The Science Fiction and Fantasy Timeline 


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        Involve yourself within my dream
        Experience a life
        Just like your mind thought not to be
        Take a look through time
        As past or present words to be
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        Enthroned for eternity

        Spirit in Black (Jeff Hanneman/Kerry King, Slayer)

This timeline was based on the alt.horror.cthulhu FAQ, on the Grolier Enciclopedia, on the GURPS Time Travel Timeline and on the 'Net Alternate History List . The World Population data was taken from the Population Division, Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis, USA government (somewhere in the Web). Some data about the movements of the continents that formed Gondwana were provided by Luiz Surcan, in the Centroin BBS. The geological dates were shifted to fit into the excellent Home Page Evolutionary and Geological Timelines, by Niel Brandt. The Future of the Solar System was taken from Superinteressante Magazine of April 1997. I got many links from Edgar Governo's History of Things that Never Were. Some of the movie timelines were complemented with a visit to the Internet Movie Database

I'm now in the process of adding links to other sf, fantasy, mythological and historical timelines. Suggestions will be very welcome! :-)

A list of Alternate History scenarios can be found at www.skatecity.com/ah. They are sorted by divergence date.

A minor notice about big numbers is necessary. There are currently two ways to use big numbers. The standard convention is logical: <latin prefix>-llion is equal to 106 <latin number>. But some countries (USA, as expected, and Brazil, for example) adopt the irrational notation <latin prefix>-llion = 103 + 3 <latin number>. In this page, I will use the right convention of 1 billion = 1012. For more details about these number conventions, check Article "A Zillion Troubles" and the Billion summary from the Linguist List

I guess I should beg apologies for the zillions of dead links that I feature in this page. It's not my fault - people tend to create and abandon pages all the time. Until I have an efficient way to systematically check if the links exist, this will be a constant headache

Return to Alberto Monteiro's Home Page

Created: 1997

Disclaimer

Some of the links to fiction works may include spoiler information. It's recomended that these links should not be followed by those who haven't read the books and plan to do so (of course those that don't plan to read the books at all may take a look and change their minds J)

20,000 million BC

  • Xeelee Timeline begins

    17,000 million BC

  • Big Bang

  • See a Timeline for the events just after the Big Bang, by Niel Brandt.

    5,000 - 1,500 million BC

  • Archaeozoic (Archean) era

    4,500 million BC

  • Solar System is formed

  • Formation of the Moon (4.52 to 4.50 thousand million BC, according to this study by University of Michigan and University of Tenesse )

    3,800 million BC

  • Formation of Earth's Ocean

  • Life began on Earth - see picture

  • See also the Tree of Life

    3,500 million BC

  • Elder Things arrive at Earth (crinoid Old Ones) (Lovecraft)

    3,500 - 2,800 million BC

  • Prokaryotic cell organisms develop

    2,800 - 2,200 million BC

  • The Progenitors rule the galaxies in Golden Age (David Brin)

    1,500 million BC

  • Eukaryotic cells appear on Earth

    1,500 - 545 million BC

  • Proterozoic era

    1,200 million BC

  • Oldest possible date for the Creation of the Moon, using current values of the Tidal Friction (Creation Science)

    545 - 250 million BC

  • Paleozoic era

    545 - 505 million BC

  • Cambrian period

  • First invertebrates, trilobites

    505 - 438 million BC

  • Ordovician period

  • Mollusks, brachiopods, and other skeletal invertebrates

  • Jawless fishes

    438 - 410 million BC

  • Silurian period

  • Fishes with jaws and first land plants

  • Land Animals appear on Earth

    420 million BC

  • Higher forms of plant life appear on Earth

    410 - 355 million BC

  • Devonian period

  • Insects, Amphibians

  • See picture of Life in the Sea

    400 million BC

  • The main groups of fish are differentiated

    355 - 290 million BC

  • Carboniferous period

  • Forests appear

  • Reptiles, Giant Insects

    336 million BC

  • Explosion of Planet K(Mass = 15 Mearth) (Meta Research)

