selection of primary source databases organized by coverage dates and locations.
Primary Sources in European History
The following databases will help you find sources in European history. Don't forget to check the library catalog and WorldCat as well, to the left.
- Age of Exploration This link opens in a new window Access diaries, journals, logbooks, manuscripts, rare books, correspondence, scientific and government documents, maps and charts, objects and early film footage from five centuries of European maritime exploration. Coverage: 1420-1920, contains primary sources. Full text.
- British Politics and Society This link opens in a new window Access primary sources related to the social and political climate in Great Britain during the Industrial Revolution. Documents range from government reports, to periodicals, autobiographies, pamphlets, and letters. This collection covers topics such as labor history, religious movements, political reforms, and education. It is part of Nineteenth Century Collections Online (NCCO). Coverage: 1790-1914, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Churchill Archive Full-Text (Bloomsbury) This link opens in a new window Access Winston S. Churchill's original documents, ranging from personal correspondence to his official exchanges with kings, presidents, politicians, and military leaders. Coverage: 1874-1965, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Early English Books Online (EEBO) This link opens in a new window Access the first book published in English through titles from the age of Spenser and Shakespeare. This collection contains titles listed in Pollard & Redgrave's Short-Title Catalogue (1475-1640) and Wing's Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700) and their revised editions, as well as the Thomason Tracts (1640-1661) collection and the Early English Books Tract Supplement. It covers many subject areas, including: English literature, history, philosophy, linguistics, theology, music, fine arts, education, mathematics, and science. Coverage: 1475-1700, contains primary sources. Full text.
- East Germany from Stalinization to the New Economic Policy, 1950-1963 (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window Access records of the United States Department of State relating to the international affairs of East Germany. Documents include instructions to and dispatches from U.S. diplomatic and consular personnel regarding political, military, economic, social, industrial, and other internal conditions and events in East Germany. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via Archives Unbound. Coverage: 1950-1963, contains primary sources. Full text.
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- Economy & War in the Third Reich, 1933-1944 (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window Access detailed data on the German economic situation during the Third Reich and throughout World War II. The manuscripts are written in German. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via Archives Unbound. Coverage: 1933-1944, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Empire Online This link opens in a new window Access manuscript and rare printed sources documenting cultural contacts and literature of empire from a number of cultural and ethnic viewpoints. This collection features sources relating to Cultural Contacts, 1492-1969; Empire Writing & the Literature of Empire; The Visible Empire; Religion and Empire; Race, Class, Imperialism and Colonialism. Coverage: 15th to the 20th centuries, contains primary sources. Full text.
- EuroDocs This link opens in a new window Access Western European primary historical documents that are transcribed, reproduced in facsimile, or translated. Coverage: contains primary sources. Full text.
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- First World War Portal This link opens in a new window Access primary sources, from personal collections and rare printed material, to military files, ephemera and artwork. This collection covers the global nature of World War I, personal experiences, propaganda and recruitment, and international visual perspectives and narratives. Coverage: World War I era, contains primary sources. Full text.
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- Gallica (French Language) This link opens in a new window Access freely available digitized books (including pamphlets), images, and sound resources in their original French. The collection, digitized by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, continues to grow and includes prestigious publications, dictionaries, and periodicals. Coverage: varies, contains primary sources. Full text.
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- German Anti-Semitic Propaganda (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window Access German-language books and pamphlets that present antisemitism as an issue in politics, economics, religion, and education. This collection contains writings by Nazi groups and others, including history, pseudo-history and fiction. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via Archives Unbound. Coverage: 1909-1941, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Grand Tour This link opens in a new window Access primary and secondary sources, artworks, photographs, and maps for the study of travel and its influence on British art, architecture, urban planning, literature and philosophy. Coverage: 1550-1850, contains primary sources. Full text.
- U.K. Parliamentary Papers This link opens in a new window Access official British government documents from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Coverage: contains primary sources. Full text. See ProQuest's guide to searching this platform.
- Listener Historical Archive This link opens in a new window Access the weekly Listener magazine established by the BBC for reproducing radio - and later, television - programmes in print. It is our only record and means of accessing the content of many early broadcasts. This magazine also discussed major literary works, musical programmes, and regularly reviewed new books. It is cross-searchable with other collections via Gale Primary Sources. Coverage: 1929-1991. Full text.
