Timeline 1

Timeline 1 or Timeline Zero/Timeline 0 was the original, unaltered timeline of events that took place before time travel was invented.

Events

Cretaceous Period

• Year unknown
  • Date unknown
    • A meteor strikes the Earth, causing the extinction of the dinosaurs.

1st century A.D.

• Year Unknown
  • Date unknown
    • Bifficus Antanneny is born.

1300s

• Years unknown
  • Dates unknown
    • Lord Biffingham of Tannenshire is born.
    • Harold McFly is born.
    • Jennivere McFly is born.

1600s

• 1697
  • Date Unknown
    • Mac the Black is wanted by the Spanish Armada for piracy and hides in Smilin' Skull Island.

1700s

• 1752
  • Saturday, September 2
    • In Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin's kite experiment is a success.

1820s

• 1820
  • Monday, December 25
    • Ebiffnezer Tannen sees his own wing completed in Debtor's prison.

1850s

• 1850
  • Sunday, March 3
    • Daniel Clayton and Martha O'Brien are married while traveling through Wyoming as part of a wagon train.
  • Dates unknown
    • Hill Valley is founded by William "Bill" Hill.
    • First year covered in A History of Hill Valley, 1850-1930.
• 1855
  • Thursday, October 25
    • Clara Clayton is born to Daniel and Martha Clayton in New Jersey.

1860s

• 1861
  • Dates unknown
    • The earliest of Doc's emergency money is printed.
• 1864
  • Friday, February 12
    • The Battle of Chattanooga takes place in Tennessee in the American Civil War. A Confederate army regiment is wiped out in the battle.
• 1865
  • Tuesday, September 5
    • Hill Valley is incorporated into a town.
  • Date unknown
    • Jules Verne's novel From the Earth to the Moon is first published.
• 1866
  • Date unknown
    • 11-year-old Clara comes down with diphtheria and is quarantined for three months. As a result, her father places a telescope next to her bed for her to use, which sparks her lifelong interest in astronomy and science.
• 1869
  • Date unknown
    • Marshal James Strickland comes to Hill Valley.

1870s

• 1870
  • Date unknown
    • Jules Verne's novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is published for the first time.
• 1875
  • Date unknown
    • Thaddeus Tannen forces Wendell Parker to sign a deed to the Parker Ranch, but buries the paper.
• 1876
  • Date unknown
    • Beauregard Tannen moves to Hill Valley and starts building a saloon.
• 1879
  • Date unknown
    • Daniel Clayton dies.

1880s

• 1880
  • Date unknown
    • A Wells Fargo & Co building is constructed in Hill Valley.
• 1883
  • Monday, August 27
    • Krakatoa erupts violently, making it one of the largest eruptions in modern times.
• 1884
  • Dates Unknown
    • Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen shoots twelve men, not including Indians or Chinamen.
    • An editor of the Hill Valley Telegraph is shot by Buford Tannen after he published an unfavorable story about him, forcing the next editor to not publish any material on the gunslinger.
    • Martha Clayton passes away.
• 1885
  • Dates unknown
    • Seamus McFly, his wife Maggie and his brother Martin emigrate from Ireland to the United States. They take a few years to get to California, shortly setting in Virginia City, Nevada along the way. Martin starts a bar fight there after someone calls him "yellow", and is stabbed to death with a bowie knife as a result.

• Seamus and Maggie arrive and settle in Hill Valley, living in a farmhouse 14 miles outside of town.
• Buford Tannen has a fight with an Irish fellow named Seamus McFly in the Palace Saloon which possibly results with Buford throwing Seamus out of the saloon and telling him to never enter there again.
• The Town's mayor Hubert tries to hire a blacksmith for Hill Valley, but can't find the right person for the job.

• April
  • William Sean McFly is born to Seamus and Maggie McFly. He is the first McFly born in America.
• Saturday, August 29
  • There is a meeting of the townspeople over who will pick up the new schoolteacher on September 4. No one volunteers.
• Wednesday, September 2
  • Native American Horseback-archers are chased near Hill Valley by the United States Cavalry.

• Thursday, September 3
  • Stinky Lomax is arrested by deputy James Strickland and later hanged in Haysville, California.

• Friday, September 4
  • The new Hill Valley Courthouse clock is delivered to Hill Valley by train. Also on board the same train as a passenger is Clara Clayton, who had been commissioned to be the new teacher at the schoolhouse near Carson Spur, outside Hill Valley. With no one to meet Clara upon her arrival at the station, she then rents two horses and a wagon buckboard from Joe Statler, then sets out to find the schoolhouse on her own.
  • A snake spooks the horses pulling Clara's wagon. They then ride madly into Shonash Ravine, killing her instantly.
• Saturday, September 5
  • The Hill Valley Festival is held. As part of Hill Valley’s anniversary festivities, the new courthouse clock is started at exactly 8:00 p.m. PST. Photographs with the clock are offered to townspeople wishing to pose with the new timepiece.
  • Elmer H. Johnson presents the Colt Peacemaker made by Samuel Colt's Patent Firearms.
• Sunday, September 6
  • Buford Tannen and his gang rob the Pine City Stage.
• Monday, September 7
  • Buford Tannen is sentenced to ten days in the County Jail for robbing the Pine City Stage.

• Tuesday, September 8
  • 2:00 p.m. Hill Valley holds a funeral for Clara Clayton.
• Tuesday, December 1
  • 12:00 p.m. Shonash Ravine is renamed Clayton Ravine.

• 1886
  • Date unknown
    • Scheduled completion of the railroad bridge over Clayton Ravine.

