Digital is central to the IHR. We've a well-established reputation as a host of digital resources and digital approaches to the past.
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History Online
History Online is a resource for historians, which provides key information about our discipline.
About this resource
History Online is a digital resource that has provided information about and for historians, particularly on history teachers, recent theses, and a list of history libraries across the UK.
We know this has been a valuable resource for many researchers. Unfortunately, the original project website has had to be retired, as the software with which it was built has become obsolete.
We are now considering ways to remodel and repurpose a new version of this resource, using current generation interactive web technology and addressing the needs of historians into the 2020s. We will provide project announcements here as they are available.
Where can I find information from History Online?
Much of the information that was available on History Online can be found on other digital resources produced by the Institute of Historical Research, or on other free-access online resources.
Navigate the drop down menus below to find recommendations and suggestions for where to find key information that could help your research or project.
Information for historians, relating to research, publications and teaching
For monographs and edited collections in British and Irish history, and the history of the British world, please consult the Bibliography of British and Irish History.
Further information on selected new publications is also available via Reviews in History.
For journal articles on British and Irish history, and the history of the British world, please consult the Bibliography of British and Irish History.
For digital tools for historians, we recommend the free Programming Historian website.
Programming Historian offers 'novice-friendly, peer-reviewed tutorials that help humanists learn a wide range of digital tools, techniques, and workflows to facilitate research and teaching.'
In June 2020 the records of UK & Irish History theses completed (1971-2014), which previously appeared on History Online, were made available via British History Online. The new records provide enhanced metadata for improved searching. More about Theses on BHO.
For access to completed theses, we also recommend British Library's EThOS search portal. EThOS provides access to over 500,000 doctoral theses across a range of disciplines.
Listings of completed research degrees are also now available via the institutional repositories of many UK higher education institutions.
A record of all UK History theses (Masters and PhD) awarded between 1901 and 1970 is now available via British History Online.
This is a recent IHR digitisation project and makes available data not previously presented on History Online. More about Theses on BHO.
For current information about history teachers in higher education across the UK, we encourage users to search the departmental websites of universities across the country.
When History Online began, university websites offered patchy information about their teaching staff and specialisms. Today, this information can be found much more readily using conventional search engines.
History libraries and collections in London
- Alpine Club Library
- Birkbeck College Library
- British Library
- Brunel University London Special Collections
- Caird Library, National Maritime Museum
- Chatham House Library
- Gerald Coke Handel Collection at the Foundling Museum
- German Historical Institute Library
- Goldsmiths, University of London, Library
- Guildhall Library
- Heythrop College Library
- Huguenot Library
- Imperial War Museum Department of Printed Books
- Institute of Classical Studies Library and the Joint Library of the Hellenic and Roman Societies
- Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library
- Institute of Historical Research Library
- King's College London Library Services
- Lambeth Palace Library
- London Metropolitan Archives Library
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Library
- London Transport Museum Library
- LSE Library
- Newsam Library and Archives, Institute of Education
- Queen Mary, University of London, Library
- Religious Society of Friends in Britain (Quakers) Library
- Royal Holloway, University of London, Library
- School of Oriental and African Studies Library
- Science Museum: Dana Research Centre and Library
- Senate House Library, University of London
- Society of Antiquaries of London Library
- Society of Genealogists Library
- Templer Study Centre, National Army Museum
- The National Archives
- TUC Library Collections, London Metropolitan University
- UCL Library
- UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies Library
- Warburg Institute Library
- Wellcome Library
- Wiener Library
- Women’s Library
A number of leading research libraries and archives, for the UK and Ireland, are members of Research Libraries UK.
The Independent Libraries Association provides a listing of UK independent libraries. Many of these institutions include extensive history collections, especially relating to regional history.
