Archives timeline

A list of key dates in the development of archives and related bodies.

This list is for general 'foundings, transformations, legislation, and closings' of archives - the chronologies of specific archives should be put on their particular pages.

It will be divided up as appropriate in due course.

Up to 1600

 * 1295 Plzen City Archive
 * 1371 Stadtarchiv Heilbronn
 * 1378 Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo
 * 1408 Stadtarchiv Kassel
 * 1451 University of Glasgow founded - archives date back to this point (but some older).
 * 1489 Archivo de la Real Chancillería de Valladolid
 * 1540 Archivo General de Simancas

17th century

 * 1660 Thüringisches Staatsarchiv Meiningen

18th century

 * 1702 State Paper Office (now the National Archives of Ireland) was originally based in Dublin Castle.


 * 1749 National Archives of Austria
 * 1751 Society of Antiquaries of London
 * 1756 Hungarian National Archives
 * 1780 Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
 * 1784 Hungarian National Archives moved from Bratislava to Buda (now Budapest)
 * 1785 Archivo General de Indias
 * 1790 Archives départementales de la Corrèze and Archives nationales (France)
 * 1794 State decree, France, made it mandatory to centralize all the pre-French Revolution private and public archives.
 * 1796 Law passed France which created departmental archives (archives départementales) in the départements of France
 * 1796 Archives départementales de la Haute-Saone, Archives départementales des Hautes-Alpes, Archives départementales du Calvados
 * 1798 Federal Archives of Switzerland,
 * 1800 Archives nationales (France) became an autonomous body of the French state.

1800-1850

 * 1802 Nationaal Archief
 * 1804 Punjab Archives
 * 1806 Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart.
 * 1808 Archivio di Stato di Napoli and Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
 * 1815 Archivio di Stato di Venezia
 * 1820 Naturalis founded as the National Museum of Natural History
 * 1821 Biblioteca Nacional del Perú and Maharashtra State Archives


 * 1825 Archives départementales de la Seine-Maritime
 * 1826 Archivio storico del Comune di Venezia, Matica srpska (in Budapest), and Thüringisches Staatsarchiv Altenburg
 * 1827 Landesarchiv Berlin
 * 1835 Archives départementales de la Charente, and The Archives of the Episcopal Church
 * 1838 Brazilian National Archives established as the "Imperial Public Archives".
 * 1846 Archivo General de Centro América, National Parliamentary Library of Georgia and Smithsonian Institution
 * 1849 Minnesota Historical Society,

1851-1899

 * 1852 Archivio di Stato di Firenze and Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine in Kyiv
 * 1855 Stadtarchiv Freiburg
 * 1857 State Historical Society of Iowa
 * 1860 Archivio di Stato di Pisa, National Archives of Haiti and Stadtarchiv Braunschweig
 * 1861 Archives départementales de la Haute-Savoie and Stadtbibliothek Braunschweig
 * 1862 General National Archive (Nicaragua)
 * 1864 Matica srpska moves from Budapest to Novi Sad.
 * 1865 Archivio Storico Comunale di Palermo, Montana Historical Society and Staatsarchiv Sigmaringen
 * 1866 Archivo Histórico Nacional
 * 1867 Public Records (Ireland) Act, 1867
 * 1868 Archivio di Stato di Mantova
 * 1869 Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg
 * 1870 Egyptian National Library and Archives
 * 1871 Archivio di Stato di Roma
 * 1874 Archivio di Stato di Bologna
 * 1875 Central Archives of the State (Italy) and Kansas Historical Society
 * 1878 Bulgarian Historical Archive and Nebraska State Historical Society
 * 1880 Staatsarchiv Nürnberg and State Archives of Kharkiv Oblast
 * 1882 National Archives of Iceland
 * 1883 Brandenburgisches Landeshauptarchiv and
 * 1884 National Archives of Ecuador
 * 1885 Regional State Archives in Bergen and Stadtarchiv Karlsruhe
 * 1887 Palais Porcia (Vienna)
 * 1888 Stadtarchiv Karlsruhe
 * 1889 Danish National Archives, Provincial Archives of Northern Jutland. Danish Public Archives Law
 * 1890 National Archives of Afghanistan
 * 1891 National Archives of India, Oriental Research Institute Mysore
 * 1893 Provincial Archives of Funen (Odense)
 * 1894 British Columbia Archives.
 * 1895 Initiative begun by Belgian lawyers Paul Otlet and Henri La Fontaine: would lead to the 1910 formation of the Mundaneum

