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Wisconsin Historical Society Newspaper Collections : Historic 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.

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 1963. Through this database, historic newspaper pages are freely available and keyword searchable.

NewspaperARCHIVE.com 

  • NewspaperARCHIVE.com
    Newspapers are fully searchable by keyword and date. Wisconsin newspapers can be accessed for free from computers inside the Historical Society Reading Room, or through your NetID. 

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. 

Bibliographies/Lists

Online

Print

Contact Us


Call the library: 608-264-6535

Email the library: 
asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org

Historic Newspapers at the Society

This pages provides links and information for accessing historic newspapers published both within Wisconsin and nationally. The Society is a national leader in collecting newspapers. We have the second-largest collection of newspapers in the U.S. available for patron use.

Microfilm at the Society

The Wisconsin Historical Society has an extensive collection of newspapers on microfilm ranging from small town Wisconsin dailies, to a full run of the New York Times.

Microfilm may be used in the Society's library reading room or may be requested through inter-library loan.

See how to use the catalog to find the newspaper you need here.

Not sure of the newspaper title? Click here for info on how to figure out where to look.

Newspaper Collection

Freedom's Journal

First African American newspaper in the U.S.

El Misisipi

First Spanish-language newspaper in the U.S.

Baltimore Patriot and Evening Advertiser

First newspaper printing of "The Star Spangled Banner"

Green-Bay Intelligencer

Wisconsin's first newspaper

Revolution

Women's rights newspaper published by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Vicksburg Daily Citizen

A newspaper printed on wallpaper due to paper shortage during the Civil War

Vicksburg Daily Citizen, Verso

Wallpaper on which the newspaper was printed

Evening Record

Handwritten Wisconsin newspaper

Workingman's Advocate

Chicago labor newspaper

Neue Rheinische Zeitung

Prominent German Revolution (1848/49) newspaper published by Karl Marx