Dates in Harry Potter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Harry Potter fans have created a timeline for the Harry Potter series, based on three shreds of information provided by author J. K. Rowling.
In chapter 8 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, during the Halloween celebration in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, Nearly Headless Nick also celebrates with a "500th deathday party". At the party, there is a grey cake in the shape of a tombstone that includes black lettering, stating his death date as 31 October 1492. The deathday party celebration, commemorating the five-hundredth anniversary of Nick's death, must then take place on 31 October 1992. This would place Harry's sorting ceremony at 1991, and Harry's birth year in 1980, since Hogwarts students must be eleven years old to start their first year. Meanwhile in chapter 7 of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, during dinner after the sorting ceremony in Harry's first year, Sir Nick states that he hasn't "eaten for nearly four hundred years". This would mathematically place the time of Harry's sorting event at ca. 1891. It is assumed that this was a simple mathematical error or oversight on the part of Rowling, or a mis-statement on the part of Sir Nicholas, and that he meant "nearly five hundred years" from 1492, or "nearly four hundred years" from 1592.
This timeline anchor was later confirmed by Rowling when, in early 2006, Rowling donated a hand-drawn copy of the Black family tree to a charity auction for Book Aid International [1]. That document included the birth year of one of Harry's classmates, Draco Malfoy, as 1980. Since Draco would have begun attending Hogwarts when he was eleven years old, that places his (and Harry's) sorting ceremony on 1 September 1991.
The Black family tree was similar to one described as a tapestry hanging on a wall at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, in Order of the Phoenix. A number of disowned Black family members had their names and birthdates burned off, so that their details were obscured. There is no direct confirmation of the birth year for Sirius Black, which would anchor him and his classmates, including James Potter, Lily Evans, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, and Severus Snape. However, his older cousin Bellatrix Lestrange was shown as born in 1951, and it is mentioned by Sirius that at some point he and Bellatrix were both at Hogwarts at the same time. This implies to a final school year for Bellatrix of 1969-1970, with Sirius and his classmates starting school at least in their first year by this date.
There are three other references commonly used to date the Hogwarts class which included Sirius, James and Lily Potter, Severus Snape, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Dating is complicated by the fact that for each school year, the actual birthday may fall in one of two years, depending on the precise day and month; the specific month and day for many characters are not known.
- J. K. Rowling stated in an interview after the publication of Goblet of Fire that Snape was "35 or 36 years old", at the time of the events in the book, which was set in the 1994-1995 school year. [2]. This gives a range of possible birth years for Snape in the 1958 - 1960 time frame. Rowling also posted Snape's birthday as 9 January on her official website "desk calendar" on that day in 2006, but did not provide an age or birth year. Snape's first year at Hogwarts as an eleven-year-old would have been in the 1969 to 1971 time frame.
- J. K. Rowling also posted some biographical information about Sirius Black on her website. She states he was 'around 22' when first imprisoned in Azkaban, following the deaths of a number of Muggles on 1 November 1981. [3]. With a 1-year allowance either way for "around", this gives Sirius Black a birth year in the 1958 - 1960 time frame as well, matching Snape's. Black and his classmates would then also have begun attending school at Hogwarts as eleven-year-olds during the 1969 to 1971 time frame.
- Harry observed a scene in Albus Dumbledore's Pensieve, as related in Order of the Phoenix, where his father James Potter and Severus Snape were sitting their O.W.L. exams at the end of their fifth year. The scene was described by Dumbledore as occurring "more than 20 years ago". That book was set in the 1995-1996 school year during Harry's fifth year. This meant the exams took place in the school year 1975-1976 or earlier, giving a birth year for Snape of 1960 or earlier, and his and his classmates' initial attendance at Hogwarts in the year 1971 or earlier.
Contents |
[edit] Contradictions
There are numerous contradictions in the timeline, Rowling herself has admitted having difficulty with managing mathematics in the FAQ section of her website, so perhaps perfect internal consistency is not to be expected.