    320 million BC

  • Antarctica, Australia, India, South America and Africa form the continent of Gondwana

    300 million BC

  • See picture of Life on Land

    290 - 250 million BC

  • Permian period

  • Seed breeding plants appear

  • Trilobites die out

    250 - 65 million BC

  • Mesosoic era

    250 - 205 million BC

  • Triassic period

  • First Dinosaurs, Turtles, Crocodiles

    210 million BC

  • See Pangaea Map at Late Triassic

    205 - 135 million BC

  • Jurassic period

  • Largest Dinosaurs

  • Birds appear on Earth

  • Gondwana begins to break, separating South America, Africa and India, in the North, from Antarctica and Australia, in the South

    200 million BC

  • R'lyeh, Cthulhu's home, is built (Lovecraft)

  • The (now) India, Australia, Antarctica, and the southern parts of South America and Africa lie from 10 to 30 degrees from the South Pole, covered by ice

    160 million BC

  • South America, Africa and India separate

    135 - 65 million BC

  • Cretaceous period

  • Horned and Armoured Dinosaurs

    100 million BC

  • Reptiles dominate the Earth

    70 million BC

  • First Primates appear

    65 million BC

  • K-T boundary: Extinction of the Dinosaurs

  • See this and other mass extinctions

  • Explosion of Planet V(Mass = 8 Mearth) (Meta Research)

    65 million BC - today

  • Cenozoic era

    65 - 1.8 million BC

  • Tertiary period

    65 - 55 million BC

  • Paleocene epoch

  • Mammals are dominant

    55 - 38 million BC

  • Eocene epoch

  • Horses, Camels

    45 million BC

  • Antarctica separates from Australia

    38 - 26 million BC

  • Oligocene epoch

  • First Apes

    30 - 25 million BC

  • Development of CircumAntarctic current, essentially isolating Antarctica from the rest of the continents, and beginning the establishment of the Antarctic Ice Sheet

    26 - 6 million BC

  • Miocene epoch (see map)

    24 - 11 million BC

  • Ramapithecus appear on Earth

    10 million BC

  • The Earth, the computer designed by Deep Thought to calculate the Question to the Ultimate Answer, is built (Douglas Adams)

    6 - 1.8 million BC

  • Pliocene epoch

  • Human line diverges from Chimp and Gorilla lines

    5.5 million BC

  • Australopithecus appear on Africa

    4 million BC

  • Australopitecus afarensis appears in east Africa

    2.3 million BC

  • Australopitecus becomes extinct

    2 million BC

  • The Golgofrinchans come to Earth. They may be the ancestors of mankind (Douglas Adams)

    1.8 million BC - today

  • Quaternary period

    1.8 million - 10,000 BC

  • Pleistocene epoch

  • Great Ice Age begins

  • Homo habilis

    1.7 million BC

  • Zinjanthropus (the Nutcracker Man) lives in Kenya. See the Kenya Timeline from Pre-History to today

    1.65 million BC

  • Homo erectus

    1.5 million BC

  • Homo habilis becomes extinct

    1 million BC

  • Cooperative hunting, spear invented, language begins to develop

    800,000 - 700,000 BC

  • Early humans discover how to use fire

    550,000 - 330,000 BC

  • Early humans discover how to make fire

    300,000 BC

  • Early Homo sapiens

  • Homo erectus becomes extinct

    280,000 - 130,000 BC

  • Development of true spoken language and animalistic religion

    150,000 - 100,000 BC

  • Neanderthals inhabit Europe and parts of Asia and North Africa

    40,000 BC

  • Cro-Magnon man is active in Europe and the Middle East

  • See a Timeline for the Pre-History (and History, too)

  • See also The Life & Times of Early Man

    32,000 BC

  • Neanderthal Man vanishes

    c. 15,500 BC

  • Elves awake in Middle-earth (Tolkien)

    12,000 BC

  • Migrations across Bering land bridge

    about 9,000 BC

  • Fall of Atlantis, according to Plato

    6,500 BC - 2,900 BC

  • Neolithic Period: Domestication of plants and animals allows for permanent settlements. See Ancient History Timeline