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- London Low Life This link opens in a new window Access rare books, ephemera, maps and other materials relating to the streets of Victorian London, working-class culture, and social reform. This collection includes broadsides, "swell's guides," children's chapbooks, street cries, slang dictionaries and ballads. Coverage: 19th to the early 20th centuries, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Macmillan Cabinet Papers, 1957-1963 This link opens in a new window Access coverage of the Cabinet conclusions (minutes) (CAB 128) and memoranda (CAB 129) of Harold Macmillan’s government, plus selected minutes and memoranda of policy committees (CAB 134). Coverage: 1957-1963, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Medieval Family Life This link opens in a new window Access letters and associated manuscripts from 15th century England. This collection includes the Paston, Celys, Stonor, Plumpton and Armburgh Papers amd contains full color images of the original medieval manuscripts that comprise these family letter collections, along with full text searchable transcripts from the printed editions, where they are available. The original images and the transcriptions can be viewed side by side. Coverage: Medieval era, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Nineteenth Century Collections Online Archive (NCCO) This link opens in a new window Access primary source material from rare collections around the globe. This archive includes 12 collections:(1) Asia & the West: Diplomacy & Cultural Exchange includes government reports, diplomatic correspondence, periodicals, newspapers, treaties, trade agreements, NGO papers, & more.(2) British Politics & Society includes sources related to the political climate in Great Britain.(3) British Theatre, Music, & Literature: High & Popular Culture includes primary sources such as playbills, scripts to operas & complete scores.(4) Children's Literature & Childhood includes books & periodicals for children.(5) Europe & Africa: Commerce, Christianity, Civilization, & Conquest includes monographs, periodicals, & other materials documenting European policies & their effects in Africa.(6) European Literature, 1790-1840: The Corvey Collection includes English, French & German titles including fiction, short prose, dramatic works, poetry & more, with a focus on difficult-to-find works by historically neglected writers.(7) Mapping the World: Maps & Travel Literature includes battle and boundary maps, fictional travel narratives, guidebooks, pamphlets, trail and road maps, and more.(8) Photography: The World through the Lens, includes photos & publications about photography.(9) Religion, Reform, and Society includes periodicals, monographs, family papers, society records, and other religious publications.(10-11) Science, Technology & Medicine: 1780-1925, parts 1-2 include journals, books & other documents.(12) Women: Transnational Networks includes journals, books, manuscripts, & other materials, mostly from the U.S. & U.K., but with some other countries as well.This archive is cross-searchable with other collections via Gale Primary Sources. Coverage: 19th century, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Nuremberg: Taube Archive of the International Military Tribunal (IMT) at Nuremberg, 1945 46 Access to a digital version of Nuremberg IMT courtroom proceedings and documentation, including evidentiary films, full audio recordings of the proceedings, and approximately 250,000 pages of digitized paper documents. These documents include transcripts of the hearings in English, French, German and Russian; written pleadings; evidence exhibits filed by the prosecution and the defense; documents of the Committee for the Investigation and Prosecution of Major War Criminals; the judgment. All 9,920 collection items are searchable and viewable in digital form.
- Post-War Europe: Refugees, Exile & Resettlement (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window Access documents that provide insight into the challenges facing European people in the aftermath of World War II, including the post-war refugee crisis and emigration programs. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via Archives Unbound. Coverage: 1945-1950, contains primary sources. Full text.
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- Trench Journals and Unit Magazines of the First World War This link opens in a new window Access rare magazines by and for servicemen and women of all nations during the First World War. Coverage: 1914-1919, contains primary sources. Full text.
- World Digital Library This link opens in a new window Access multi-lingual cultural heritage materials from countries and cultures around the world. Coverage: antiquity to early 21st century, contains primary sources. Full text.
Historical Newspapers
- 19th Century British Library Newspapers [Part 1 & Part II] This link opens in a new window Access national and regional English newspapers, as well as newspapers from Scotland, Ireland and Wales, especially those that helped lead political or social movements such as Reform, Chartism and Home Rule. Penny papers aimed at the working and clerical classes have also been included. These newspapers are cross-searchable with other collections via Gale Primary Sources. Coverage: 1800-1900, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Financial Times Historical Archive This link opens in a new window Access the complete run of the London edition of the Financial Times daily business newspaper from its first issue to the end of 2016, to study history, business, management, finance and politics. Every individual article, advertisement and market listing is included; they are shown individually and in the context of the full page and issue of the day. This newspaper is cross-searchable with other collections via Gale Primary Sources. Coverage: 1888 to 2016, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Guardian & Observer -- Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window Access historical issues of London's The Guardian and The Observer newspapers. Coverage: 1791-2003, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window Search across primary source collections including Eighteenth Century Collections Online, Nineteenth Century Collections Online, Making of the Modern World, Indigenous Peoples: North America, Archives Unbound, Archives of Sexuality and Gender, Associated Press Collections, as well as a variety of periodical archives including: Nineteenth Century British Library Newspapers; Nineteenth Century United States Newspapers; Financial Times; The Economist; Liberty Magazine, 1924-1950; The Listener, 1929-1991; The Sunday Times (London); The Telegraph; The Times (London); and The Times (London) Literary Supplement. Coverage: 19th-21st centuries, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Telegraph Historical Archive, 1855-2016 This link opens in a new window Access historical pages of the popular London Telegraph newspaper’s archive, including its Sunday edition. This newspaper is cross-searchable with other collections via Gale Primary Sources. Coverage: 1855-2016, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Times (London) Digital Archive This link opens in a new window Access historical issues of the oldest daily newspaper in continuous publication, providing in-depth, objective coverage of world events. This archive supports research across multiple disciplines and areas of interest: in business, humanities, political science, philosophy and numerous other subjects with coverage of all major international historical events. It is cross-searchable with other collections via Gale Primary Sources. Coverage: 1785-2019, contains primary sources. Full text.