1901-1950

 * February 27, 1901 Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH)
 * 1902 Stadtbibliothek Bremen
 * 1903 National Co-operative Archive, Pennsylvania State Archives and Stadtarchiv Oldenburg. Official Historian of Puerto Rico established by legislation.
 * 1908 Érudit Consortium interuniversitaire, Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales and Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England
 * 1910 Directorate of State Archives (West Bengal), Mundaneum.
 * 1911 Brazilian National Archives take their present name.
 * 1912 American Antiquarian Society
 * 1913 Collection of material that would become the Archives nationales du Sénégal started. Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service
 * 1914 General Archives of the State (Greece), National Archives of Benin and Regional State Archives in Stavanger
 * 1916 National Archives of Thailand
 * 1917 Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute
 * 1918 National Library of Estonia and State Archives of Poltava Oblast
 * 1919 Academia Mexicana de la Historia, Central Zionist Archives and State Archives of Cherkasy Oblast
 * 1920 Jewish National Fund Photo Archive, Politisches Archiv des Auswärtigen Amts, Prague's Castle Archive, State Archives of Odesa Oblast and State Archives of Vinnytsia Oblast
 * 1921 Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, BP Archive, Central State Archives of Supreme Bodies of Power and Government of Ukraine, State Archives in the City of Sevastopol, State Archives of Kherson Oblast and State Archives of Zaporizhzhya Oblast
 * 1922 State Archives of Khmelnytskyi Oblast and State Archives of Kiev Oblast
 * 1923 Royal Decree of 2 September 1923, Italy, on founding archives. Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. Thüringisches Staatsarchiv Altenburg refounded.
 * 1923 Hauptstaatsarchiv Weimar and Ostrava City Archive
 * 1924 Bristol Record Office, CISTI, National Archives of Panama, Punjab Archives and Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
 * 1925 Slovak National Archives, State Archives of Kirovohrad Oblast, State Archives of Luhansk Oblast, State Archives of Sumy Oblast
 * 1928 Staatsarchiv Stuttgart
 * 1929 Central State Archives of Public Organizations of Ukraine
 * 1930 Southern Historical Collection
 * 1931 National African American Archives and Museum, Stadtarchiv Hof and State Archives of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Library Alma Ata renamed State Public Library of Kazakhstan SSR
 * 1932 Danish Emigration Archives and State Archives in the City of Kyiv
 * 1932-1992 National Library of Russia in St Petersburg, known as the State Public Saltykov-Shchedrin Library
 * 1933 Centre for Kentish Studies
 * 1934 Archivio di Stato di Salerno and Maejo University Archives
 * 1935 BFI National Archive (UK) founded as the National Film Library. National Film and Sound Archive founded as the National Historical Film and Speaking Record Library.
 * 1936 BBC Sound Archive, National Archives of Trinidad and Tobago, Society of American Archivists and Stadtarchiv Witten
 * 1938 Gwent Archives as the Monmouthshire Record Office, International Federation of Film Archives
 * 1939 Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine in Lviv, National Archives of Namibia, State Archives of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, as the Stanislaviv Oblast State Historical Archives, State Archives of Ternopil Oblast, as Ternopil State Regional Archives, and State Archives of Volyn Oblast as Volyn Regional Historical Archive.
 * 1940 Lancashire Archives
 * 1941 Archivio di Stato della Spezia
 * 1944 Archivo Histórico Provincial de Badajoz, Academy Film Archive and National Archives and Library of Ethiopia
 * 1945 Archives of the Republic of Slovenia (ARS) created (based on earlier bodies) and Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
 * 1946 Archivo Histórico Provincial de Córdoba, National Center of Cinematography and the moving image,, Dutch Historic Film Archive and ProdINRA
 * 1947 National Archives of Malawi and Archives of Bosnia-Herzegovina
 * 1948 Berkshire Record Office, Cinemateca do Museu de Arte Moderna, International Council on Archives, Landesarchiv Saarbrücken, Lincolnshire Archives and National Diet Library
 * 1949 George Eastman House, Ghetto Fighters' House, Israel State Archives, National Archives of Albania and Sezione di Archivio di Stato di Pontremoli
 * 1950 Bach-Archiv Leipzig, New York City Municipal Archives

