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Wisconsin Historical Society Newspaper Collections : National Newspapers

Information about the newspapers at the Wisconsin Historical Society and beyond.

Library Catalog

Historic Black Newspapers Online

For the newspapers available through ProQuest Historical Newspapers collections listed below, digital reproductions of every page and every article from every issue are fully searchable and available in downloadable PDF files. The digitized newspapers include news stories, editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, photos, and advertisements.

Current National Newspaper Databases

These databases contain thousands of newspapers. Search keywords to find specific articles across many titles. Generally, content in these databases was published in the past 15-20 years to date. Pictures, advertisements, and special sections are often not included. Access from computers inside the Historical Society Reading Room, or through your NetID.

  • Alt-Press Watch
    1970 to date
    Full text database of newspapers and periodicals from the alternative and independent press focusing on politics, government, art, the environment, labor, and religion.
  • Alternative Press Index
    1991 to date
    Indexes approximately 300 alternative, radical, and left publications that report and analyze the practices and theories of cultural, economic, political, and social change. Click Publications to see all titles included.
  • Factiva
    Dates vary.
    A source for business and financial news. Provides access to almost 9000 business, trade, and general publications, including same day, full text access to the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post.
  • LexisNexis Academic
    Dates vary.
    International and U.S. newspapers, ethnic and regional news sources, magazines, wire services, newsletters, trade journals, company and industry analyst reports, and broadcast transcripts. Ads, obituaries, graphics typically not included. To access the source directory, click the main "Sources" tab from any page, or click the "More Sources" link from a Search form. The Wisconsin State Journal, 1992-to date; and The Capital Times, 1992-to date.
  • Newspaper Source Plus
    1,520 full-text newspapers, providing more than 28 million full-text articles. The database contains comprehensive full text for major newspapers such as The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor, The Daily Mail (UK), The Irish Times (Ireland), The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), The Times of London, The Toronto Star, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, and others.

Historic Newspapers Online

Chronicling America is a FREE database that can be used anywhere. 

  • Chronicling America
    Chronicling America provides access to historic newspaper published between 1836 and 1922. Through this database, historic newspaper pages are freely available and keyword searchable. 

The Society's Library has subscriptions to several newspaper databases available on the Library's public computers, or through your NetID. 

  • Daily Mail Historical Archive (1896-2004)
    The Daily Mail is part of Gale NewsVault’s growing ‘middle class/middle market’ collection of newspapers and periodicals which reflect 20th century popular culture and tastes. It serves as the perfect complement to The Times Digital Archive. (Not Updated).
  • Financial Times Historical Archive (1888-2009)
    The Financial Times Historical Archive delivers the complete run of the London edition of this internationally known daily paper, from its first issue through 2010. Every article, advertisement and market listing is included — shown both individually and in the context of the full page and issue of the day. It began as a City of London news sheet and grew to become one of the best-known and most-respected newspapers in the world. (Not updated.)
  • Gale NewsVault
    Online newspaper portal that cross-searches using a single interface Gale newspapers archives currently licensed for UW-Madison: 17th-18th C. Burney Collection, 19th C. British Library Newspapers Pt. I, 19th C. U.S. Newspapers, Economist Historical Archive, Illustrated London News, Times (of London) Digital Archive, Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive.
  • Illustrated London News Historical Archive, 1842-2003
    Digital access to the entire run of the Illustrated London News from its first publication on 14 May 1842 to its last in 2003. Each page has been digitally reproduced in full colour and every article and caption is full-text searchable with hit-term highlighting and links to corresponding illustrations.
  • Palmer's Full Text Online
    Provides an index to the London Times. Indexing exists for October 1790 to December 1905, the full-text component spans only the years from 1800 to 1870.
  • Times (London) Digital Archive, The, 1785-1985
    Page facsimiles of all the issues of the London Times. Search by keyword and date and limit search to sections such as: Advertising, Pictures, People, News, Editorials. Sundays are not included. 

Contact Us


Call the library: 608-264-6535

Email the library: 
asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org

National Newspapers at the Society

The Society Library owns 11,740 bound volumes, 100,000 reels of microfilm, and 17,000 sheets of microprint spanning three centuries of American newspaper history. Particular strengths include colonial and early American newspapers west of the Appalachians, and the largest collection of labor and trade union papers in the nation.

The Library's holdings of 1960s "underground" or alternative newspapers are also extensive. Other areas of the collection that have attained national importance are Native American and African-American newspapers. Among rarities in the newspaper collection are the first African-American and Native American newspapers and the first Bohemian, Dutch, Norwegian, and Spanish language newspapers published in the United States.

Online newspaper finder

Lists of Ethic Newspapers