Q:

Where can I find Historical GIS datasets?

I've been looking for a while for Historical GIS datasets. In a lot of places (also in answers here at StackExchange), people are referring to a great dataset at ThinkQuest, which contains detailed shapefiles for many years inbetween 2000 BC and 1994 for the whole world (I am interested in Europe, in particular).
But since ThinkQuest has been discontinued, the archive is only accessible through the ThinkQuest Library. Unfortunately, this archive does not contain the actual downloads of the datasets...
Does anybody know where I can find these datasets, or is there maybe someone who downloaded these in the past willing to share them here?
Note: Earlier I have asked this question at gis.stackexchange.com, but I was informed that the question would be better suited at this stackexchange.

A:

For US data, the NHGIS project is by far the best source. From their home page:

The National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS)
  provides, free of charge, aggregate census data and GIS-compatible
  boundary files for the United States between 1790 and 2014.

I also found that the Association of American Geographers runs this Historical GIS Clearinghouse and Forum which seems like a good route to pursue.
Finally, generally speaking, you may want to add "digital humanities" to your search criteria, as it's a good general umbrella for work that would make use of historical GIS. Here is a long list of Digital Humanities (DH) GIS projects

