About the Project

Reporting History brings historical perspective to events using primary source news articles and other documents. From the 18th to the early 20th centuries, we can gain a valuable insight into how people saw the world around them and experienced the events we see as history.

The study of history generates countless books for specialists and non-specialists alike. Each of them aspires to tell the story of an event, topic, or era, and all rely on a combination of primary sources (writing, media, and physical material of the time) and secondary sources (previous studies of primary sources, such as books and journal articles). Many books include snippets of primary source material, but these are generally limited to supporting or demonstrating what’s being discussed rather than being the focus themselves.

Reporting History focuses on the primary source material around the issue, often with annotations included to add further context and background. In this way, you can read a variety of materials about an issue in their original form.

These are not intended to be academic studies of an issue or to provide broader historical analysis – there are many excellent sources to be found on that front. Instead, Reporting History gives you the opportunity to read what people were writing about the events at that time and to perhaps better understand the personal context of the events that have shaped our world today.

About Me

Digital comms professional by day, writer by night, with a background and abiding love of all things historical / archaeological / scientific / dorkable. Also, Wombats.

I think of myself as an “information archaeologist”—delving into source materials to share interesting news and stories from the past. Support the publication, and I’ll search out at least one article for you every month on a topic of your choice (or more depending on time!). Your support will help me access additional source materials, defray hosting costs, and help upgrade equipment and software.