1951-2000

 * 1951 Manx National Heritage
 * 1952 National Archives of Thailand becomes a division of the Fine Arts department of the Ministry of Culture (Thailand). Bundesarchiv (Deutschland), Eye Film Institute Netherlands as Filmmuseum - succeeding the Dutch Historic Film Archive, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives and Ukrainian Museum-Archives
 * 1953 Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive and Borthwick Institute for Archives
 * 1954 Archives of American Art, Archivio di Stato di Brindisi, Archivio di Stato di Piacenza, National Archives of Fiji, Reykjavík Municipal Archives, Staatsarchiv Leipzig and National Archives Administration of China. Hague Convention on Protection of Cultural Property in Armed Conflict
 * 1955 Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv, Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, Israel Folktales Archive, Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya, National Archives of Mauritania, Norwegian Film Institute and Staatliches Filmarchiv der DDR. National Film Library (UK) became the National Film Archive
 * 1956 National Personnel Records Center
 * 1957 National Archives and Public Records Services of Papua New Guinea, National Archives of Malaysia, National Film Archive (Romania), and United Church of Christ Archives
 * 1958 China Film Archive, Militärarchiv Potsdam and Singapore Film Society.
 * 1959 Filmoteca Vaticana and Queensland State Archives
 * 1960 Bauhaus Archive, and Österreichische Mediathek
 * 1961 Middle East Centre, St. Antony's College, Moreshet Archive, Mordechai Anielevich Memorial Holocaust Study and Research Center, and National Archives of Australia
 * 1962 Archives nationales du Sénégal become the national archives of the country. Kerala State Archives
 * 1963 Cinémathèque québécoise as the Connaissance du cinéma, soon after renamed the Cinémathèque canadienne.
 * 1964 CAPMAS, Cinemateca Argentina, National Film Archive of India and National Film, Video and Sound Archives (South Africa)
 * 1965 Archives of the History of American Psychology. Archives of Bosnia-Herzegovina given their present name. London County Council Members Library and The Middlesex County Record Office, merged to form the Greater London Record Office and History Library (GLRO)
 * 1966 The Alabama Historical Commission created by an act of the state legislature. Central State Archives Museum of Literature and Art of Ukraine and National Archives of Cameroon
 * 1967 Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, City of Victoria Archives, National Library & Archives of Bhutan
 * 1968 Alaska Film Archives, Bertrand Russell Archives and National Center for Documentation and Research, United Arab Emirates
 * 1969 Center for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society, Gibraltar National Archives, National Archives of Gabon and National Center for Documentation and Research, United Arab Emirates
 * 1970 University of Auckland, Archive of Maori and Pacific Music
 * 1971 Cinémathèque québécoise given its present name. New York State Archives and Project Gutenberg.
 * 1972 Australian Archives of the Dance, Danish Film Institute, Delhi Archives, The Hong Kong Historical Archives, National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka, Stadtarchiv Mülheim an der Ruhr and Uxbridge Historical Centre Archives. Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv move to their present location.
 * 1973 A major fire at the National Personnel Records Center destroyed about a third of its personal record files. Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives founded as the Canadian Gay Liberation Movement Archives. Jerusalem Cinematheque, Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick, National Archives of Pakistan, Ontario Jewish Archives and Trail City Archives
 * 1974 Korean Film Archive and National Archives of the Cook Islands,
 * 1975 Canadian Gay Liberation Movement Archives became the Canadian Gay Archives. Centro de Capacitacion Cinematografica, Charlotte County Archives, Human Studies Film Archives and Information Center for Israeli Art
 * 1976 Child Development Film Archives established at the Archives of the History of American Psychology. Archives départementales de la Haute-Corse, Cranbrook Archives, Museum and Landmark Foundation,  Greater Manchester County Record Office, National Center for Jewish Film and Scottish Screen.
 * 1977 The National Archives building at Kew, London, opened. Archivo Central del Ministerio de Cultura, Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives, Kreisarchiv Landkreis Diepholz, North West Film Archive, Sooke Region Museum Archives and Sources (website)
 * 1978 Staatsarchiv Wertheim, Bangladesh Film Archive
 * 1979 National Archives of Ethiopia, Archives départementales de la Gironde,, Harvard Film Archive, Himachal Pradesh State Archives. National Centre for Documentation and Scientific Research, Performing Arts Collection, Research and Documentation Center of Eritrea, and Swedish National Archive of Recorded Sound and Moving Images
 * 1980 State Archives in the City of Kyiv and State Archives of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast given their present names. Berwick-upon-Tweed Record Office and National Archive of Catalonia
 * 1981 National Center for Jewish Film became an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Alele Museum, Library and National Archives and South Texas Archives and Special Collections
 * 1982 Liberal Archive (Belgium), Manipur State Archives, Prelinger Archives, San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive, Stadtarchiv Bassum and Yale Film Study Center
 * 1983 National Science Library of India moved to its present location.
 * 1984 Research Video, and Thai Film Archive as the National Film Archive.
 * 1985 Institut Pierre Mendès France, National Security Archive, Spaarnestad Photo and Ukrainian Catholic Church Archeparchial Archives
 * 1986 National Archives of Ireland
 * 1987 Lambda Archives of San Diego. Archivo General de Indias building and its contents were registered by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
 * 1988 National Film Preservation Board and Sorabji Archive
 * 1990 State Archives of Luhansk Oblast became known by its present name. Military archives of the DDR transferred to Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv. King Fahad National Library. Kent Archives Office and the county's local studies library merged, to form the Centre for Kentish Studies
 * 1991 Volunteer archivist Hank Chapot accepted the task of collecting pertinent information from party activities: the material eventually became part of the California Green Archives. Nanaimo Archives and Swiss Literary Archives
 * 1992 National Film Archive (UK) became the National Film and Television Archive. Memory of the World Programme set up. Fundacion Carmen Toscano, Japanese American National Museum, National Archives of Colombia, National Documentation Centre of Djibouti, and State Archive of the Russian Federation. Saarland Archive Act of 23 September 1992, came into force on 1 January 1993
 * 1993 Azerbaijan State Film Fund, Kreisarchiv Ostprignitz-Ruppin, National Archives of Singapore and Stadtarchiv Wetter. National Archives and Public Records Services of Papua New Guinea Technical Construction Archive (Albania) merged into the Office of Library and Archives Board.
 * 1994 CineFiles and Regional State Archives in Kongsberg. Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives adopted its present name (from Canadian Gay Archives). College Park, MD becomes home to the Archives II" facility of the US National Archives.
 * 1995 Central and Regional Library of Berlin, Israel Architecture Archive, and Open Society Archives. Media Archive for Central England registered as a company.
 * 1996 Ayrshire Archives
 * 1997 Government Records Service and Public Records Office, Hong Kong and London Metropolitan Archives
 * 1998 Barnsley Archives and Local Studies and Northern Region Film and Television Archive
 * July 1998 Archives of Indian Labour.
 * 1999 Gulf Coast Archive and Museum, Medieval Chronicle Society, National Archives of Estonia, Russian State Archive of Contemporary History and Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History. The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England merged with English Heritage.
 * 2000 B.C. Central Coast Archives, California Green Archives, Hyper Article en Ligne Okotoks Museum and Archives, and PLOS

