The Telegraph Historical Archive, 1855–2021*
Access over 150 years of the world's largest-selling newspaper
*Customers who purchased this archive after July 2019 have the full archive from 1855–2021. Customers who previously purchased the original archive covering 1855–2016 can purchase the years 2017–2021 to extend their existing archive. Please note that the 2017–2021 module is only available as an add-on to institutions who have the original archive, and is not available as a standalone purchase.
The Telegraph Historical Archive, 1855–2021 is the fully searchable digital archive of what was once the world's largest-selling newspaper. Researchers and students can full-text search across 1 million pages of the newspaper's backfile from its first issue to the end of 2021, including issues of the Sunday Telegraph from 1961.
Further extending Gale's coverage of quality UK newspaper press, the Telegraph is a superb complement to Gale's other historical newspapers, providing an alternative voice for researchers to titles such as the Times and the Daily Mail.
Launched in 1855, the Telegraph is generally seen by press historians as the start of a new era of journalism that emerged following the repeal of stamp duty and signalling the first step towards the mass-market journalism of the Daily Mail.
Directed at a wealthy, well-educated readership, the newspaper is commonly associated with traditional Toryism despite its more liberal beginnings, especially in regard to foreign policy. Under the editorship of poet and Orientalist Edwin Arnold from 1873 to 1899, the paper frequently featured articles on foreign affairs and foreign cultures. This led to the Telegraph's coverage of Henry Morton Stanley's expedition to Africa in search of David Livingstone, which it co-sponsored with the New York Herald.
In 1908, the Daily Telegraph published an infamous interview with Kaiser Wilhelm, the German chancellor who alienated the British public with such uncensored comments as "you English are mad, mad, mad as march hares." During World War II, the cryptic crossword puzzle used to recruit Allied codebreakers was published in the Telegraph.
The Telegraph also included many notable contributors, such as George Augustus Sala. One of the most famous journalists of the nineteenth century, Sala pioneered a more lively, personal style of writing and reported from all over the world. He is also celebrated for his coverage of the US Civil War. In addition, Sir Winston Churchill's first journalistic attempts were contained within the pages of the Telegraph, written when he was a twenty-two-year-old army officer.
FEATURED REVIEW
“This resource would be highly recommended on the merit of the content alone. However, the high-quality, innovative, and well-constructed search tool and organization of this collection put in the "must-have" category for any academic library.”
- American Reference Books Annual, 2016
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Additional Details
subjects covered
- Asian Studies
- Business & Economics
- Gender & Women's Studies
- Latina / Latin America / Caribbean Studies
- Middle Eastern Studies
- Science & Technology
- U.S. History
Essays
- Essay: The Story of the Daily Telegraph
- Essay: Chronology of Key Events in the History of The Daily Telegraph
- Essay: George Augustus Sala: The Daily Telegraph’s Greatest Special Correspondent
- Essay: Playing Fair’: Winston Churchill’s Relationship with The Daily Telegraph
- Essay: ‘The Greatest War Correspondent of the Twentieth Century’: Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett and The Daily Telegraph
- Essay: Business, Bribery and the Broadsheets: Researching Companies and Industry with The Daily Telegraph
Support Materials
View and download these PDFs
Platform Features & Tools
Term Frequency
Researchers can see the frequency of search terms within sets of content to begin identifying central themes and assessing how individuals, places, events, and ideas interact and develop over time.
Topic Finder
By grouping commonly occurring themes, this tool reveals hidden connections within search terms—helping to shape research by integrating diverse content with relevant information.
Cross-Search Capability
Search across the materials of complementary primary source products, including books, in one united, intuitive environment, enabling innovative new research connections.
