What else happened on the day you were born?
(Or at other times in history?)
In the Library
A-Z How to Find Information > Special Topics Archive
Books
There is a range of titles that are available for reference and loan in the library, a few examples are listed below. Search the Library Catalogue to discover what is at your local library
- Some examples of books that show you what happened at a specific time are '20th Century Day by Day' and 'Chronicle of the world'. These books set out events year by year and month by month as though they were being reported in a newspaper, with many photographs and other illustrations.
- Other examples of books listing events by date are '365: your date with history', 'A Dictionary of Dates' and 'The Independent Book of Anniversaries'.
- At the larger libraries there back-files of some major reference books
that show UK and world affairs year by year, for example:
'Whitaker's Almanack' is a famous annual reference book. The latest edition is at every library but at Bedford Central Library you can find almost every edition from 1870 onwards. Each edition has detailed sections on UK and world events of the year. To find out about the vast array of facts and figures you can discover in each volume, visit the Whitaker's almanack web site
'Keesing's Record of World Events' is an authoritative monthly news digest, bound in annual volumes. Bedford Central Library has it from 1931 onwards and Dunstable Library from 1943. Read more about this at the Keesing's web site.
The 'Annual Register' is a unique history of each year's events worldwide by experts on every country and subject. Bedford Central Library has it from 1940 - 1942, 1946 and then 1948 onwards. Read more about this at the Annual register web site
- You can find more useful books on the library catalogue by choosing to search by keyword and entering the word 'chronology'. Find even more by choosing to search by class and entering '902.02'
Newspapers
- At Bedford Central Library you can check up on events in newspapers from years ago, for example the 'Illustrated London news' from 1842 - 1993.
More resources
- For more useful resources see Page 1 of What else happened on the day you were born? (Or at other times in history?)
Page last updated: 17th May 2021