Britannica Original Sources

Inspire and enhance student research with one of the world’s largest collections of original source content!

Deepen your students’ understanding with primary sources and first-person accounts of the world’s most important social, political, legal, and religious developments.

About Britannica Original Sources

This vast collection provides primary sources and personal accounts of humankind’s social, political, legal, and religious development, as well as some of the greatest discoveries, insights, and literary achievements in the words of the actual authors, discoverers, and knowledge-seekers.

Features of
Britannica Original Sources

Find primary sources across twelve subject areas: World History, U.S. History, Political Science, Law, Literature, Science, Mathematics, Social Science, Philosophy, Religion, Language, and Language Arts.

Learn from amazing contributors.

Madeleine Albright, Henry Ford, John Hancock, Malcolm X, Edgar Allan Poe, Confucius, Dante, and Pasteur, or Thomas Jefferson’s account of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Create historical context around current events.

Comprehensive topics cover all of world history and current political documents — speeches, essays, biographies, landmark court decisions, editorials, and more.