4 MAY

The first number of the Gibraltar Chronicle was published on the 4 May, 1801.

The Chronicle began its life as a weekly journal in foolscap size, and in its early days its pages were almost entirely devoted to the publication of lengthy official despatches, to letters on the political state of Europe, and to operations of the army in the field. Not the sort of stuff modern readers would find very interesting, and given the minute type I often wonder how people managed in those days of candlelight! In 1821, the ‘paper was first issued as a daily.

Also on the 4 May, this time in the year 1898, the two sections of the tunnel which was being driven through the heart of the Rock for the conveyance of material used in the construction of the dock works met in the centre. The Gibraltar Chronicle marvelled at this feat of engineering in the following terms:- The borings from the two sides were calculated with the greatest nicety and furnish another proof of the exactitude with which engineering science can deal with the difficulties of such undertakings when carried out under the direction of competent engineers.