    January 1st, 4,713 BC, 12:00 UT

  • Day 0.0 of Julian Date . This reckoning was created by Joseph-Juste Scaliger in the Renaissence, in honour of his father Julius Ceasar

  • This day, in the Gregorian Calendar, is 24 November 4714 BC 12:00 (Check the Calendar Overview)

    October 16, 4,004 BC

  • Creation of the World (Bishop Usher). See a Creation Timeline (a very beautiful 69k gif). See also the Institute for Creation Research

    4,000 BC

  • Around this time, the Egyptians astronomically measure Time. See a Chronology of Scientific Discoveries , where you can find detailed explanations of all Scientific Theories!

  • Tolkien's estimate of the date of the Fall of Barad-dur

    4,000 BC - Today

  • Historical Period

  • See many links to History, from the Research Institude for the Humanities

    Monday, September 7, 3761 BC

  • Tishri 1, 0001, Origin of Jewish Calendar. Check the Calendar Overview

    3,500 BC - 1,900 BC

  • Sumerians in Mesopotamia. See Mesopotamia Timeline

    3,100 BC

  • First Dinasty in Egypt. See Egyptian Timeline

    2,700 BC - 2,200 BC

  • Age of the Five Rulers, in China. See Chinese Timeline and Maps

    2,350 BC - 1,750 BC

  • Indus Valley Civilization flowrishes. See Indian Chronology

    1,900 BC - 500 BC

  • Babylonians and Assyrians. See Mesopotamia Timeline

    1190 BC

  • The Trojan War. See a Greek Myth chronology

    753 BC

  • Foundation of Rome. See a Roman Timeline

    580 BC

  • Sappho's famed girls' school flourishes on the Isle of Lesbos. See Lesbian History

    550 BC - 306 BC

  • Persian Empire. See a Persian and Iranian Timeline

    c.540 BC

  • Greek colonies in Spain. See a timeline of Spain and Hispanic Civilization

    490 BC

  • Battle of Marathon: the Persians are defeated by the Greek. See a Greek Chronology

    323 BC

  • Alexander III of Macedon dies

    55 BC and 54 BC

  • Julius Caesar invades Britain, twice. See a Timeline of Britain

    44 BC

  • Assassination of Julius Caesar. See a Timeline of Rome

    30 AD

  • Execution of Jesus of Nazareth

    395 AD

  • Division of the Roman Empire

    500 AD

  • Clovis conquers most of France and Belgium. See a Chronology of Medieval Europe

    July 16, 622 AD

  • Hegira (or Hijra) of Mohammed

  • This is Day 1 of Month 1 (Muharram) of Year 1 of the Islamic Calendar

    862 AD

  • Scandinavian/Viking chieftain Rurik sets up first proto-political government near Novgorod.. See a History of Russia

    1001 AD - 2000 AD

  • See a Timeline for the 2nd millenium, at Greenwich

    July 5, 1054 AD

  • The light from Crab Nebula supernova explosion reaches Earth.

    1073 AD

  • Sanchez Alfonso becomes King of Aragon and Rodrigo Díaz de Vivár (El Cid) becomes his Champion Knight. See a Spanish Royal timeline

    1095 AD - 1291 AD

  • The Cruzades. See a timeline, in Portuguese

    1143 AD

  • Treaty of Zamora. Birth of the Kingdom of Portugal. See a Chronology of Portugal

    1297 - 1305 AD

  • Campaigns of William of Wallace in Scotland. See a Scottish Timeline

    1492 AD

  • Columbus crosses the Atlantic Ocean

    October 4, 1582 AD

  • Gregorian Calendar introduced. October 5 to October 14 (10 days) are cancelled, and the day after October 4 becomes October 15. Check Kevin S's Calendar Conversions

    1592 AD

  • Duncan MacLeod is born (Highlander)