21st century

 * 2001 Burnaby Archives and Mennonite Church USA Archives
 * 2002 Archivo General de La Palma, NISCAIR and Redalyc
 * 2003 ANNO (Austrian Newspapers Online), International Internet Preservation Consortium, National Mission for Manuscripts and Servicio de Difusion de la Creación Intelectual.
 * 2003 The National Archives created by merging the Public Record Office and the Historical Manuscripts Commission.
 * 2004 and West Indies Federal Archives Centre
 * 2005 January 1 Landesarchivdirektion Baden-Württemberg and its six state archives were merged, and the Staatsarchiv Sigmaringen has been a department of the Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg. Navy and Marine Corps military records released to the public (now in a part of the National Personnel Records Center. Asian Film Archive, Defence Historical Service, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv and Sächsischen Staatsarchives
 * 2006 National Film and Television Archive became the BFI National Archive. Central State Archives of Foreign Archival Ucrainica
 * 2007 Staatsarchiv Leipzig becomes a department of the Sächsischen Staatsarchives. Burnaby Archives expanded its mandate to include private archives as well as public ones. Central State Electronic Archives of Ukraine, National Archives of the Philippines and The International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers
 * 2008 National Historical Film and Speaking Record Library renamed National Film and Sound Archive. National Museum of Cinema
 * March Family Records Centre, Islington, closed. Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe established.
 * 6 December German Federal Archives made 100,000 photos accessible to the public via Wikimedia Commons
 * 2009 Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo renamed Instituto dos Arquivos Nacionais. Thai Film Archive became a public organisation. Archive Team.
 * 2010 February 26, wall-breaking ceremony held to mark the beginning of the renovation of the old Roadway Express records building at the Archives of the History of American Psychology. Archives and Records Association and Creative Scotland. Spaarnestad Photo placed 10 000 photos on Wiki Commons.
 * 2011 National Archives of the Faroe Islands, administratively combined with the National Library of the Faroe Islands, the National Museum of the Faroe Islands, the Natural History Museum, and the Kaldbak Marine Biological Laboratory (Faroese: Havlívfrøðiliga Royndarstøðin) to form Faroese National Heritage (Faroese: Søvn Landsins). Kreisarchiv Landkreis Diepholz moved to its present location. DBCult Film Institute and National Records of Scotland. Centre for Kentish Studies closed.
 * 2012 National Archives of Hungary became the Hungarian National Archives. Northern Region Film and Television Archive merges with the Yorkshire Film Archive. Kent History and Library Centre and National Sporting Archives of Trinidad and Tobago
 * 2013 Stadtarchiv Mülheim an der Ruhr moved to its present location. City of Coquitlam Archives and Hessisches Landesarchiv
 * 2014 The Rwanda Archives and Library Services Authority was formed. National Audiovisual Institute (Finland), Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision, and South West Heritage Trust
 * 2016 National Archives of Cameroon closed in 2016 for a long running reorganization and digitization of its files. Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive opened in its present location.
 * 2018 1 January Lichfield Record Office closed, records moving to Staffordshire Record Office.
 * March 2019 PANDORA content became part of the Australian Web Archive