UK:The transcript from Oscar Wilde's trial for gross indecency at London's Old Bailey court has gone online for the first time, alongside a host of murder, robbery and abduction cases.
Up for free examination are 110,000 pages of transcripts, including the notorious story of Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen, who was hanged for murdering his wife.
The www.oldbaileyonline.org website was billed as the largest single source of searchable historical information about British lives that has ever been published.
The transcripts cover all the 210,000 trials held at the Old Bailey from 1674 to 1913. The court is still in operation.
The records also list biographical details of about 3,000 men and women executed at the notorious Tyburn gallows in London.
Prof Tim Hitchcock, a co-director of the project, said: "Until now, this treasure trove of social, legal and family history has only been available to a few dedicated historians who were prepared to spend months peering at microfilms.
"Beside the desperate drama of crimes punished, the proceedings give us a remarkable access to the everyday," he added. "History is full of information about kings and queens but there isn't much that tells us about the everyday life of ordinary people."
Prof Robert Shoemaker, another co-director, said people could visit the site for free and get a valuable insight into crime. "These crimes were committed by Irish terrorists, train robbers and suffragettes as well as by ordinary people."
People could also search the site for criminal ancestors. - (Reuters)