Today in History: First U.S. Daily Newspaper


Today in History–September 21–the Library of Congress features the beginning of publication of the nation’s first daily newspaper, the Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser, on this day in 1784. Prior to 1784 the newspaper’s publisher, John Dunlap, had published a weekly newspaper. Dunlap’s shop had also printed the first broadside copies of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Continuing to serve the changing needs of the government, Dunlap and his partner David Claypoole printed the Constitution of the United States for use by the Constitutional Convention, and later published it for the first time in the Packet on September 19, 1787. Find out more about early American newspapers by visiting the Today in History section, then click the links below to access the Library’s digital newspaper collections and related resources.

Chronicling America Historic newspaper collections

More newspaper collections

Women Come to the Front: Women Journalists During World War II online exhibition

Learning from the Source lesson plans using newspapers

Featured Source guided primary source analysis activities using newspapers