| Date |
Event |
Link |
Source/Informant |
| 2006 |
|
April 22 |
Ancestry release the 1841 cenus index for England
& Wales. All censuses are now available online. |
link |
|
|
April 20 |
Scotlandspeople release the 1841 census index
and images for Scotland. All Scottish censuses are now
available online. |
link |
source |
|
March 4 |
Cyndi's List celebrates its 10th anniversary |
link |
source |
|
January 18 |
Ancestry makes images of the GRO indexes available
free of charge |
link |
|
|
January 10 |
The National Archivist announces the acquisition
of its datasets by 1837online |
link |
|
| 2005 |
|
December 14 |
Medway Archives put images of 90 Kent parish
registers online |
link |
source |
|
December 6 |
GenesReunited (as part of FriendsReunited) bought
by ITV |
link |
source |
|
December 6 |
Announcement of agreement between the National
Archives of Ireland and Library and Archives Canada to
digitise Irish Census Records for 1901 and 1911. |
|
source |
|
November 3 |
Channel 4 & the Imperial War Museum launch
database of WW1 war memorials in connection with the "Lost
Generation" TV series |
link |
source |
|
September 9 |
LDS Church announces plan to digitise
and index all its microfilmed records |
link |
source |
|
August 21 |
Qinetiq sells 1901 Census to GenesReunited |
link |
source |
|
August 1 |
DOVE contract signed - Siemens to digitise GRO
records |
|
source |
|
March |
1841 Census Index launched on British Origins |
link |
source |
|
February 15 |
1837online launches 1861 census index and images |
link |
source |
| 2004 |
|
December 31 |
Genuki Family History News ceases publication |
|
source |
|
December 3 |
The National Archives & Ancestry.co.uk launch
the 1881 and 1891 census under the Licensed Internet Associateship
(LIA) initiative |
link |
press release |
|
December |
The GRO's proposals for reform of Civil Registration
are rejected by committees from both Houses of Parliament |
|
source |
|
November 9 |
A Vision of Britain Through Time |
link |
source |
|
July 23 |
DOVE (Digitisation of Vital Events) invitation
to tender |
link |
source |
|
July |
Origins relaunched as subscription service under
the name Origins Network |
link |
press release |
|
June 28 |
FreeBMD adds images |
link |
source |
|
June 28 |
The National Archives launch new web site |
link |
source |
|
May |
Launch of independent GRO site |
link |
GRO |
|
April 22 |
End of GENDEX |
|
source |
|
April 14 |
Ancestry starts 1901 census |
link |
source |
|
March 24 |
The Archives Task Force report Listening
to the Past, Speaking to the Future proposes the
creation of an Archives Gateway |
link |
source |
|
March 1 |
Launch of Directgov, replacing UKonline as government
portal |
link |
source |
|
January 26 |
Ancestry starts on 1871 census |
link |
source |
| 2003 |
|
November 14 |
National Audit Office report on 1901 census |
link |
source |
|
September |
Launch of Archives Network Wales |
link |
source |
|
August |
Launch of National Archivist |
link |
|
|
July 8 |
GRO launches on-line certificate ordering |
link |
source |
|
July |
Launch of FreeCEN search engine with 1891 census
transcriptions |
link |
source |
|
April 2 |
The PRO and HMC combine to form the National
Archives (TNA) (though their web sites are not combined
till June 2004) |
link |
|
|
April 1 |
1837online |
link |
Colin Miller |
|
March 14 |
Rod Neep launches British-genealogy.com, with
dozens of new mailing lists for the UK |
link |
source |
|
March 5 |
Old Bailey Proceedings |
link |
press release |
|
March |
DocumentsOnline |
link |
|
|
February 26 |
SoG online bookshop closes |
|
source |
|
February 25 |
Merger of Genfair & FFHS Publications |
link |
source |
|
February 2 |
GRO announces relaxation of rules on publication