Despite the problems, this generally accepted timeline is used by fans for cross-referencing, and the DVD editions of Warner Bros.'s film versions of the Harry Potter series include references to timelines and dates that correspond to this dating system, such as Harry's birthday being established as July 31, 1980; and Lord Voldemort's first attempted attack on the infant Harry being 31 October 1981.
[edit] Days of the week
Often when dates are given, they are given with a day of the week that does not match with the date as it is in actual history. Just one such example occurs in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban when Sybill Trelawney refers to October 16 as Friday, despite October 16, 1993 being a Saturday. This is usually explained on the grounds of it being simply poetic license on the author's part.
There are also contradictions within the books themselves in this area. For example, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, both 1 September and 2 September are given as Mondays, and in all the books, school begins on 1 September without taking into account the change of the day. However it could be possible that students are expected to be back at the school on September the 1st and then start school the next week day. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Buckbeak's trial is set on 20 April, but careful parsing of the text reveals that it could have happened no later than February. Also, since Hagrid was supposedly made gamekeeper after he was expelled 50 years ago from the time of Chamber of Secrets, that would make Mrs Weasley and Mr Weasley more than 50 years old (probably around 65 years old, adding in their ages before that, although given the relatively advanced ages of Dumbledore/McGonagall etc., it is possible that Wizards age slightly slower than Muggles), because Mrs Weasley mentioned Ogg, the gamekeeper before Hagrid (though it is not specifically stated that Hagrid became gamekeeper immediately upon his expulsion [at age 13], and he would have required training before taking the job, possibly just being an assistant for a while, as Harry thought he might be to Hagrid while thinking he was going to be expelled after flying in his first year).
[edit] Historical problems
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Cornelius Fudge uses a male pronoun to refer to the "predecessor" of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. According to the above timeline, this should occur in the summer of 1996, when the Prime Minister was John Major, whose immediate predecessor was a female - Margaret Thatcher. (See the List of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom for details).
It is possible that Fudge could be referring to a more distant predecessor, but it's unlikely as Thatcher took office before Fudge supposedly became Minister of Magic. (Although one could imagine a scenario in which Fudge, while in an inferior office, was delegated by the Minister of Magic to meet with the Prime Minister). Additionally, the personality and history of the Prime Minister portrayed appears to more closely match that of Tony Blair than of John Major. An article in the Daily Mail notes that Rowling is close to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown (often viewed as a rival to Blair's leadership of the Labour Party), and that she might have been attempting to show Blair's worst side. The rebuttal for this is that the books are fictional and the Prime Ministers themselves are fictional characters, and are not to be interpreted as the actual Prime ministers. Another related problem is that the Muggle Prime Minister is described as having been elected, and (initially) John Major's premiership was not voted on by the public. However, technically he can be said to have been elected Conservative Party leader on November 27, 1990, and in any case, his Conservative Party was elected into government in 1992. Rowling has stated on her website that she considered using a similar scene to this in three of her previous books, including as possible introduction to Philosopher's Stone [4].
A similar problem involves Nicolas Flamel. Flamel was mentioned as being 665 at the time of the first book, but Nicolas Flamel was a real historical figure and wouldn't have reached that age until 1996. The rebuttal for this is that the date the "real" Nicolas Flamel was born does not correspond with the Nicolas Flamel of Harry Potter. Also, it may simply mark a shift in Rowling's chronology; 1996 was the year in which Rowling was drafting the first book, and it may be that she initially intended the stories to take place in the present time. More problematic is the fact that Flamel's age is read by Hermione in a 'very old book', which means that unless magical books update such figures, it is years out of date, with Flamel's age likewise affected (i.e. if he was 665 when a 'very old book' was published, he could, by 1992, have been years older).
There is at least one slight anachronism in the books. This occurs in a letter that Harry writes in Goblet of Fire, containing a reference to Dudley Dursley owning and destroying a Sony PlayStation. According to the standard timeline, this would have happened in the summer of 1994, but the PlayStation was not released until December 1994 in Japan, or September 1995 in Europe.
