Interactive History Timeline

This new interactive history timeline allows students and teachers to explore collection items from the British Library chronologically. 800 years of diverse historical texts are displayed through a fun and engaging timeline interface, making Timelines a fantastic resource for students and teachers of history.

Highlights of the timeline include:

• Manuscripts by Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Mozart, Beethoven, Wordsworth, Florence Nightingale and Dickens
• Original records from the Black Death and the Great Fire to the French Revolution and the abolition of the slave trade
• The first printed book of the western world, the first cookery manuscript, the first English bible and the first postage stamp
• Posters, advertisements and illustrations documenting everything from public executions and magic shows to plague cures and séances

View these sources and hundreds more, in the context of other historical documents from the time. Use thematic timelines, such as ‘everyday life' and ‘politics, power and rebellion', to make fascinating comparisons, both within time periods and across time. Save or print individual timeline items or add them to your own timeline of favourites.

Explore Timelines: sources from history today

Watch a video demonstration of Timelines: sources from history