    1613 AD - 1917 AD

  • Romanov Dynasty in Russia. See Romanov Timeline

    1627 AD

  • Spanish sailors visit Hawaii. See Hawaiian Timeline

    May 4th, 1699

  • Gulliver's travels begin

    September 22, 1792

  • Day 1 of Month 1 of Year 1 of French Republic Calendar. Check the Calendar Overview

    1804

  • World Population: 1,000 million

    1854

  • Sherlock Holmes is born

    1864 - 1870

  • Guerra do Paraguai, or Guerra contra la Triple Alianza. Paraguay is at war with Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. Check Paraguay History (here or here, in English, or en español), or the Brazilian Army Unofficial Site ( em Português)

    June 11, 1865

  • Battle of Riachuelo in the Guerra do Paraguai (real)

  • Cusp event to Ética da Traição timeline: brazilian defeat in the Battle of Riachuelo (Gerson Lodi Ribeiro)

    March 4, 1866

  • John Carter is astrally projected to Mars/Barsoom

    November 22, 1888

  • John Clayton III is born in Africa (Tarzan) . Date is 1889 in Chris Adams's ERB Timeline

    1899

  • Action of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz

    June 28, 1914

  • Gavrilo Prinzip kills Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, in Sarajevo. See a timeline of World War I

    October 31, 1922

  • Carl Mikhail Kolchak born. Kolckak stories were the inspiration for The X Files.

    1927 AD

  • World Population: 2,000 million

    January 30, 1933

  • Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany

  • The Jewish population in Germany is 566,000. Check the Holocaust Timeline

    1936

  • The Lost Ark is found in Egypt (Indiana Jones)

    September 1st, 1939

  • Nazi Germany invades Poland, starting World War II

  • Most timelines in Heinlein diverge at this point

    1947

  • Roswell UFO Incident (X-Files)

    1950

  • James Bond becomes 007 and is licensed to kill (Ian Fleming's books)

    October 7, 1950

  • China invades Tibet. They are still occupying Tibet. See more about this

    1954

  • Jack Ryan born (Tom Clancy)

    November 11, 1955 06:00 AM

  • Marty McFly comes from the Future (Back to the Future)

    September 12, 1959

  • Soviet Probe Luna 2 returns image of hidden side of the Moon. See a Chronology of Space Exploration

    1960 AD

  • World Population: 3,000 million

    December 12, 1963

  • Kenya achieves independence. See a Kenya Timeline

    July 20, 1969

  • Neil Armstrong becomes the First Man in the Moon. See a Lunar Exploration Timeline

    June 19, 1971

  • Perry Rhodan, Reginald Bull [Bell in the USA edition], Clark Flipper and Dr. Eric Manoli become the first men in the Moon (Perry Rhodan)

    February, 1972

  • First Interstellar Flight (Planet of the Apes)

    1974 AD

  • World Population: 4,000 million

    c. 1975

  • Max Rockatansky (Mad Max) is born

    December 7, 1975

  • Indonesia invades East Timor. They have practising a genocide since this time. See more about this occupation

    July 7, 1976

  • Viking I lands on Mars. See Mars Exploration Chronology

    April, Friday 13th [?], 1979

  • Slaughter at Camp Crystal Lake (Friday 13th)

    1980

  • A permanent base is established on the Moon, as an international facility (Star Trek; this is probably the "cusp" event from the standard Timeline)

    January 1981

  • Buffy Anne Summers, to be known as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is born

    Thursday, September 3rd, 1981

  • The Vogon Constructor Fleet destroys the Earth (Douglas Adams)

    1982 AD

  • Robots with the Positronic Brain are built (Asimov)

    October 26, 1985 01:35 AM

  • Marty McFly travel to the Past (Back to the Future)

    1987 AD

  • World Population: 5,000 million

    1987, June 12th

  • The Greatest Storm of the Century struck southern England (Tolkien, "prophecized" in 1945 or 1946)

    1987, October 16th

  • The Greatest Storm of the Century struck southern England

    1987, December 15th to 19th

  • Events of Movie Lethal Weapon

    1990 to 1995

  • The initial code of the first artificial intelligence destined to become immortal is written (Signposts Timeline)

