presents
Timeline of the Wizarding World
All this time, Tom Riddle was becoming the evil Dark Lord Voldemort,
consorting with the worst of Wizardkind and learning secrets and dark magic
that would change him forever from the handsome, talented boy of the 1940s
into a twisted, horrible person who would be known as the most evil wizard
of his age. One can only imagine that Dumbledore kept watch for all those
years, waiting and wondering what happened to the boy he knew as Tom Riddle...
Y-29 (1951)TOP - TIMELINERita Skeeter born"Attractive blonde Rita Skeeter, forty-three, whose savage quill has punctured many inflated reputations..."This was written in November of Y14, which would make Rita's birth year Y14-43, or Y-29. This is 1951 on the official time line (CS/DVD). Of course, Rita could very well have been lying about her age...
1952
Swiftstick broom is released by Ellerby and Spudmore of the Black Forest (QA9)
1953
Y-26 (1954)Lucius Malfoy born"...said Mr Lucius Malfoy, 41, speaking from his Wiltshire mansion last night..." (OP15)He was born 41 years before Y15, which would be Y15-41, or Y-26.
1955
Y-24 (1956)December
Minerva McGonagall begins teaching at Hogwarts"How long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?" Professor Umbridge asked.She started teaching 39 years before the December of Y15, so it was Y15-39, or Y-24. That's 1956 on the official timeline (CS/DVD)
"Thirty-nine years this December," said Professor McGonagall brusquely, snapping her bag shut (OP15).1956
Y-23 (1957)Sturgis Podmore born"Sturgis Podmore, 38, of number two, Laburnum Gardens, Clapham..." (OP14)So he was born Y15-38, which is Y-23. This corresponds to 1957 on the official timeline. That means he's my age... (SVA)1957
c. Y-23 or Y-22 (1957 or 1958)Bertha Jorkins born
"Listen, I knew Bertha Jorkins," said Sirius grimly. "She was at Hogwarts when I was, a few years above your dad and me."1958
1959
Gaspard Shingleton, inventor of the Self-Stirring Cauldron, is born (fw87)
TOP - TIMELINE1960s
Y-20 (1960)January 9
Rowling states on her website that Sirius was 22 when he was sent to Azkaban. Since we know that this happened in late 1981 or early 1982, we can place his birth year at 1959 or 1960.In an interview with Comic Relief (CR), JKR stated that Snape was "35 or 36." This interview took place after the release of GF, so assuming that she was referring to Snape's age at that point in the saga, which was Y15, Snape was born in Y15-35 (Y-20) or Y15-36 (Y-21). These correspond to 1959 or 1960 on the official timeline.
Also, the events Harry sees in the Pensieve are described in the text as being "more than twenty years ago":
"He could abandon the plan and simply learn to live with the memory of what his father had done on a summer's day more than twenty years ago..." (OP29)which strongly suggests a time frame of 21-24 years before the spring of Harry's fifth year (Y16). Snape and the others took their OWLs, therefore, around Y16-21, or Y-5.These facts indicate a birth year for Snape--and therefore also for James, Lily, and the others of their year at Hogwarts--of (Y-5)-15, or Y-20. Harry's parents, then, were about twenty years old when Harry was born and they and their classmates were born in 1959 or 1960.The month and day were given on Jo's website (JKR)
Lily's parents are Muggles, as is her sister, Petunia.
1960
Greta Catchlove, author of Charm Your Own Cheese, is born (fw89)
early 1960s
c. Y-18 (1962)Bartemius Crouch Jr. born
1963
Y-15 (1965)
This follows from his birth date (OP15).1965
Y-14 (1966)1966
Sacharissa Tugwood dies (fw68)
Y-13 (1967)1967
Y-12 (1968)
Sturgis Podmore starts his first year at Hogwarts1968
Y-11 (1969)c. Y-11 (1969)
Sturgis Podmore starts his second year at HogwartsAs Voldemort becomes more powerful and the life becomes more uncertain in the Wizarding World, many young couples, facing the uncertainty, get married quickly. Some even elope, as did young Arthur Weasley and his school sweetheart, Molly Prewett.
