Skip to main contentSkip to navigation
Print subscriptions
Newsletters
Sign in

A look back

Historical articles from the Observer, compiled by @guardianlibrary. See also From the archive blog. For full content from 1791 onwards see our page on accessing past articles.

3 December 2023

  • Henry Kissinger in November 1979.

    Kissinger on Kissinger: ‘My job was to inspire, not to gratify’

    Reflections on America’s role in the world and, as a Jew, his negotiations with Arab leaders from 19977 interview

28 April 2018

  • Portobello Road, London, in 1967.

    From the Observer archive: this week in 1967

    Researchers find widespread discrimination and prejudice against immigrants to Britain

8 April 2018

  • Suzanne Abou Taleb, the lead in Death of a Princess.

    From the Observer archive: this week in 1980

  • 1971 Your wife: Liability or an asset

    From the archive: Is your wife your best asset?

31 March 2018

  • Joseph Stalin lying in state

    From the Observer files: this week in 1953

    Stalin’s death ushers in a more relaxed era in Russian politics

25 March 2018

  • John Charles Spencer

    From the Observer archive: this week in 1832

    The Reform bill, giving votes to hundreds of thousands more people, finally passes through the House of Commons

18 March 2018

  • Derry, 1975

    From the Observer archive: this week in 1977

    A particularly brutal week in Ulster

11 March 2018

  • The aftermath of the shooting in Gibraltar in 1988

    From the Observer archive: this week in 1988

    The response to the SAS shooting of IRA terrorists on the streets of Gibraltar

3 March 2018

  • French president Georges Pompidou and Ted Heath during EEC talks in Paris.

    From the Observer archive: this week in 1971

    Unrestricted immigration from Commonwealth countries to end as Britain prepares to join the European Economic Community

24 February 2018

  • Wren, with his finest achievement, St Paul’s Cathedral, in the background.

    From the Observer archive: this week in 1923

    The bicentenary of the death of Sir Christopher Wren

18 February 2018

  • 11 Jan observer magazine 1970 OM cover

    From the archive: the truth about 1970s commercial air travel

    A look back on an airlines exposé in the Observer Magazine. By Juliana Piskorz

17 February 2018

  • An illustration from The Kama Sutra.

    From the Observer archive: this week in 1963

    Publishers prepare to release The Kama Sutra and Tropic of Cancer to the British public

11 February 2018

  • 5 May 1968 OM cover Saturday and Sunday Best

    From the archive: Love, marriage and extramarital affairs in the 60s

    A look back at marital advice from the Observer Magazine

10 February 2018

  • Patsy Kensit and David Bowie in the 1986 Julien Temple film adaptation of Colin MacInnes’ novel Absolute Beginners.

    From the Observer archive: this week in 1960

    Teenagers begin to make their mark on society

3 February 2018

  • Jewish refugees on the Exodus as it arrives in Haifa in Palestine on 18 July 1947.

    From the Observer archive: this week in 1947

    The partition of Palestine suffers a shaky start

28 January 2018

  • ‘How would you see yourself, sir, as a woman?’ Robert Morley, Cliff Richard, Sir Gerald Nabarro, Stirling Moss and Terry Downes from the 28 January 1968 issue.

    From the archive: Why Cliff would dress like Cilla, 1968

    A look back at the Observer Magazine’s past – and an article entitled: ‘Peeping Over the Sexual Fence’

27 January 2018

  • ‘This Bill would legalise licensed betting shops provided these were made as unattractive and uncomfortable as possible.’

    From the Observer archive: this week in 1960

    An overhaul of our attitude to bookmakers is long overdue

21 January 2018

  • 28 Jan 1968. Observer Magazine cover. OM Cover

    From the archive: the women’s issue, 1968

    A look back at the Observer Magazine’s past

20 January 2018

  • Home secretary James Callaghan, with his wife Audrey, casts his vote in the 1970 general election.

    From the Observer archive: this week in 1970

    Privacy and the freedoms of the Press

6 January 2018

  • President Harry S. Truman

    From the Observer archive: this week in 1950

    Coming to terms with China’s new order
About 327 results for A look back
1234...
Explore more on these topics