    March 7, 1992

  • Dana Scully begins to work with Fox Mulder in the X-Files

    Late March, 1992

  • Serena Tsukino first transforms into Sailor Moon

    November 1994

  • The Intel Pentium FDIV Bug is detected. It had been predicted by Nostradamus

    1997

  • Dr. Zachary Smith sabotages Jupiter 2 in its trip to Alpha Centaury. The Robinson Family becomes Lost in Space

    July 1999

  • Climax of World War III (Nostradamus)

    September 13, 1999 19:42

  • Explosions in the Moon send it away from the Solar System (Space:1999)

    December 31, 1999

  • Fry is frozen (Futurama)

    2004

  • Alderson Drive is perfected. Travel between Star Systems becomes possible (Jerry Pournelle)

    2005

  • Sol Station launches the first interstellar probe (C.J.Cherryh)

    January 19, 2038, 03:14:08

  • The Y2.038K Bug will be activated

    2063

  • Vesta Colony attacked, sparking the Chig War (Space: Above and Beyond)

  • Action of The Thunderbirds

    May 14, 2075

  • Adam Selene, Bernardo de la Paz, Manuel Garcia Davies and Wyoming Knott start the movement for the Independence of the Moon (Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress)

    2080

  • Interstellar travel is considered economically and philosophically interesting (Red Dwarf)

    2131

  • Uplift of Chimpanzees begins (David Brin)

    c. April, 2256

  • Babylon 5 is built and goes on-line

    mid 2268

  • James T. Kirk becomes the Captain of the Enterprise (Star Trek)
    The Year is 2264 in another timeline

    2341 - 2584

  • Man-Kzin Wars (Larry Niven's Known Space Future History)

    2363

  • Jean-Luc Picard becomes the Captain of the Enterprise NCC 1701-D (Star Trek)

    December 31, 2999

  • Fry is un-frozen (Futurama)

    March, 3955

  • Astronauts come from the Past and find Earth dominated by Apes (Planet of the Apes)

    c. 26000 AD

  • Hari Seldon establishes two Foundations at the opposite sides of the Galaxy (Asimov)

    26390 AD

  • House Atreides moves to Arrakis (Frank Herbert)

    April 27, 2774020 AD

  • Murcheson's Eye, a Red Giant behind Coal Sack, goes supernova (Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven's The Mote in God's Eye )

    250 million AD

  • The plates are again projected to reposition themselves so that a single landmass dominates. Simulation from the PALEAOMAP Project.

    1,500 million AD

  • The dying Sun is 10% brighter than now

  • Life is extinct on Earth

    3,500 million AD

  • The dying Sun is 40% brighter than now

  • The Earth loses the athmosphere

    4,500 million AD

  • The dying Sun is 5000 times brighter than now

  • Sun radius is 200 times the current radius

  • Mercury and, maybe, Venus are engulfed by the Sun

  • Earth temperature is 500 degrees Celsius

  • After 200 cycles of expansion and retraction, the Sun shrinks forever

    ???

  • The Sun becomes a White Dwarf, 17 times smaller than now, and with half the current mass

  • Earth is frozen

    Some Time in the Future

  • If the Universe is Closed, it will collapse back into the Big Crunch. Otherwise, see below. These data were taken from Cosmology - The End of the Universe

  • The page What are the speculations about the future of the universe? dates the Big Crunch in 50,000 million AD.

    146,000 million AD

  • If the Sun were not going to become a Red Giant, then the Earth would rotate with the translation period of the Moon. See Tidal Friction and Length of Day for more explanations.

    576,000,005,560 AD

  • Big Crunch (aka Gnab Gib) in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Timeline

    1012 AD

  • Star formation ceases

    1027 AD

  • Dead stars and cold clumps in galaxies merge into one galaxy-sized black hole

    1031 AD

  • Galaxies (turned into black holes) in clusters and superclusters merge into supergalactic black holes

    1067 AD

  • Stellar black holes evaporate

    1097 AD

  • Galactic black holes evaporate

    10106 AD

  • Supergalactic black holes evaporate

  • The Universe is made only of particles and radiation

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