History of Technology

Narrating ephemeral archival presence: LGBTQ+ histories and Colonial Office records
Narrating ephemeral archival presence: LGBTQ+ histories and Colonial Office records Examining the history of LGTBQ+ lives in Britain is not complete without extending this examination to LGBTQ+ lives in the British Empire. Laws and social attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people in these countries were set by British colonial governments. For example, ...
Working while pursuing my passion: Becoming an archivist apprentice
Working while pursuing my passion: Becoming an archivist apprentice It’s National Apprenticeships Week and I’ve been reflecting on my first two months as a Level 7 Archivist and Records Manager apprentice here at The National Archives. This is my story about how I got into archives, what I’ve been ...
The National Archives to establish new hub for community-led research in the cultural heritage sector
The National Archives to establish new hub for community-led research in the cultural heritage sector Staff working in galleries, libraries, archives and museums around the UK will soon be able to ask The National Archives for help funding community-led research projects, following a generous £1 million award by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
The ...
Seeking permanent home for John le Carré literary archive
Seeking permanent home for John le Carré literary archive The John le Carré literary archive has been accepted in lieu of tax by the government.
You can find more details in the latest Acceptance in Lieu report published by Arts Council England. The John le Carré archive is reported at ...
The National Archives launches guidance for archivists working in fast response situations
The National Archives launches guidance for archivists working in fast response situations Today The National Archives has launched new guidance for archivists about rapid response collecting.
It’s designed to support archivists collecting material in situations like the aftermath of accidents, natural disasters or protests and includes advice on preservation of messages and objects ...
Using archives to examine the BSE epidemic
Using archives to examine the BSE epidemic Isobel Newby recently undertook an AHRC funded Collaborative Doctoral Partnership with The National Archives and the University of Leeds exploring the dynamics of decision-making during the BSE/vCJD Episode, 1981–2004. Her research explores the role of veterinary, medical and political expertise, ...
The A–Z of the Royal Navy Captains’ letter project – ‘B’ and ‘C’
The A–Z of the Royal Navy Captains’ letter project – ‘B’ and ‘C’ This is the second in a series of blogs charting the progress of the Royal Navy Captains’ letters project. This project is being undertaken by a fantastic group of volunteers working to catalogue 564 boxes of Royal Navy Captains’ letters ...
Visualising naval networks in the Admiralty China Station records
Visualising naval networks in the Admiralty China Station records The Admiralty China Station, a British Royal Navy command, operated in China and the Far East from the mid-19th to mid-20th century, safeguarding British interests in the Far East. It played significant roles in the Opium Wars, Boxer Rebellion, and ...
Confessions from the Cambridge Five: a file release from MI5
Confessions from the Cambridge Five: a file release from MI5 Over 100 Security Service (MI5) files are being released today covering a wide range of subjects and individuals. Most notably, the files offer fresh perspectives on notorious members of the Cambridge Five spy ring, namely Anthony Blunt, Kim Philby and ...
MI5: Official Secrets exhibition opens in the spring
MI5: Official Secrets exhibition opens in the spring Today, we can announce a groundbreaking exhibition in partnership with MI5 exploring the vital work of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency.
It is the first time in MI5’s 115-year history that it has collaborated on an exhibition in this way, with their ...
Latest release of files from MI5
Latest release of files from MI5 Today we have made available a selection of previously top secret files from MI5.
The records cover a range of subjects predominantly from the organisation’s early years before the First World War, up until the mid-1970s.
The release reveals new details in ...
How and why The National Archives moves documents offsite
How and why The National Archives moves documents offsite For an operation as large as The National Archives, having enough storage space is a constant challenge. As well as our main site at Kew, London, we also use the offsite storage facility DeepStore, located at the Winsford salt mine ...
World leaders who signed No 10 Downing Street visitor books
World leaders who signed No 10 Downing Street visitor books Three Downing Street visitor books are included in this December’s Cabinet Office file release. The red leather-bound volumes are the first ever released by the Government and provide a fascinating insight into eminent visitors passing through the doors of Number ...
What do we know about the economics of AI?
What do we know about the economics of AI? For all the talk about artificial intelligence upending the world, its economic effects remain uncertain. There is massive investment in AI but little clarity about what it will produce.Examining AI has become a significant part of Nobel-winning economist Daron Acemoglu’s ...
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light in six documents
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light in six documents This autumn sees the long-awaited broadcast of the dramatisation of Hilary Mantel’s final book in her Wolf Hall trilogy, a notable event for those of us fascinated by the Tudor period. It is being released in the UK by the ...
Exploring early photography through collaborative digital experimentation
Exploring early photography through collaborative digital experimentation Recent advancements in AI, improvements to collaboration platforms, and new tools for telling stories offer exciting opportunities for how researchers and the public understand and engage with the past. To explore some of these, The National Archives is hosting a ...
How mass migration remade postwar Europe
How mass migration remade postwar Europe Migrants have become a flashpoint in global politics. But new research by an MIT political scientist, focused on West Germany and Poland after World War II, shows that in the long term, those countries developed stronger states, more prosperous economies, ...
Extraordinary new clue about the Princes in the Tower found at The National Archives
Extraordinary new clue about the Princes in the Tower found at The National Archives Extraordinary new evidence has been found at The National Archives which offers a fresh clue about what happened to The Princes in the Tower.
An entry in a 16th century registry of wills shows a treasured possession belonging to elder prince, ...
Catalogue Week 2024
Catalogue Week 2024 This final week in November marks our annual celebration of a selection of cataloguing projects and other initiatives currently taking place across The National Archives. Catalogue Week is now in its fourth year as an online event and brings together ...
Samurai in Japan, then engineers at MIT
Samurai in Japan, then engineers at MIT In 1867, five Japanese students took a long sea voyage to Massachusetts for some advanced schooling. The group included a 13-year-old named Eiichirō Honma, who was from one of the samurai families that ruled Japan. Honma expected to become a samurai ...

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