This is a guide to help you with your research. The National Archives holds many official records and papers of people who have held political office in England and Wales, but not usually their private papers.
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What do I need to know before I start?
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Try to find out:
- the name at birth of the person and any names or titles by which they may subsequently have been known
- their date of birth and/or death
- their occupation and any institutions or organisations they might have been involved with
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What records can I see online?
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Wills of famous people (1552-1854)
Browse and download wills of selected famous people (PROB 1) (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.).
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What records can I find at The National Archives at Kew?
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Searching Discovery, our catalogue
Search by name or subject, or search within the relevant department using the department code.
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To access these records you will either need to visit us, commission research (£there will be a charge) or, where you can identify a specific record referencea unique set of letters and numbers identifying a document in The National Archives, order a copy (£there will be a charge).
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What records can I find in other archives and organisations?
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The Times Archive
Search The Times archive (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.) by name to find articles about the person or their obituary.
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Records held locally
Search the National Register of Archives (NRA) database to find archives which hold records of particular famous people.
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What other resources will help me find information?
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Websites
Consult the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography for biographies of prominent people. This can be accessed online by subscription (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.), or may be available through your local reference library's subscription.
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Search our wiki, Your Archives, for information about records which refer to some famous or infamous individuals, such as Jack the Ripper.
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Births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales
Census
Wills or administrations after 1858