[edit] Timeline of the Harry Potter series
[edit] Events
- 382 BC
- Ollivanders goes into business making magic wands.
- c. 962 AD
- Primitive broomsticks are first used for transport.
- c. 1000
- Hogwarts is founded by Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. Slytherin petitions to only enroll pure-bloods and, in disgust, leaves the school, but not before building the Chamber of Secrets.
- c. 1294
- The Triwizard Tournament is established. It will later be discontinued (date unknown) when the death toll mounts too high.
- 1473
- Quidditch World Cup is played, during which all 700 Quidditch fouls are committed.
- c. 1891
- Albus Dumbledore begins teaching at Hogwarts.
- 1918
- Newt Scamander is asked to write a compendium of magical beasts by Obscurus Books.
- c. Late August/Early September 1925
- Morfin Gaunt attacks Tom Riddle Sr. Bob Ogden, the head of the Magical Law Enforcement Department, travels to the Gaunt cottage to summon Morfin to a hearing. Morfin's father, Marvolo, attacks his daughter Merope for being attracted to Riddle. Ogden summons reinforcements and arrests Morfin and Marvolo.
- c. 1926
- Shortly before his birth, Tom Marvolo Riddle's Muggle father (Tom Riddle Sr) leaves his wife, Merope Gaunt, and she dies an hour after giving birth to her son on New Year's Eve. Riddle is raised in an orphanage.
- 1927
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is published in its first edition.
- c. 1938
- Tom Riddle starts at Hogwarts.
- c. 1940
- Rubeus Hagrid starts at Hogwarts.
- July-August 1942
- Riddle murders his father and paternal grandparents and frames his uncle Morfin Gaunt for the murders.
- June 1943
- Riddle opens the Chamber of Secrets, killing a girl who will later become Moaning Myrtle.
- Riddle frames Rubeus Hagrid and his Acromantula for the attacks on Hogwarts students.
- 1945
- Dumbledore defeats the dark wizard Grindelwald.
- Riddle graduates from Hogwarts. He subsequently asks Armando Dippet to hire him as a teacher and is refused. Riddle is instead employed by Borgin and Burkes.
- 1946
- Riddle steals artifacts of the Hogwarts founders Salazar Slytherin and Helga Hufflepuff before disappearing.
- c. 1956
- In December Minerva McGonagall begins teaching at Hogwarts.
- Riddle asks Dumbledore, now headmaster, for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position.
- Riddle is already calling himself Lord Voldemort. Death Eaters already recruited include Rosier, Nott, Mulciber, and Dolohov.
- c. 1966
- Lord Voldemort is becoming more powerful and begins his campaign of fear against the Wizarding World.
- c. 1969
- Arthur Weasley and Molly Prewett elope and marry.
- Autumn: James Potter, Lily Evans, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and Severus Snape begin attending Hogwarts.
- 1979
- James Potter marries Lily Evans.
- Regulus Black is killed.
- c. late 1979 - early 1980
- Sybill Trelawney gives her first prophecy to Dumbledore, predicting Voldemort's downfall, and is hired as the Divination teacher at Hogwarts.
- 1980
- July - Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom are born.
- 1981
- September - Severus Snape is hired as Potions teacher at Hogwarts.
- Voldemort kills James and Lily Potter on October 31, but is defeated by a protective charm while attempting to attack Harry. Harry is left with a lightning-shaped scar and is sent to live with the Dursleys.
- On November 1, Sirius Black is arrested for the murder of Peter Pettigrew, who then goes into hiding.
- 1991
- July - Harry Potter receives invitations to attend Hogwarts.
- Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger begin attending Hogwarts on September 1.
- 1992
- June - Harry foils Voldemort's plans to steal the Philosopher's Stone.
- Autumn - Ginny Weasley opens the Chamber of Secrets under the influence of Tom Riddle's diary.
- 1993
- June - Harry saves Ginny and defeats the memory of Tom Riddle, unwittingly destroying Voldemort's first Horcrux in the process.
