Newspapers & magazines reading list

Historical publications

• Gentleman’s magazine [Online version]

In addition to articles, this popular periodical included obituaries and personal notices of notable people. It may be accessed online through this link. Note that FIBIS has already transcribed marriages 1731-1850 and death announcements 1731-1831.

• The London gazette. [Online version] 1665 -

This is the official publication of the British crown and government. Any use of the term 'gazetted' indicates that the information appeared in this newspaper or one of the sister publications of Scotland or Northern Ireland. It gives formal notification of official, regulatory and legal information. This is a treasure store of information for family historians as notices are as diverse as honours and medals awarded, declarations of bankruptcy and divorce, and name changes. The military, judicial, government and ecclesiastical government appointments and promotions can be invaluable. This makes it possible, for instance, to track the careers of British Army officers and senior civil servants, which after 1860 included those in the Indian Army and India Office. The online version is about 98% complete but the physical condition and typeface of the older originals means that the rendering often has errors. Use the Search facility, but be aware that, like much digitised material, if you do not locate what you expected to find it is always worth taking the extra time to search by date or issue number.