How to Find Free Newspaper Archives for New York

Dramatic New York Times headline from sinking of the Titanic

Online newspaper archives are an amazing source for historical research. You can find information on famous people, world-changing events, day-you-were-born headlines, everyday items like advertisements or the price of a loaf of bread, or just some information on your family's history.

You can pay top dollar for subscription databases, but there are plenty of free newspaper archives available. Here are some terrific resources for New York, covering state and world history from the 1700s to present day.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Bklyn Bridge 1898

   Take a look at the free online newspaper archvies from the Brooklyn Eagle, covering 1841-1902. This is one of my favorite free online archives, giving a wonderful glimpse into daily life in ol' New York.

2. Titanic Sails 1912

   Check out the NY Times Archives. Believe it or not, a large chunk of the archives of the New York Times are available online, absolutely free. Everything the Times ever printed from 1851-1922, and after 1986, is available at no charge. For the years in between, however, there is a fee to access full articles.

3. Visit freenewspaperarchives.us and xooxleanswers.com for more links to free archives in NY State, and elsewhere around the country.

Resources

• Brooklyn Eagle Newspaper Archives
• New York Times Free Newspaper Archives
• Other Free Newspaper Archives, US
• XooxleAnswers, for Help with Historical Research
• Newspaper Archives Subscription--Well Worth It!
• Google Knol on Newspaper Archives
• FreeNewspaperArchives.us