Two hundred years of history witnessed by The Times has gone online with the launch of a searchable archive.

Every issue of The Times published between 1785 and 1985 has been digitally scanned in conjunction with Times Online.

Twenty million articles, pictures and advertisements, from the groundbreaking coverage of the Crimean War by William Howard Russell to letters to the Editor from figures such as Karl Marx and Mussolini, are reproduced exactly as they appeared in the newspaper.

Users can save, print and e-mail favourite articles. In addition to the advanced search facility, the archive site contains 150 topic pages, covering subjects such as Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King and Scott of the Antarctic.

It also features magnificent archive photographs and insights, revealing how historic events were brought to the pages of the newspaper by generations of distinguished correspondents. Letters to the Editor signed by figures such as Thomas Hardy, Oscar Wilde, Queen Victoria, Charles Darwin and Ian Fleming will be available. So too will be advertisements throughout the ages, from properties for sale to slogans espousing the benefits of drinking Horlicks during the Blitz.

The archive can be used to search for family history through the births, deaths and obituaries pages; by searching references to family names; or to see what events happened on the day that family members were born.

James Harding, the Editor of The Times, said: “The Times Archive is a remarkable resource. It is a treasure trove for anyone interested in history, whether amateur or professional. From the personal and domestic to unforgettable events of the world stage, from the French Revolution to the Falklands war, it is all here in the Times Archive.”

Issues of The Sunday Times from 1821 to 2000 will be added in the next few months.

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