- Sirius Black escapes from Azkaban.
- 1994
- Professor Trelawney gives her second prophecy to Harry Potter, regarding the return of the Dark Lord to power.
- June 6 - Harry learns of Sirius' innocence regarding the murder of his parents. Peter Pettigrew, guilt now established, flees and rejoins Voldemort.
- Peter Pettigrew murders Bertha Jorkins.
- Voldemort murders Frank Bryce.
- Summer - Ireland wins the 422nd Quidditch World Cup.
- Autumn - Hogwarts hosts the Triwizard Tournament for the first time in over a century
- Saturday October 31 - The names of the champions for the Triwizard Tournament are revealed to the students. (This is contriversial due to the fact that October 31 is on a Monday in 1994)
- November 24 - The first task of the Triwizard Tournament - Viktor Krum and Harry Potter tie for the lead with 40 points each.
- 1995
- February 24 - The second task of the Triwizard Tournament is held - Harry and Cedric Diggory end up tied for the lead.
- June 24 - The third task of the Triwizard Tournament is held.
- June 24 - Peter Pettigrew murders Cedric Diggory in Harry's presence, on Lord Voldemort's orders, and using the Dark Lord's wand. Voldemort is restored to full power.
- Summer - The Order of the Phoenix is re-established by Albus Dumbledore.
- 1996
- Voldemort fails to recover the Prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, due to the efforts of Harry and company. Harry learns of Professor Trelawney's first prediction and the wizarding world is finally alerted to Voldemort's return. Sirius Black is killed in The Death Chamber of the Department of Mysteries.
- Albus Dumbledore destroys another of Voldemort's Horcruxes, formerly encased in Marvolo Gaunt's ring.
- Harry, Ron, and Hermione start their sixth year at Hogwarts. Draco Malfoy sneaks off to Knockturn Alley to go to Borgin and Burkes to reserve a vanishing cabinet to get the Death Eaters into Hogwarts.
- 1997
- Albus Dumbledore is killed by Severus Snape. Harry Potter decides upon his quest to destroy the remaining four Horcruxes in which Lord Voldemort has sealed fragments of his soul.
[edit] Births
- 1325
- c. 1840s
- 1847
- c. 1907
- Merope Gaunt to Marvolo Gaunt and an unknown witch.
- c. 1920s
- 1925
- Lucretia Black to Arcturus Black and Melania Macmillan
- Walburga Black to Pollux Black and Irma Crabbe
- 1926
- December 31 - Tom Marvolo Riddle (Lord Voldemort) to Muggle Tom Riddle Sr and witch Merope Gaunt
- c. 1928
- December 6 - Rubeus Hagrid to the giantess Fridwulfa and an unnamed wizard
- 1929
- Orion Black to Arcturus Black and Melania Macmillan
- 1938
- Cygnus Black to Pollux Black and Irma Crabbe
- 1951
- Bellatrix Black to Cygnus Black and Druella Rosier
- Rita Skeeter
- c. 1953
- Andromeda Black to Cygnus Black and Druella Rosier
- c. 1954
- Lucius Malfoy to Abraxas Malfoy and an unknown witch
- 1955
- Narcissa Black to Cygnus Black and Druella Rosier
- c.1955-57
- c. 1958
- January 9 - Severus Snape to Tobias Snape and Eileen Prince
- March 10 - Remus Lupin
- Lily Evans
- Sirius Black to second cousins Orion Black and Walburga Black
- Peter Pettigrew
- James Potter
- 1961
- Regulus Black to second cousins Orion Black and Walburga Black
- 1962
- Bartemius Crouch Jr to Bartemius Crouch Sr and his wife
- 1970
- 1972
- c. 1972/3
- c. 1975
- 1976
- 1977
- Cedric Diggory to Amos Diggory and his wife
- c. - Viktor Krum
- c. - Fleur Delacour to an unknown wizard and a half-Veela
- 1978
- 1979
- c. - Cho Chang
- September 19 - Hermione Jane Granger to Mr and Mrs Granger, Muggle dentists
- 1980
- March 1 - Ronald Bilius Weasley to Arthur Weasley and Molly Prewett
