As you reach for that Sunday paper to enjoy with your morning coffee and croissant, you might want to take a moment to reflect on this little historical tidbit: on March 11, 1702, England’s first daily newspaper, the Daily Courant, was published from its premises “against the Ditch at Fleet Bridge” in Fleet Street. Along with being the first daily in England, it was also one of the first regular daily newspapers in the world.
The paper, published by Edward Mallet, was a single page with two columns that was dedicated to publish news without commentary, because apparently Mallet assumed other people had “sense enough to make reflections for themselves.” Mallet eventually sold the paper to Samuel Buckley, who moved it to new premises in Little Britain. In 1735, the paper merged with the Daily Gazetteer, which was published under several different names through 1797.
