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History

What is a primary source?

A primary source provides first hand account of a topic or an event, from people that experienced it. 

Primary sources can include: speeches, diaries, letters, interviews, radio and television broadcasts created at the time of the event, posters, paintings, maps, photographs, pamphlets, legal and official documents, survey data, and manuscripts.

Digital archives

Gale Primary Sources

Gale Primary Sources is a dynamic search platform which allows you to cross-search the content of The Daily Mail Historical Archive, The Times Digital Archive, The Sunday Times Historical Archive, The Telegraph Historical Archive, The Independent Historical Archive, The Financial Times Historical Archive and The Economist Historical Archive

You can print, email, and download your search results, and you can create an account with Primary Sources to save and tag your research.

Search tips

  • Use Term Clusters to see terms that commonly occur in relation to your own search term. This can help uncover hidden connections, or can be a helpful starting point.
  • Use the Term Frequency function to see the frequency of a search term in the content over time.  This shows the importance of particular concepts during given periods.

How to use Gale Primary Sources