- June 5 - Draco Malfoy to Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black
- June 22 - Dudley Dursley to Vernon Dursley and Petunia Evans
- July 30 - Neville Longbottom to Frank and Alice Longbottom
- July 31 - Harry James Potter to James Potter and Lily Evans
- 1981
- c. - Colin Creevey
- c. - Luna Lovegood to the editor of The Quibbler and his wife
- August 11 - Ginevra Molly Weasley to Arthur Weasley and Molly Prewett
- c. 1982
- c. 1983
- c. 1986
- Gabrielle Delacour to an unknown wizard and a half-Veela
[edit] Deaths
- 1492
- October 31 - Nearly Headless Nick, by being partially beheaded
- 1926
- December 31 - Merope Gaunt
- Phineas Nigellus Black
- 1943
- June 13 - Myrtle (surname unknown), a female Hogwarts student, who will become known as Moaning Myrtle, was killed by the basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets under the influence of Tom Riddle
- 1979
- Regulus Black, according to his brother Sirius he was murdered by Death Eaters because he wanted to leave them. (Never confirmed, so this is, at present, pure speculation on the part of Sirius.)
- Orion Black
- 1981
- October 31 - James and Lily Potter, from an attack by Lord Voldemort
- 1985
- c. 1990
- Luna Lovegood's mother, in an accident when an experimental spell backfires
- 1991
- Arcturus Black
- 1992
- June - Professor Quirrell (as a result of Lord Voldemort abandoning him).
- Nicolas Flamel and wife Perenelle die after the Philosopher's Stone is destroyed.
- Lucretia Black
- Cygnus Black
- 1994
- Summer - Bertha Jorkins, murdered by Voldemort after he extracted information on the approaching Triwizard Tournament from her.
- August - Frank Bryce, murdered by Voldemort for overhearing Voldemort and Pettigrew's plot to kill Harry Potter.
- 1995
- May - Barty Crouch, by his son posing as Mad-Eye Moody after his attempt to inform Dumbledore of his son's escape.
- June 24 - Cedric Diggory, murdered by Peter Pettigrew on Voldemort's orders
- 1996
- June - Sirius Black, from falling through the veil in the Death Chamber in the Department of Mysteries.
- Summer - Amelia Bones, murdered in the first days of the Second War, probably by Lord Voldemort himself.
- Summer - Emmeline Vance, murdered by Death Eaters in the first days of the war, on information from Snape, in the vicinity of 10 Downing Street.
- Summer - Igor Karkaroff murdered by Death Eaters because he betrayed them
- Spring/Winter - Hannah Abbott's mother
- 1997
- Spring - Aragog, due to old age after Hagrid makes a valiant attempt to preserve his life.
- June - Albus Dumbledore, assassinated by Snape's Avada Kedavra curse on top of the astronomy tower after being previously weakened in an attempt to seize a Horcrux.
- June - Gibbon, a Death Eater, hit accidentally with an Avada Kedavra curse by one of his own allies, in the corridor leading up to the astronomy tower.
[edit] External links
- Harry Potter Lexicon timeline www.hp-lexicon.org/timeline.html
| J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philosopher's Stone | book | film | game | soundtrack |
| Chamber of Secrets | book | film | game | soundtrack |
| Prisoner of Azkaban | book | film | game | soundtrack |
| Goblet of Fire | book | film | game | soundtrack |
| Order of the Phoenix | book | (film) | (game) | |
| Half-Blood Prince | book | (film) | ||
| Deathly Hallows | (book) | (film) | ||
| Other books | Other games | |||
| Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup | |||
| Quidditch Through the Ages | ||||
|
Characters • Places • Spells • Translations • Quidditch • Timeline Films • Fandom • Controversy • Money |
||||
