1898 - Born Clive Staples Lewis November 29 in Belfast, Ireland, to
Albert James Lewis and Flora Augusta Hamilton Lewis.
1908 - Mother died of cancer; Clive Staples, nicknamed Jack, and older
brother Warren sent to Wynyard School in England, which Jack nick names it belsen.
1910 - Attends Campbell College Belfast for one term due to illness.
1911-13 - Studied at Cherbourg School, Malvern England, Follwong
Warren ("warrnie"); remained remarkably poor in mathematics, unlike his
mother, but evidenced an increasing affection for "Northernness" e.g.
Wagner's music and Norse mythology.
1914-16 - Extensive literary and philosophical studies (Latin, Greek,
French, German, and Italian) under the private tuition of W. T.
Kirkpatrick.
1916 - Won scholarship to University College, Oxford.
1917 - Began studies at Oxford; interrupted by service in World War
One; commissioned as second lieutenant in Somerset light infantry
1918 - Hospitalized for "trench fever"; rejoined his battalion, wounded in
Battle of Arras, France, and hospitalized again.
1919 - Resumed studies at Oxford Published "Spirits in Bondage," a
collection of lyric poems, under the pseudonym of Clive Hamilton.
1925 - Elected Fellow of English Language and Literature at Magdalen
College, Oxford, where he remained until 1954.
1926 - "Dymer," a book-length narrative poem, also published under the
pseudonym of Clive Hamilton.
1931 (28 Sept) - Final embrace of Christianity on a trip to Whipsnade
Zoo
1933 - "The Pilgrim's Regress : An Allegorical Apology for Christianity,
Reason, and Romanticism."
1936 - "The Allegory of Love: A Study in Medieval Tradition."
1938 - "Out of the Silent Planet," the first novel in the Space Trilogy.
1939 - "The Personal Heresy: A Controversy," a debate with E. M. W.
Tillyard. First met Charles Williams and introduced him to the Inklings, a
group which met, usually in Lewis' rooms at Magdalen College, for good
talk and mutual criticism of works-in-progress and included, among
others, W. H. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Nevill Coghill, H. V. D. Dyson,
A. C. Harwood, C. T. Onions, and Robert Havard.
1940 - "The Problem of Pain," his first religious book.
1941 - Gave the first of many talks about religion over the BBC, which
later were published in "Mere Christianity."
1942 - "The Screwtape Letters," "A Preface to Paradise Lost."
1943 - "Perelandra," the second novel in the Space Trilogy "The Abolition
of Man."
1945 - "That Hideous Strength," the last novel in the Space Trilogy "The
Great Divorce: A Dream."
1946 - Passed over for Merton professorship of English Literature at
Oxford.
1947 - "Miracles: A Preliminary Study."
1950 - "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," the first of the seven
Chronicles of Narnia.
1951 - "Prince Caspian," Narnia Chronicles II.
1952 - "The Voyage of the 'Dawn Treader'," Narnia Chronicles III "Mere
Christianity," his earlier broadcast talks.
1953 - "The Silver Chair," Narnia Chronicles IV.
1954 - "The Horse and His Boy," Narnia Chronicles V "English Literature
in the Sixteenth Century, excluding Drama," in the Oxford History of
English Literature.
1955 - Elected Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at
Magdalen College, Cambridge. "The Magician's Nephew," Narnia
Chronicles VI "Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life."
1956 - "The Last Battle," Narnia Chronicles VII "Till We Have Faces: A
Myth Retold."
1956 (23 April) - Married Joy Davidman Gresham in secret civil
ceremony when British Home Office denied continuance of her residency
permit. Davidman had converted to Christianity from Judaism in 1948
partly under the influence of Lewis's books, met Lewis in 1952, divorced
in 1953 due to her husband's desertion and later developed bone cancer.
1957 (21 March) - Married Joy in church ceremony at her hospital bed.
1958 - "Reflections on the Psalms."
1960 (13 July) - Joy Davidman Lewis died.
1960 - "Studies in Words" "The Four Loves."
1961 - "A Grief Observed," an account of his suffering caused by his
wife's death in 1960, published under the pseudonym of N. W. Clerk
"An Experiment in Criticism."
1962 - "They Asked for a Paper: Papers and Addresses."
1963 - Death (22 November) Died at the Kilns after a variety of illnesses,
including a heart attack and kidney problems. American President John
Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on the same day.
