Try the Daily Express newspaper archive (2024)

THE date was April 24, 1900. Britain was abuzz with excitement as a new newspaper was launched that day, one which was to ­dominate the world’s media, bring in one innovation after another and set standards that the global press would strive to compete with. That paper was, of course, the Daily Express, and that very first edition, along with every one since, is now available online for the modern-day reader.

By Virginia Blackburn

Try the Daily Express newspaper archive (1) Daily Express online archive: Margaret Thatcher reads the Express in 1979 and inset, victory in 1982

The Daily Express online archive is a colossal project two years in the making, comprising 1.7million newspaper pages from every edition ever produced.

Just like its earliest self, the current day Daily Express is at the forefront of modern technology. In putting these pages online, it is unlocking the door to the past.

To read those old editions is to discover history in the making: the great events of the 20th century including the abdication crisis, the assassination of John F Kennedy, the first man on the moon and the death of Princess Diana, all feature, written by people who were there at the time for people who were there at the time.

CLICK HERE NOW TO TRY THE NEW ARCHIVE FOR YOURSELF...

Try the Daily Express newspaper archive (2) The Queen’s 25th wedding anniversary (1972), churchill dies (1965), the Moon landing (1969)

The archive will be of interest to everyone, from schools to historians to the reader who wants to look up a particular event to see how it was viewed at the time. It is a unique treasure trove of stories and facts.

YES, the history of the Express itself mirrors the history of Britain in the 20th and early 21st centuries. Back in 1900 the Express, founded by Cyril Arthur Pearson, was an eight-page broadsheet and the first ever newspaper to put news, not advertisements, on the front page.

While eight pages might not seem very much, there was so much densely packed copy that it took about half an hour to read the first page alone.

News stories included a breakthrough in the relationship between Queen Victoria and Ireland, reports about the Boer War and even a story headlined “The Menace Of The Mad Mullah”, which may sound familiar to modern ears but was in fact about Ethiopia.

The man behind the establishment of the archive is Alasdair Mellis and he points out that even physical changes in the paper were a pointer to what was going on in the world.

“From 1914 to 1918, the paper often appeared only as four pages rather than eight, because the First World War meant that there was a shortage of paper and ink,” he says.

“There were no photographs, so any illustrations were etchings. But the adverts are still recognisable today, promoting familiar names such as Bisto, Guinness and Bovril.”

In 1916 the paper was bought by Max Aitken, later Lord Beaverbrook, and rapidly established a reputation for setting the agenda of the British press.

In 1918, the Sunday Express was born. In 1920, Rupert the Bear made his first appearance. It was the first newspaper to publish a crossword in 1922 and one of the first to capitalise on women’s features, sports and social pages.

In 1928, the William Hickey column was established by the writer Tom Driberg, while Lord Beaverbrook also introduced the paper’s mascot, seen on our front page: the Crusader.

Even today the Daily Express is the only paper to run crusades about important topical issues, ranging from the truth about the death of Princess Diana to the abolition of inheritance tax.

Try the Daily Express newspaper archive (3)

Invalid email

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy

Of course, there was the news. The Daily Express was a witness to all the great events of the 20th century: the German invasion of Poland, the Suez Crisis, the coronation of Elizabeth II, the Vietnam War, the rise and fall of communism and all the terrible conflicts of last century and this.

In 1977, the paper switched to its current tabloid format. In 2000, ­Richard Desmond bought the Daily and Sunday Express and the Daily Star. Now this whole magnificent archive, a history of the last 109 years, it is to be found online.

S AYS Alasdair Mellis: “What I discovered is that it brought history to life. At school, I found all those dates and figures rather dull but reading it like this is very different.

“What is also interesting is that the journalists didn’t always realise they were witnessing history in the making.

Obviously, when you had an event like the moon landing or the assassinations of Kennedy or Martin Luther King, everyone knew that this would reverberate down the centuries. But if you look at the papers in the run-up to the Second World War, what stands out is that most people didn’t think it was actually going to happen. And then, of course, it did.”

For a paper that has played such a huge national role, the Daily ­Express has often featured in our literature, too. PG Wodehouse wrote for the paper in the Twenties and frequently mentioned it in his Jeeves and Wooster novels.

The paper is also rumoured to be the inspiration for the Daily Beast, the newspaper in Evelyn Waugh’s comic masterpiece Scoop.

There is also the sheer number of fascinating stories to be found in the archive. Alasdair and his team did a double take when they found a front page from May 2, 1939, headlined Air Liner Pilots Attacked By Giant Panda.

A 70lb bear belonging to a missionary in China had been locked in the baggage compartment, which was next to the cockpit.

The panda lost its temper during the descent into Pittsburgh, broke out and fought two of the pilots before being subdued.

However, all the passengers noticed was that there had been a slightly rocky landing. It is of particular interest because not only would that story still make the front page today but at the time most people didn’t actually know what a panda was. The paper had to include a note to explain.

The archive is an ongoing project with the contents of each day’s paper going online. The Daily Express made history when it was launched in 1900. It is still doing so today.

* Find the Daily Express archive at www.express.co.uk/archive – 48 hours unlimited access costs £5.95 plus VAT.

Try the Daily Express newspaper archive (2024)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Moshe Kshlerin

Last Updated:

Views: 6179

Rating: 4.7 / 5 (77 voted)

Reviews: 92% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Moshe Kshlerin

Birthday: 1994-01-25

Address: Suite 609 315 Lupita Unions, Ronnieburgh, MI 62697

Phone: +2424755286529

Job: District Education Designer

Hobby: Yoga, Gunsmithing, Singing, 3D printing, Nordic skating, Soapmaking, Juggling

Introduction: My name is Moshe Kshlerin, I am a gleaming, attractive, outstanding, pleasant, delightful, outstanding, famous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.