of BMD indexes from April 1st |
|
source |
|
February |
1881 census added to FamilySearch |
link |
source |
|
January 8 |
FamilyHistoryOnline |
link |
press release |
|
January |
Gazettes on-line |
link |
|
| 2002 |
|
November 21 |
1901 census relaunch |
link |
source |
|
November 5 |
GenesConnected (now Genesreunited) |
link |
source |
|
September 18 |
Ancestry.co uk launched with 1891 census |
link |
source |
|
September 18 |
Scotlandspeople launched, taking over Scottish
records from Scots Origins |
link |
source |
|
January 22 |
White Paper, 'Civil Registration: Vital Change'
published by the Office of National Statistics, includes
plans to move to electronic registration |
link |
source |
|
January 22 |
NLS launches two on-line map collections |
link |
|
|
January 7 |
1901 census site closed down |
|
source |
|
January 2 |
1901 census |
link |
public knowledge! |
| 2001 |
|
November |
Peter Christian: "The Genealogist's Internet" |
link |
source |
|
before August 6 |
General Register Office for Northern Ireland
(GRONI) launches independent web site (original site was
hosted by Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) |
link |
source |
|
August |
1881 census index & 1891 census images added
to Scots Origins |
|
source |
|
July 2 |
150 digitisation grants announced by New Opportunities
Fund, many for historical material of interest to genealogists,
including Collect Britain, Digital Handsworth, Moving
Here. |
|
source |
|
July |
ARCHON Portal launched |
|
HMC/TNA |
|
April 20 |
1891 cenus pilot goes live |
|
source |
|
February 12 |
Google takes over archive of newsgroup
messages from Deja.com |
link |
source |
|
February 7 |
Genuki becomes a charitable trust |
link |
source |
|
January 25 |
GROS announces plans to add digital images to
Scots Origins |
|
source |
|
January 18 |
Launch of English Origins (now British Origins)
with data from the Society of Genealogists |
link |
Peter Christian |
|
January |
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks (OPC) project
launched |
link |
source |
| 2000 |
|
December 15 |
British Library Newspaper Library’s catalogue
goes online |
link |
source |
|
December |
FamilyRecords launched to provide a goverment
genealogy portal |
link |
source |
|
November 30 |
Scottish Archive Network goes live |
link |
source |
|
November 24 |
Genuki trade mark registration |
|
source |
|
November |
National Archives of Scotland web site launched |
link |
source |
|
October |
New Genuki search engine, covering Genuki and
other UK family history bodies |
link |
Genuki mailing list |
|
October |
Caroline Peacock: "Good Web Guide Genealogy" |
link |
|
|
October |
Images of England launched |
link |
source |
|
October |
CheshireBMD - first UKBMD project |
link |
from hit counter |
|
September 1 |
UK Government portal UKonline launched |
|
source |
|
June 22 |
Failure of soc.genealogy.surnames newsgroups |
link |
source |
|
June 21 |
Rootsweb acquired by Ancestry.com |
link |
source |
|
June 12 |
Launch of Federation of Family History Societies'
on-line bookshop |
link |
David Hawgood |
|
June |
Old-maps |
link |
source |
|
March 19 |
Rob Thompson starts his Family History Newsletter |
link |
source |
|
February |
FFHS registers its commercial domain name ffhs.co.uk |
link |
source |
|
January |
Workhouse History site launched |
link |
Peter Higginbotham |
|
|
ARCHON Portal |
link |
source |
| 1999 |
|
July |
Start of FreeCEN project |
link |
source |
|
May 24 |
Launch of FamilySearch puts the IGI on-line |
link |
source |
|
May |
Powys Digital History site (started june 1998) |
link |
source |
|
March 26 |
Crown copyright waiver: genealogists can publish
their own transcriptions of PRO documents without permission |
|
source |
|
January 18 |
