Important Events

1821

In April, a prospectus is issued explaining the aims and objectives of proposed newspaper, the Manchester Guardian. A month later, on 5 May 1821, John Edward Taylor publishes the first Manchester Guardian as a newspaper in the liberal interest. It appears weekly on a Saturday at a price of 7d.

1855

Stamp Duty tax on newspapers is abolished allowing the Guardian to publish daily, Monday to Saturday, at a reduced price of 2d.

1919

On 4 July Guardian Weekly is launched to provide a compact weekly edition of the newspaper, aimed at an international audience.

1959

On 24 August the newspaper changes its title from the Manchester Guardian to the Guardian, to reflect the growing importance of national and international affairs in the newspaper.

1988

The Guardian has a radical redesign, splitting the newspaper into two sections and introducing a new masthead. An international edition is launched in Europe.

1992

The Scott Trust formally sets out its central objective for the first time: “To secure the financial and editorial independence of the Guardian in perpetuity: as a quality national newspaper without party affiliation; remaining faithful to its liberal tradition; as a profit-seeking enterprise managed in an efficient and cost-effective manner.”

G2, the daily features tabloid section, is launched.

1994

The Guardian and Observer contributes editorial content relating to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to the 1994 FringeWeb. This is thought to be the first online publication of any Guardian journalism.

Thames Valley Newspapers (owners of the Reading Evening Post and the Wokingham and Bracknell Times group of newspapers) is purchased by GMG from the Thomson Corporation.

The group’s radio interests are sold to Emap.

Auto Trader National Magazines is launched as a joint venture.

2001

The Guardian wins widespread acclaim for its coverage of the events of 11 September – it is proclaimed “bold, simple and courageous” at the British Press Awards.

GU’s URL changes from guardianunlimited.co.uk to guardian.co.uk in February. In April its first ever TV advertising campaign is launched

2003

Life, a new Thursday science and technology supplement, is launched, plus a daily media business page.

The Guardian launches its first paid-for website services, including a new digital edition of the newspaper and an advertising-free version of the guardian.co.uk site.

2004

In March, digital editions of the papers launched, allowing access to articles, images and adverts as they appeared in print. In July the Soulmates dating service interactive website goes live. The paper also introduces a weekly tabloid edition aimed at students and distributed throughout UK university campuses.