List of the oldest newspapers

This list of the oldest newspapers sorts the newspapers of the world by the date of their first publication. The earliest newspapers date to 17th century Europe when printed periodicals began rapidly to replace the practice of hand-writing newssheets. The emergence of the new media branch has to be seen in close connection with the simultaneous spread of the printing press from which the publishing press derives it name.[2]

Contents

Definition

Newspapers − apart from being printed − are typically expected to meet four criteria:[3]

List

The following entries present a selection:

Europe

Date Newspaper Language Place Country/Region Notes
1605[4] Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien German Straßburg Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation World's first newspaper[1]
1609[4] Avisa Relation oder Zeitung German Wolfenbüttel Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation
1610[4] n.s. German Basel Switzerland (Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation)[5]
1615[4] n.s. German Frankfurt Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation
1617[4] n.s. German Berlin Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation
1618[4] Courante uyt Italien, Duytslandt, &c. Dutch Amsterdam Dutch Republic (Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation)[6][7][8][9] Considered the world's first broadsheet because it was published in folio instead of quarto-size size. Defunct 1664
1645 Ordinari Post Tijdender Swedish Stockholm Sweden Oldest still published newspaper in the world.[10]
1656[11] Weeckelycke Courante van Europa Dutch Haarlem Dutch Republic (The Netherlands) The named was changed to Oprechte Haerlemsche Courant in 1664. The newspaper merged with the Haarlems Dagblad in 1942, which is still published.
1661[11] Merkuriusz Polski Ordynaryjny Polish Kraków Poland Moved to Warsaw in May 1661, last issues published 22 July 1661.
1664 Gazzetta di Mantova Italian Mantua Province of Mantua Still published
1665[12] Oxford Gazette English Oxford England From issue 24 in 1666, the paper was printed in London and renamed London Gazette;[13] still published
1703 Wiener Zeitung Austrian Vienna Austria still published
1705 Hildesheimer Relations-Courier German Hildesheim Germany Oldest surviving in newspaper in Germany, nowadays published as Hildesheimer Allgemeine Zeitung
1737 The Belfast News Letter English Belfast Northern Ireland Still published - oldest English-language daily newspaper still in existence
1749 Berlingske Tidende Danish Copenhagen Denmark Still published. Originally titled Kjøbenhavnske Danske Post-Tidender and, as of 2011, published as Berlingske
1767 Adresseavisen Norwegian Trondheim Norway Still published. Originally titled Kongelig allene privilegerede Trondheims Adresse-Contoirs Efterretninger
1785 The Times English London England Still published
1817 The Scotsman English Edinburgh Scotland Still published

Americas

Date Newspaper Language Place Country/Region Notes
1704 The Boston News-Letter English Boston, Massachusetts Thirteen Colonies Defunct
1721 The New-England Courant English Boston, Massachusetts Thirteen Colonies Defunct
1756 The New Hampshire Gazette English New Hampshire Thirteen Colonies Still published; oldest extant North American paper
1764 Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph English Québec, Quebec British North America Still published; oldest surviving North American paper with continuous corporate existence
1764 The Hartford Courant English Hartford, Connecticut Thirteen Colonies Still published
1785 The Augusta Chronicle English Augusta, Georgia United States Still published
1786 Daily Hampshire Gazette English New Hampshire United States Still published
1786 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette English Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania United States Still published
1789 The Berkshire Eagle English Pittsfield, Massachusetts United States Still published
1792 The Recorder English Greenfield, Massachusetts United States Still published
1794 Rutland Herald English Rutland, Vermont United States Still published. The Herald is the oldest family-owned newspaper in continuous operation, published under the same name in the same city, in the United States.
1796 Norwich Bulletin English Norwich, Connecticut United States Still published
1792 The Keene Sentinel English Keene, New Hampshire United States Still published
1801 New York Post English New York City, New York United States Still published
1803 The Post and Courier English Charleston, South Carolina United States Still published
1825 El Peruano Spanish Lima Peru Still published
1825 Diario de Pernambuco Portuguese Recife Brazil Still published. Oldest continuously circulating daily newspaper in Latin America[14] and oldest continuously circulating periodical edited in Portuguese.
1827 El Mercurio de Valparaíso Spanish Valparaíso Chile Still published
1829 The Post-Standard English Syracuse, New York United States Still published
1898 Le Nouvelliste French Port-au-Prince, Ouest Haiti Still Published

Africa

The British established the first newspaper in Africa in Cape Town in 1800, after capturing the Cape Colony from the Dutch.