Genfair launched as an on-line shop with "stands"
for individual family history societies |
link |
source |
|
January |
Launch of Collage, Corporation of London image
databse |
link |
source |
| 1998 |
|
December |
National Register of Archives accessible via
the Web |
|
source |
|
November 11 |
Debt of Honour Register - first complete on-line
"genealogical" dataset to cover the whole of the UK |
link |
source |
|
September 30 |
FreeBMD announced |
link |
source |
|
September 15 |
Society of Genealogists Bookshop online |
|
source |
|
September 7 |
Google launched |
link |
source |
|
July 2 |
National Lottery Act 1998 establishes the New
Opportunities Fund |
|
source |
|
July |
ARCHON Directory provides details of record repositories |
|
HMC/TNA |
|
April 6 |
Scots Origins launched with Scottish BMD certificates
- first pay-per-view site for UK public records |
link |
|
|
March 27 |
PRO web site |
link |
source |
|
March 26 |
Genuki registers its own domain name |
|
source |
|
March 23 |
Society of Genealogists' web site |
link |
CiG |
|
March 16 |
FFHS registers its domain name ffhs.org.uk |
link |
source |
| 1997 |
|
November 4 |
GooNS domain name registered |
link |
source |
|
October |
Cyndi Howells, Netting Your Ancestors:
Genealogical Research on the Internet |
link |
source |
|
August |
County Lookup Exchange announced |
|
source |
|
July |
Britain and Ireland newsgroups split |
|
source |
|
July |
New Opportunities Fund announced in White Paper |
|
source |
|
July |
Manorial Documents Register goes on-line with
data for Wales and Yorkshire |
|
HMC/TNA |
|
before June |
British Library makes its catalogue accessible
via the web |
link |
CiG June 1997 |
|
June |
Familia launched, with details of the genealogical
holdings of public libraries in the British Isles |
link |
Martin Hayes |
|
May |
Society of Genealogists registers its domain
name sog.org.uk |
link |
source |
|
before May |
Cheshire Wills on the Web |
link |
source |
|
April 9 |
Books We Own, first lookup exchange? |
link |
Site hit counter |
|
|
Genealogy programs start to include
Web page creation facilities |
|
Peter Christian |
| 1996 |
|
October |
Web site for Computers in Genealogy |
link |
Peter Christian |
|
October |
WorldGenWeb launched |
link |
source |
|
September 5 |
Norfolk Surnames list |
link |
source |
|
June |
USGenWeb |
link |
source |
|
May |
Greater Manchester CRO |
link |
source |
|
May |
Lincolnshire Archives |
link |
source |
|
before April 18 |
Liverpool Record Office |
|
source |
|
April |
Pedigree Users Group starts a mailing list |
link |
Malcolm Austen |
|
March 14 |
Society of Genealogists hosts its first lecture
on the internet |
|
Computers in Genealogy |
|
March 4 |
Cyndi's List |
link |
source |
|
before March |
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI)
Web site launched |
link |
source |
|
March |
Somerset Record Office becomes first UK record
office to launch a web site |
link |
Somerset Record Office |
|
before March |
National Library of Wales |
|
Brian Randell |
|
February 20 |
Lottery Grant for Images of England |
link |
source |
|
February |
Launch of the RootsWeb "genealogy
co-operative" |
link |
source |
|
February |
David Hawgood: "Internet for Genealogy" - first
UK internet genealogy book? |
link |
David Hawgood |
|
January 15 |
First issue of Eastman's Online Genealogy
Newsletter |
link |
source |
|
January |
GooNS web site |
link |
source |
|
|
Ancestry.com launched |
link |
source |
| 1995 |
|
December 15 |
AltaVista, first major search engine |
link |
source |
|
before December |
Thompson one-name study |
|
source |
|
November |
FFHS publications catalogue made available on
Genuki |
|
Brian Randell |
|
before October |
National Archives of Ireland Family History
