Historical information from the 1901 census will be online for the first time from today (2 January). The database of more than 32 million people is expected to be a major boon for historians.

Among others, it will contain personal details of the Queen Mother, Charlie Chaplin, Florence Nightingale and J R R Tolkien, all of whom took part in the 1901 census. The information can be searched by name, address, institution, vessel or place.

Pro spokesperson Alison Webster said that the online publication of the census would increase the number of people interested in the history of their families. "People are also fascinated to find out who lived in their house," she added.

The Public Record Office (Pro) has doubled the number of its computer servers to cope with what is expected to be a massive demand from amateur historians and genealogists.

But unfortunately it doesn't seem to be coping very well. Users attempting to log onto the site this morning, will be met by a message informing them that the site is temporarily unavailable due to heavy demand.www.census.pro.gov.uk