Date Newspaper Language Place Country/Region Notes
1800 Cape Town Gazette and African Advertiser English, Dutch Cape Town British South Africa First newspaper in South Africa. Published weekly from 1800-08-16 to at least 1829 by the British Government in South Africa.
1824 South African Commercial Advertiser English, Dutch Cape Town British South Africa First privately run newspaper in South Africa. Numbers 1 to 18 were published weekly from 1824-01-07 to 1824-05-10. numbers 19 to 135 were printed from 1825-08-31 to 1827-03-10 and numbers 136 and onward were printed from 1828 to-10-03 to 1853. Originally edited by the printer George Greig who soon relinquished editing control to Thomas Pringle and John Fairbairn. Pringle left the paper after number 19.
1824 South African Journal English Cape Town British South Africa A bimonthly journal edited by Thomas Pringle and John Fairbairn. Published from 1824-03-05 to 1824-05-07.
1824 Nederduitsche Zuid-Afrikaanse Tydschrift Dutch Cape Town British South Africa A bimonthly journal edited by Reverend Abraham Faure. It was the Dutch partner to the South African Journal. Published from 1824-04-04.
1824 The South African Chronicle and Mercantile Advertiser English, Dutch Cape Town British South Africa Printed weekly from 1824-08-18 to 1826-12-26. Printed by William Bridekirk and edited by A. J. Jardine.
1826 The New Organ English, Dutch Cape Town British South Africa Only one edition printed on 1826-01-06. Printed by George Greig and edited by John Fairbairn.
1827 De Versamelaar English, Dutch Cape Town British South Africa Printed weekly from 1827-01-07 until between 1829-01-27 to 1835. Edited by J. Duasso de Lima and printed by William Bridekirk.
1827 The Colonist English, Dutch Cape Town British South Africa Printed weekly from 1827-11-22 to 1828-09-30 by William Bridekirk and then George Greig and edited by William Beddy.

Far East

Date Newspaper Language Place Country/Region Notes
1806[15] The Prince of Wales Island Gazette English Penang British Malaya First newspaper in Southeast Asia;[15] last issue rolled off the press on 7 July 1827; weekly edition survived until January 1830.
1845[16][17] The Straits Times English Singapore Straits Settlements Split into The Straits Times (based in Singapore) and The New Straits Times (based in Kuala Lumpur) after Singapore's separation from Malaysia in 1965.
1850[18] North China Herald
(North China Daily News)		 English Shanghai China A weekly newspaper at first, it began daily publication in 1864 under the new name North China Daily News. Ceased publication in 1951.
1861[19] Nagasaki Shipping List and Advertiser English Nagasaki Japan Country's first newspaper[19]
1881[19] Chosen shinpo Japanese Pusan Korea Country's first newspaper[19]
1883
(1886)[20]		 Hanseong sunbo
(Hanseong Jubo)		 Chinese, Korean Seoul Korea

South Asia

The first recorded attempt to found a newspaper in South Asia was by William Bolts, a Dutchman in the employ of the British East India Company in September 1768 in Calcutta. The Company deported Bolts back to Europe before he could begin his newspaper.[21]