& Genealogy page |
|
source |
|
October |
Genuki is by now hosting pages for a number of
family history societies (including Clywd, Devon, Dyfed
and Gwynedd) |
|
Brian Randell |
|
October |
Historical Manuscripts Commission web site; telnet
access to the National Register of Archives. |
|
HMC/TNA |
|
September 15 |
Demon Internet announces local call access for
the whole of the UK |
link |
source |
|
July 1 |
Dr Ashton Emery's A-Z of British Genealogical
Research |
link |
Rosemary Lockie |
|
July |
Internet Explorer 1.0 |
|
source |
|
June |
soc.genealogy.uk+ireland - first newsgroup for
genealogy of the British Isles |
|
source |
|
before June |
Elizabeth Powell Crowe, Genealogy
On-line - first internet genealogy book? |
|
source |
|
April |
Manchester and Lancashire mailing list started |
|
Phil Stringer |
|
before April |
Historical Manuscripts Commission |
|
source |
|
March 25 |
Announcement of Genuki on soc.genealogy.computing |
link |
source |
|
March 7 |
PRO leaflets made available on Malcolm Austen's
web site (later moved to Genuki) |
|
Rosemary Lockie |
|
March |
The Web overtakes file transfer (FTP)
as the main use of the Internet |
|
source |
|
February |
John Fuller and Chris Gaunt launch
Genealogy Resources on the Internet |
link |
source |
|
January |
Phil Stringer publishes "Online genealogy information
about the UK", the forerunner of Genuki |
link |
Phil Stringer |
|
|
Mailing lists for some individual Scottish clans
in existence |
|
John Fuller |
|
|
Archives Online |
|
source |
| 1994 |
|
December 8 |
Inaugural meeting of the Archives and Internet
Group |
|
source |
|
before December 7 |
North of Ireland FHS web site - first FHS web
site? |
link |
source |
|
December |
Launch of .Net and Internet
- the first UK Internet magazines |
|
Peter Christian |
|
November 14 |
Launch of HM Treasury web site - first goverment
department on-line |
|
source |
|
November 9 |
Reorganization of genealogy newsgroups
into the soc.genealogy hierarchy |
|
source |
|
July 16 |
Channel Island Surname Interest List - first
UK surname interest list? |
link |
source |
|
July 10 |
Gene Stark announces GED2HTML, a program
to create an on-line pedigree from a GEDCOM file |
|
source |
|
July |
The Genealogy Home Page - first directory
of internet genealogy resources |
link |
source |
|
May 31 |
Frode Kvam posts source code for GECDOM
-> HTML conversion program to ROOTS-L |
|
source |
|
before April 28 |
Paddy Waldron sets up Irish genealogy pages
on the Trinity College Dublin web site |
|
source |
|
|
Genserv moves to the Web |
link |
source |
| 1993 |
|
December 6 |
FTP archive at Penn State University
makes genealogy software available for download |
link |
source |
|
November 11 |
Mosaic 1.0 browser for Windows and
Mac released (a UNIX version had been released in April) |
|
source |
|
June |
Alan Stanier puts STANIER family tree online |
link |
Alan Stanier |
| 1991 |
|
November |
JANET IP service: UK universities start to connect
directly to the Internet (most early UK genealogy sites
are hosted on university servers) |
|
source |
|
August |
World-Wide Web publicly released |
|
source |
|
|
Launch of Genserv, e-mail based GEDCOM
matching service |
link |
source |
| 1990 |
|
April 7 |
Roots Surname List announced |
|
source |
|
|
Hytelnet - directory of telnet sites,
including many library catalogues |
|
source |
|
|
Remote access to National Register of Archives |
|
source |
| 1987 |
|
December 12 |
ROOTS-L - first genealogy mailing
list |
link |
source |
| 1986 |
|
September 20 |
First posting to soc.roots, replacement
for net.roots |
|
source |
| 1985 |
|
July |
Creation of the .uk top-level domain |
|
source |
| 1983 |
|
October 31 |
First genealogy newsgroup: net.roots |
|
source |
