Who's who of 1871 goes online: Napoleon to your great-uncle Joe

The 1871 census is available online, in full, for the first time. Thanks to a new initiative by The National Archives and Ancestry.co.uk, you can search the index by name and look at scans of original records of the famous and not so famous, see our census pages

This latest launch means visitors to The National Archives website will now be able to trace their families through four successive censuses, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901. Searching the index is free.

You can find out about the glitterati of the 1870s

Napoleon Bonaparte's nephew and former Emperor of France, Napoleon III, is included in the census. After his expulsion from France, he moved to Camden Place, Chislehurst, Kent, and continued to live there until his death in January 1873.

Frederick (Fritz) DELIUS was born in Bradford, Yorkshire in 1862 of German descent. His father was a 'Yarn & Stuff maker' and Fritz was expected to go into the family business but disappointed his father by becoming instead one of the greatest composers that this country has produced.

Beatrix Potter, aged four is listed as Helen Beatrice, the daughter of Rupert Potter, a practicing barrister. Although traditionally associated with the Lake District, Beatrix Potter spent her childhood in London and was living in the family home in Bolton Gardens, Kensington at the time of the census.

George Eliot, author of Daniel Deronda and Middlemarch, is recorded as the wife of George H Lewes, although she lived with him for twenty years and never married. Her occupation is also overlooked, while her 'husband's' profession is given as 'literature', although his contribution to literature was undoubtedly less significant than hers.

Some unusual characters:

The census contains details of George Gawthorpe, who in 1871 had lain in bed for 15 years.

A number of 'gay girls' lived in Wharf Street, Bradford. 'Gay girls' was one of the many euphemisms found in the census for prostitutes. For each of the women recorded there is a corresponding man whose details were (perhaps unsurprisingly) unknown.

Or your great-uncle Joe

For the first time you can actually see the 1871 census records from the comfort of your own home. It has been available on microfilm before, but now you can search by name, making it much easier for you to find that missing branch of your family tree.

Searching the index of names is free and if you want to see the full original entry you can do that on a pay-per-view basis.

Mark Pearsall, family history expert at The National Archives, said:

"The BBC's 'Who Do You Think You Are?' series has really increased interest in family history and we have more people visiting our reading rooms at Kew every day. The 1871 census will make it easier for lots of people to trace their roots without even leaving their front door".

Josh Hanna, director of operations at Ancestry.co.uk, said:

"Discovering your roots is appealing to almost everyone. It's like a treasure hunt, and each bit of information you uncover gets you closer to discovering yourself. As more records are placed online, locating ancestors and the detailed information about those individuals becomes more easily accessible-at the touch of a button."