timeline

1885 born Nov. 6th younger bro. of Winifred b.1884
1886 Father made professor of botany royal indian engineering college. Family moves to Englefield green.
1887
1888
1889
1890 'Expelled' from first school in France. 'A source of great hilarity' to him.
1891
1892
1893 Met Queen Victoria 'fleetingly' in a country lane he doffed his cap she bowed as her carriage went past
1894 Boarding at Colet Court. (prep school for St. Paul's)
1895 Father appointed Prof. botany Cambridge. Frank meets best freind Kenneth Ward (no relation)
1896 St. Paul,s school
1897
1898
1899
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904 Christ's college Cambridge.
1905
1906 Father dies. Education cut short. Second class degree in tripos.
1907 Sails for Singapore to teach at public school.
1908
1909 Invited on American zoological exp. sponsored 1910 by duke of Bedford. discovers several new species. Seperated from party for two days.
1911 'On the road to Tibet' published. Shanghai press
Bees seeds comission Frank to lead exp. to Yunnan. First solo exp. Lost for three days without food. Suffered fever and deleriousness. (1st brush with death.) retruned 200 species including 22 new to science. Elected Fellow of Royal geographical society and Linnaean society.
1912 First return to England. 1st lecture. Climbing in Swiss and Italian alps.

1913 3rd exp. Yunnan and Tibet again. Held up by Chinese revolution red tape and soldiers. Managed to return about 200 species.
'Land of the bue poppy' published.
1914 April exp to Burma. 40" tree falls on tent. Frank miraculously not badly hurt. Also falls off cliff caught by tree. Village they were stayig in destroyed by storm. (2nd brush with death.) Hears news of war 7 weeks after its start from English officers during return journey. March to Fort Hertz British garrisson. Arrives just in time to go down with fever for 6 weeks. (3rd brush with death)
Dec 1914 Joins indian infantry as 2nd lieutenant.Given censorship duties. Wanted to go and fight the Germans.
1915 Dec. made liuetenant. Still cannot get to the front despite trying.
1916 Given rank of 'acting' Captain. Sent to Mesopotamia 'Iraq' recieves 'Cuthbert Peek' grant for exploration R.G.S.
1917
1918 Promoted to Captain in December. Despite his requests, he never saw action. To the relief of his mother and sister who had seen enough freinds dressed in black to know what he had unwillingly escaped.
1919 North Burma exp.
1920 2nd Return to England. Partner in nursery garden.
1921 Exp. Yunnan and Tibet
'In farthest Burma' published
1922 Exp. Yunnan and Tibet, More bouts of fever, Hears news, in December, of mother's death in June.
1923 'Mystery rivers of Tibet' published thre years late because he wanted to call it 'the great gutters of Kham'
Married Florinda Norman-Thompson 23rd April Moved into house at Hatton Gore. (on site of present day Heathrow)
Sold loss making nursery business.
1924 'From China to Hkamti Long' and 'The romance of plant hunting' published.
Exp. to Tsangpo river with Lord Cawdor to discover mythical falls. Pushed further than any previous explorer. Discovered rainbow falls 40" and many smaller falls but fell short of the main goal (as it turns out) by only about half a mile! Hidden falls discovered 1998 by American explorers. 75 species of Rhodos. among the haul.
1925 Continuation of above.
Cuthbert Peek Grant for exploration R.G.S.

1926 Birth of 1st daughter Pleione. 21st March
'Riddle of the Tsangpo gorges' and 'Rhododendrons for everyone' published.
Percy Sladen memorial exp. North Burma and Assam Discovery of the tea rose primula.
1927 Visit to New York guest of the Roosevelt's.
1928 2nd daughter Martha born 11th March.
Moved to Cleeve court.
Percy Sladen Mem. Exp. Assam Mishmi hills with H.M. Clutterbuck.
1929 Burma and Indochina
1930 North Burma.
'Plant hunting on the edge of the world' published.
1931 'Plant hutning on the edge of the world' Published
1932 'The loom of the east' Published.
1933 Assam and Tibet.
1934 'A plant hunter in Tibet' Published.
England
1935 Assam and Tibet.exp.
'The romance of gardening' Published.
1936
1937 North Burma and Tibet.
Divorce from Florinda.
1938 Assam, North Burma
Return to England
1939 Visit to America and worlds fair. return to England to join the war effort.
1940 Censors department war office. (hated the drudgery) posted to Scotland for special training.
1941 Journey via Africa, middle east, India and Singapore to Thailand on a mission for the war office to locate escape routes in case of Japanese invasion.
'Assam adventure' published.
1942 Continuation of similar work.

1943 Setting up fuel and ammo dumps in the jungle ready for the japanese invasion.
1944 Bombay "special assignment" doing nothing
1945 'Modern exploration' published
1946 Assam, Khasia hills
'About this earth' published
1947
1948 Assam, East manipur.
'Commonsense rock gardening' published
1949 Assam, Mishmi hills.
'Burma's icy mountains' and 'Rhododendrons' published.
1950 Assam and Tibet.
'Footsteps in civilisation' published.
1951
1952 'Plant hunter in Manipur' published
1953 North Burma.
1954 'Berried treasure' Published.
1955
1956 West central Burma, Chin hills, Mount victoria. 'Return to Irrawaddy' Pubished.
1957 Ceylon
1958

1960 'Pilgrimage for plants' Published