Digital collection of oldest English-language daily paper News Letter now available
From today, copies from across three centuries of the title will be accessible to the public for the first time.
First published in September 1737, the News Letter will mark its 288th anniversary as the oldest continuously published English-language daily paper this year.
The Northern Ireland Office has worked in partnership with the British Library and Findmypast to expand the online collection of the historic publication on the British Newspaper Archive dating to the late 18th, early 19th and 20th centuries.
Announcing the launch, Secretary of State Hilary Benn visited the British Library in London to view the new additions to the online archive.
The British Library provided originals of the News Letter in microfilm and newspaper format, which were digitised by the online platform Findmypast.
Mr Benn said: 'It was wonderful to be able to view the newly digitised editions of the Belfast News Letter at the British Library in London using the online archive.
'Bringing Northern Ireland's newspaper heritage to a global audience will encourage research, exploration and appreciation of Northern Ireland's rich political and cultural history.
'This UK Government project has opened up a unique resource to readers and researchers in nations around the world with historic links to Northern Ireland, including the US.'
The archive is available online through the British Newspaper Archive and on Findmypast and can be viewed freely at the British Library sites in London and Yorkshire, as well as at any library or by any private individual around the world with a subscription.
Lee Wilkinson, managing director of DC Thomson History, which owns Findmypast and the British Newspaper Archive, said: 'Over the past 15 years, through our unique relationship with the British Library, we have been able to bring millions of these key historical records to communities across the globe so that families and researchers alike can uncover and understand their heritage.'
British Library chief Rebecca Lawrence said: 'Digitising all known surviving copies of the News Letter and making them available online preserves a vital piece of heritage and opens up the archive to researchers around the world.'
National World founder David Montgomery said: 'Digitising the News Letter is an important step in preserving the paper's iconic history of covering news from Northern Ireland and across the world for three centuries. By making historic copies of the paper available, we can recognise its continuing role in delivering quality journalism on stories that matter to its community.'
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