The Associated Press and the British Movietone teamed up to upload more than 100 years of newsreel footage dating from 1895 to present with the world which will serve as a source of education for historians and documentary filmmakers.

The largest upload to YouTube of historical news content of more than 1 million minutes of 550,000 digitized footage includes footage of the major historical events like the earthquake in San Francisco in 1906, Pearl Harbour bombing in 1941, Nelson Mandela’s release, and an amateur video of one of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers on 9/11, celebrity footage, fashion and lifestyle through the ages, sports and entertainment, Science and technology and other historical milestones. All this content will be continually refreshed by AP.

“The AP archive footage, combined with the British Movietone collection, creates an incredible visual journey of the people and events that have shaped our history,” said Alwyn Lindsey, AP’s director of international archive. “At AP we are always astonished at the sheer breadth of footage that we have access to, and the upload to YouTube means that, for the first time, the public can enjoy some of the oldest and most remarkable moments in history.”

Stephen Nuttall, the director of YouTube in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, comments: “Making this content available on YouTube is a wonderful initiative from AP and British Movietone that will breathe new life into their footage and no doubt delight our global community – from students researching history projects to curious culture-vultures and the billions in between. It’s an historical treasure trove that will give YouTube users around the world a moving window into the past and I can’t wait to explore it.”

The content dating from 1895 to 1986 is available on two YouTube channels: AP Archive and British Movietone