Old Newspapers Make Big News

1/1/1900: America's New Century Begins Optimistically-Wall Street Prices Soar.

5/31/1900: Boxer Rebellion Breaks Out in China.

1/22/1901: Era Ends as Queen Victoria Dies at 82.

9/6/1901: President McKinley Shot Twice at Close Range.

6/16/1903: Engineer Henry Ford Forms Auto Company-Will Produce "Horseless" Carriages.

10/13/1903: Baseball Plays First "World Series" in Boston.

12/17/1903 Wright Brothers Fly Heavier-than-air Plane.

1904: John Ambrose Flemming Introduces Electronic Vacuum Tube.

4/19/1906 San Francisco Quake Kills Thousands,

4/21/1910: Mark Twain Dies-Reports "Not Exaggerated."

8/27/1910: Edison Unveils "Talking Pictures."

8/22/1911: Mona Lisa Stolen from Louvre.

4/15/1912 Iceberg Sinks "Unsinkable" Titanic-1500+ Feared Dead.

3/3/1913: Women March for Rights in Washington,

Summer/1914: War Flares in Europe.

5/12/1915 Lusitania Torpedoed-Wilson Accuses Germany.

Dec./1915 Einstein Develops "Theory of Relativity."

4/6/1917 U.S. Enters "World" War.

11/11/1918 VICTORY-Armistice signed by Germany. 1920 KDKA Broadcasts Commercial Radio.

1/5/1920 Boston Pitcher Babe Ruth Sold to NY.

11/26/1922 King Tut's Tomb Discovered.

10/30/1929: Stock Market Crashes!.

3/2/1932: Lindy's Baby Kidnapped,

11/8/1932: Roosevelt Wins in Landslide.

1//30/1933: Hitler Named Chancellor of Germany,

5/23/1934: Bonnie & Clyde Killed in Police Ambush.

8/16/1936: Jesse Owens Stars in Hitler's Berlin Olympics,

5/6/1937: Hindenburg Blows Up "One of the worst catastrophes of all time."

9/30/1939: Britain & France Declare War on Germany,

12/8/1941: Japanese Bomb Pearl Harbor-Congress Set to Declare War.

6/6/1944: D-DAY-Allies Invade Europe.

5/7/1945: Germany Surrenders!

8/1945: Atomic Bombs Destroy Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

1948: Transistor Invented.

2/14/1946: IBM Introduces Advanced Electronic Calculator.

9/23/49: Russians Have the Bomb!

3/12/1954: Murrow Takes on McCarthey,

12/24/56: Blacks Boycott Buses in Alabama.

9/9/56 Elvis Gains Record TV Audience.

9/26/1960: Kennedy & Nixon Debate on TV.

4/12/1961: Soviets Put First Man in Space.

11/22/63: JFK Shot in Dallas.

2/12/1964: Beatles Invade America,

1965 U.S. Marines Sent to Vietnam.

1/30/65: Man of Century, Sir Winston Churchill Dies.

12/21/1967 Doctors Perform 1st Heart Transplant.

4/5/1968 Martin Luther King Killed.

7/20/69: Mankind Lands on Moon.

8/17/69: Woodstock.

5/18/1969: Kent State Shooting Shocks Nation.

9/15/1972: Seven Involved in Watergate Break-in Indicted,

4/9/1974 Aaron Hits 715! 1979: Iranians Seize U.S. Embassy.

8/8/1974: Nixon Resigns.

11/21/85: Regan Meets Gorbechev at Geneva.

1/31/1986 Challenger Explodes.

4/16/1990: Hubble Begins Search for Stars.

1/16/1991 "The Liberation of Kuwait had Begun."

1994: OJ on Trial For Murder.

7/4/1997: Dow Jones Industrial Average Approaches 8000!

8/31/1997: Princess Diana Killed in Car Crash.

1999: World at Peace! (There's a Headline we're all hoping for.)

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Ben Franklin - Newspaper Columnist
Columnists like myself are self-proclaimed wizards when it comes to investments that should have been purchased yesterday. Unfortunately, we are not so wise regarding opportunities available today. Ten years hence, you might thank me for this tip: Invest in "big headline" old newspapers. Here's why;

Low downside risk. Old papers have little value in today's market. Interesting examples can be purchased for a few dollars or less, partly because they are quick to yellow and fall-apart. I believe interest in the category will bring with it products like attractive wall-hanging "air-sealed newspaper frame boxes," and "paper acid-protection solution." Soon, old papers will live longer lives.

Good upside potential. The year 2000 will sprout many stories romancing the last 100 years. Articles like "The Top 100 Headlines of the 20th Century," will make old newspapers a hot collectible. Additionally, intellectually stimulating antiques are outpacing the market.

I suggest you limit yourself to "whole" papers in good condition; folded in half is fine. I would also seek issues from long-established papers like the Waterbury Republican or Boston Herald. They will probably command higher prices than same-day copies from lesser presses. Most importantly, seek graphic headlines depicting interesting subject matter. Look for news that has grown in importance over time. Here's a few of my top 100 "Stories of the Century." See if you can collect them all.