Diaries are personal records of daily events and experiences that can provide historians with insight into past eras. A diary is a chronological record of the writer's life using daily entries. While some diaries were historically used for government or business records, modern diaries are more personal and intended to be private. Diaries differ from journals in that diaries contain daily entries while journals may have less frequent entries. Famous diaries that provide windows into history include Samuel Pepys' diary of 17th century English life and the Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, which details her experience in hiding from the Nazis.

1. Diaries
What it is, why it’s important and
a look at some of the famous
diaries and diarists in history

2. What is a diary?
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged
according to date, giving an account of the events over
the course of a day or other period.
The word diary comes from the Latin diarium or “daily
allowance”, taken from the word dies which means
“day”.
A personal diary may contain a person’s experiences,
thoughts and feelings. It may also include commentary
on events outside of the writer’s direct experience.

3. Diaries written to record the activities and events involving
institutions play a role in many aspects of human civilisation.
These include:
government records
business ledgers
military records
In the modern sense a diary is more personal in nature, normally
intended to be privately read or circulated amongst relatives
and close associates only and not publicised.

4. Diary vs Journal
The term “journal” is also interchangeably used to refer to a
diary.
The word journal comes from diurnus meaning “of the day”
through the old French jurnal.
The general distinction between the two is that a diary is
intended to contain daily entries, as opposed to less frequent
writing in journals.

5. Examples of modern-day diaries
Collins 2015 Early Edition Diary 5 Star 2014 Diary Day to Page

6. Significance in recording history
Diaries of important personalities or of ordinary people
containing narrations of significant events in history
serve as a window with which we can look into what
life was like in the past.
Diaries are also used by historians and students to fill
the gaps in knowledge of events unrecorded in
historical, military and political chronicles.
They are also used as a picture of their writers’ time
and personality.

7. The Journal d'un bourgeois de Paris
Written by an anonymous French priest from 1409 to 1431 and continued by another
writer until 1449, it is of great value to historians studying the reigns of Charles VI and
Charles VII.

8. Famous diaries, journals and writers

9. John Evelyn (1620-1706)
His Diary, kept all his life, is considered an invaluable source of information
on the social, cultural, religious and political life of 17th-century England.

10. Samuel Pepys (1633-1703)
He is widely considered as the greatest diarist of all time. He gave an astonishingly
accurate and frank picture of his frailties. He also gave a stunning picture of life as he
experienced it not only in London but also at the court, the theatre, his Navy office and
his household.

11. the Journal of Katherine Mansfield (1927)
the Diary of Virginia Woolf
The Diary of a Young Girl by Ann Frank - widely translated and
one of the most widely read pieces of literature in history.
A facsimile of the original pages of
Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

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