Historedia
EuropeEvent

First Issue of The Observer

When
1791
Where
London, where the first issue was published
Episodes
1

The Observer's first issue appeared in London on 4 December 1791, published by W.S. Bourne. The paper, a British Sunday newspaper, is recognized as the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, a status tied directly to its 1791 founding.

Episodes

  1. 4 December 1791 · London, where the first issue was publishedPublication of the first issue

    The Observer's first issue was published in London on 4 December 1791 by W.S. Bourne, founding the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.

Background and detail

Background. The Observer is a British newspaper published on Sundays. Its founding in 1791 established it as the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, a distinction the sources attach to the paper's first publication rather than to any later transformation of the title.

The First Issue. The first issue was published on 4 December 1791 by W.S. Bourne, an appearance that made The Observer the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. The sources confirm the date, the publisher, and the paper's Sunday status, but supply no details about the issue's contents.

People involved

Sources

  1. The Observer Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-23

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.