Wayback Machine
web.archive.org
Browse over 800 billion archived web pages spanning decades of internet history.
The Wayback Machine captures snapshots of websites over time, letting you see how any page looked on a specific date. It preserves sites that have been deleted, redesigned, or taken down entirely.
Why it is useful
The only reliable way to access deleted or changed web content. Essential for research, journalism, and recovering content from sites that no longer exist.
More in Archives
Other archives you might not have heard of.
- Rijksmuseum CollectionThe Rijksmuseum's online collection of Dutch art and history, including works by Rembrandt and Vermeer, with high-resolution images of public-domain pieces.
- Wikimedia CommonsWikipedia's free media repository, holding tens of millions of freely licensed images, audio and video files with licence details for each.
- MusopenA nonprofit that records and releases public domain classical music with no performance rights restrictions — providing free sheet music, recordings, and textbooks for composers, educators, and filmmakers.
- FamilySearchA free genealogy archive with billions of historical records — census data, birth and death records, immigration documents — searchable by name.
- World Digital LibraryUNESCO and Library of Congress project providing free access to rare manuscripts and cultural artifacts worldwide.
- Chronicling AmericaLibrary of Congress archive of digitized historic American newspapers from 1770 to 1963.