On 29 May 1919, one of the most famous total solar eclipses in history provided a crucial test for Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. During approximately five minutes of totality, British astronomers photographed the star field behind the eclipsed Sun to try to detect the predicted bending of light. Their successful confirmation transformed Einstein into an international icon, and newspapers worldwide reported the results. This article examines how news of the eclipse and the scientific expeditions spread through the global press. Rather than focussing on the later impact of Einstein's relativity, it examines coverage of the expeditions themselves. Digital newspaper archives from Portugal, Brazil, Great Britain, Germany and the United States of America were surveyed for all eclipse-related news published between 1 January 1919 and 31 December 1920. This analysis provides the first systematic overview of how information about the eclipse and the expeditions circulated internationally, reflecting its transmission across different audiences in Europe and the Americas.
In Georgia, as well as in Transcaucasia in general, from the first appearance of print media until the beginning of the twentieth century, only the interests of Tsarism were pursued in the press. The Tsarist and Communist press used similar propaganda styles while advancing different political interests. The shifting political climate of the transition period fostered media content distinct from Tsarist influence and shaped by relative freedom. Propaganda texts were, of course, still to be found in the pre-Soviet Caucasian press, but pluralism, the striving for independence of the countries conquered by the Russian Empire, and chaos created a different situation. This paper discusses the peculiarities of the propaganda activities of the pre-Soviet Caucasian press of the beginning of the twentieth century using the Georgian newspapers published in 1919: the social-democratic, Ertoba (Unity) and the national-democratic, Sakartvelo (Georgia).
Studies of the media during the First World War have highlighted its weaknesses and deficiencies, yet the question of how citizens actually engaged with the press and made sense of the war remains elusive. Based on extensive analysis of Australian civilians' correspondence, this article argues that citizens were capable of engaged and effective reading of the forms of information available in the press, including reportage, casualty lists and extracts from soldiers' letters. That sensitive reading of the press, made in conjunction with their own contacts with soldiers on and returned from the front, allowed civilians to achieve a genuine, if necessarily imperfect, understanding of the nature, course and shocking costs of the war. Far from being entirely deceived, Australians' determination to continue the struggle suggests they fought with their eyes open, even as they longed for the conflict to end.
This essay examines the dynamics that facilitated the circulation of periodical publications (impresos) produced in Spain across the Spanish Atlantic during the second half of the eighteenth century. The category of impresos includes three periodicals published in Madrid: theGaceta de Madrid (Madrid Gazette), the Mercurio Hist & oacute;rico Pol & iacute;tico (Historical-Political Mercury), and the Gu & iacute;a de Forasteros (Foreigners' Guide). These impresos spread news and reflections about Europe, Africa, and Asia. It is argued that the postal administrations created by the Spanish Empire after 1764 were fundamental to the circulation of printed news to Spanish America. The urban post offices established by the Bourbon government not only facilitated distribution but also served as centers for sales. Similarly, price reductions, tax exemptions, and frequent distribution encouraged the purchase of these materials. This study contributes to an understanding of how inhabitants of Spanish American territories accessed news from other parts of the world and the mechanisms that made this possible.