Date Newspaper Language Place Country/Region Notes
1780 Hicky's Bengal Gazette or, The Original Calcutta General Advertiser English Calcutta British India First newspaper in South Asia. Published weekly from 1780-01-29 to 1782-03-23 when James Augustus Hicky's types were seized.
1780 India Gazette or Calcutta Public Advertiser English Calcutta British India Second newspaper in South Asia. Published weekly from 1780-11-18. Survived until 1834. Published by Peter Reed (until 1781), B. Messink (until 1793), G. Gordon (1793 to before 1799) In 1799, its proprietors were William Morris, William Fairlie and J. D. Williams.
1784 Calcutta Gazette English Calcutta British India Third newspaper in South Asia. Government sanctioned. Published weekly from 1784-03-04 to 1818-09-29. Its proprietors were Francis Gladwin, an East India Company Officer until January 1787 and Arthur Muir, Herbert Harrington and Edmond Morris afterwards.
1785 Bengal Journal English Calcutta British India Published weekly from 1785-02 to 1791. Its proprietors were William Duane and Thomas Jones.
1785 The Oriental Magazine or Calcutta Amusement English Calcutta British India Published monthly from 1785-04-06. It's proprietors were Gordon and John Hay. It ceased publication sometime prior to 1799-05, when Governor-General Wellesley enacted press regulations.
1785 The Asiatick Miscellany English Calcutta British India Published quarterly from 1785-07-14 to 1789-01. It's proprietor was Francis Gladwin.
1785 Madras Courier English Madras British India Published weekly at first from 1785-10-12 to around 1818. It's proprietor was Richard Johnson and was government sanctioned.
1786 Calcutta Chronicle and General Advertiser English Calcutta British India Published weekly from 1786-01 to either 1790 or 1797. It's proprietor was William Baillie.
1788 The Asiatic Mirror and Commercial Advertiser English Calcutta British India Published weekly at first from 1788-02 to 1820-05. It's proprietors were C.K. Bruce and Dr. Shoolbred.
1789 Bombay Herald English Bombay British India Published weekly from 1789 to 1792. It's proprietors are unknown.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Weber 2006, p. 396; World Association of Newspapers: "Newspapers: 400 Years Young!"
  2. ^ Weber 2006, p. 387: "At the same time, then, as the printing press in the physical, technological sense was invented, 'the press' in the extended sense of the word also entered the historical stage. The phenomenon of publishing was born."
  3. ^ Weber 2006, p. 387; "Margarete Rehm: Information und Kommunikation in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Das 17. Jh." (in German). http://www.ib.hu-berlin.de/~wumsta/infopub/textbook/umfeld/rehm5.html. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f Weber 2006, p. 396f.
  5. ^ A Brief Survey of Swiss History
  6. ^ Although the Dutch Republic declared itself independent from the Spanish Empire in 1581 (J Ph de Monté ver Loren, J. E. Spruit, Hoofdlijnen uit de ontwikkeling der rechterlijke organisatie in de Noordelijke Nederlanden tot de Bataafse omwenteling, Kluwer, 2000, blz. 249, ISBN 9789026827396), it was not internationally recognized before 1648 (Price, J. L.: "The Dutch Republic in the Seventeenth Century", Palgrave Macmillan, 1998, ISBN 978-0-312-21733-4, p. 22)
  7. ^ Most European countries did not recognize the Netherlands until 1648 (Ellen Judy Wilson, Peter Hanns Reill: Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment, Infobase Publishing, 2004, ISBN 978-0-8160-5335-3, p. 604
  8. ^ Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd, New York, Henry Holt and Company, 1923: Historical map of Germany at the commencement of the Thirty Years' War, 1618
  9. ^ Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd, New York, Henry Holt and Company, 1923: The Religious Situation in Central Europe about 1618 (boundary of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in dashed lines
  10. ^ "World's Oldest Newspaper Goes Purely Digital". Associated Press 2007.
  11. ^ a b "Weeckelycke Courante van Europa". Museum Enschedé. Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé. 8 January 1656. http://www.museumenschede.nl/?id=75#1. 
  12. ^ London Gazette (1). 7 November 1665. 
  13. ^ London Gazette (24). 5 February 1666. 
  14. ^ http://basilio.fundaj.gov.br/pesquisaescolar/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=237&Itemid=183
  15. ^ a b Geoff Wade. "New Ways of Knowing: The Prince of Wales Island Gazette - Penang's First Newspaper". Presented at The Penang Story International Conference 2002. http://penangstory.net.my/docs/Abs-GeoffWade.doc. Retrieved 2010-08-31. "It is to Penang that the "honour" of being the site of the first newspaper published in Southeast Asia – the Prince of Wales Island Gazette – belongs." 
  16. ^ The Straits Times. "About Us". The Straits Times. http://www.straitstimes.com/About%2BUs/About%2BUs.html. Retrieved 2010-08-31. 
  17. ^ New Straits Times. "Corporate History 1845-1896". New Straits Times. http://www.nstp.com.my/Corporate/nstp/aboutus/aboutHstory.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-31. 
  18. ^ Xiaoqun Xu. Chinese Professionals and the Republican State: The Rise of Professional Associations in Shangahai, 1912–1937. Cambridge University Press, 2001. p. 45.
  19. ^ a b c d Altman 1984, p. 685: "The parallel to the Chosen shinpo in Japan had been Japan's first newspaper in any language, the English-language Nagasaki Shipping List and Advertiser, published by an Englishman, Albert W. Hansard, from June 1861."
  20. ^ McGovern 1967, pp. 21
  21. ^ Busteed, H. E. Echoes from Old Calcutta: Being Chiefly Reminiscences of the Days of Warren Hastings, Francis and Impey. 2d ed. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink And Co., 1888, 182.]

Sources