1890s

• 1891
  • Date Unknown
    • The Hill Valley Police Station is established.

• 1893
  • Wednesday, July 12
    • A Steam tricycle driver imports a Steam tricycle made by Léon Serpollet from France to Hill Valley, California.

• 1895
  • Wednesday, February 6
    • Baseball player Babe Ruth is born in Baltimore, Maryland.
  • Date unknown
    • Hal's Hardware is established.
• 1897
  • Wednesday, September 1
    • Pee Wee McFly participates in baseball's National League pennant race as a pitcher for the Boston Beaneaters.
  • Thursday, September 2
    • Under pressure from the gangster Diamond Jim Tannen, Pee Wee strikes out during the crucial third playoff game, costing his team the National League pennant. Afterward, Pee Wee retires from baseball.

1900s

• 1900
  • Date unknown
    • Hill Valley Stationers is established.
• 1902
  • Date unknown
    • Arthur McFly is born to William McFly and his wife.
• 1904
  • Saturday, April 30
    • The 1904 World's Fair Exposition opens in St. Louis, Missouri.
  • Thursday, December 1
    • The 1904 World's Fair Exposition ends.
• 1905
  • Dates unknown
    • Valley Bakery is established.
    • Hill Valley Mercantile Deliveries is established.
• 1906
  • Wednesday, April 18
    • San Francisco, California has an earthquake.
    • The Hill Valley Courthouse is used as a shelter for the victims of this earthquake.
• 1908
  • Date unknown
    • The Von Brauns emigrate from Germany to America and settle in Hill Valley.

1910s

• 1910
  • Date unknown
    • Otis Peabody is born.
    • Sam Baines is born to Albert Baines and his wife.
• 1914
  • Date unknown
    • Emmett Lathrop Brown is born to Judge Erhardt von Braun and Sarah Lathrop.
• 1915
  • Date unknown
    • Stella Baines is born.
    • At the Brown family mansion, a young Emmett Brown conducts an experiment by tying a teddy bear to a rocket.
• 1917
  • Friday, April 6
    • The United States declares war on Germany. Due to hostility against German-Americans during World War I, Erhardt changes his family's name from "Von Braun" to "Brown".
• 1918
  • Date unknown
    • 16-year-old Arthur McFly enlists in the army and is sent to France during World War I. When the military brass realizes he lied about his age, he is discharged for fraudulent enlistment before he gets the chance to see combat. Arthur takes this hard and will feel ashamed of it for years to come.

1920s

• 1923
  • Date unknown
    • Grays, the future publishers of Grays Sports Almanac, is founded.
• 1925
  • Dates unknown
    • Stanford S. Strickland is born to Roger and Irene Strickland.
    • 11-year-old Emmett Brown reads Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea for the first time and realizes that he must devote his life to science.
• 1926
  • Thursday, August 5
    • While staying with his "Oddball" Uncle Oliver in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Emmett Brown falls into the river while fishing, the accident causes him to develop a fear of fishing.
  • Date Unknown
    • 12-year-old Emmett Brown attempts to dig to the center of the earth after being inspired by Jules Verne's novel Journey to the Center of the Earth, but he doesn't get far.
• 1929
  • Date Unknown
    • The ladder to the roof of the Hill Valley Courthouse is removed due to several jumping incidents.

1930s

• 1930
  • Date Unknown
    • The final year covered in A History of Hill Valley, 1850-1930.
• 1931
  • May
    • The Hill Valley speakeasy is burned down. The arsonist, Edna Strickland, is never caught or identified.
  • June
    • Emmett Brown is made to work as a law clerk at the Hill Valley Courthouse, as his father is a judge and is against his scientific pursuit.
  • Saturday, June 13
    • Officer Danny Parker is involved in a police chase with Kid Tannen's gang.
    • Emmett Brown is tasked with delivering a subpoena to Arthur McFly as part of an ongoing investigation into the affairs of Irving "Kid" Tannen, but does not manage to find him.
  • Tuesday, August 25
    • Trixie Trotter turns on Kid Tannen after being instructed in accounting by Arthur McFly, and noticing that Kid never paid taxes on the earnings from his speakeasy. Tannen is subsequently arrested by Officer Danny Parker, who is promoted to detective shortly thereafter.
    • Emmett Brown goes to a showing of Frankenstein at the Town Theater. The movie provides him with the inspiration for his project at the Hill Valley Science Exposition. He keeps the ticket stub in his wallet from then onwards.
  • Monday, October 12 to Thursday, October 15
    • The Hill Valley Science Expo is held.
    • Emmett Brown presents his project at the Expo, which ends being a spectacularly miserable failure. However, Emmett would consider his failure at the Expo to be the moment that marked his transition from an amateur garage scientist into a professional seeker of truth.
• 1932
  • February
    • The site of the Hill Valley speakeasy is replaced by a new building.
  • Dates unknown
    • Emmett Brown participates in the 1932 Hill Valley Junior Science Fair with his invention, a videotape recorder. According to him, "It worked perfectly... too bad there weren't any TV sets around."
    • The second Hill Valley Science Exposition is held.
    • Kid Tannen is sentenced to a life sentence in San Quentin State Prison. A song is written about it.
• 1933
  • Friday, April 7
    • The Bob Brothers All-Star International Circus comes to Hill Valley.
  • Monday, April 10
    • The last day of the circus' performance in Hill Valley.
  • Date unknown
    • The third and final Hill Valley Science Exposition is held. This is the last year it is held due to the Influenza exhibit leaking into the concession stands.
• 1936
  • Date unknown
    • Arthur McFly and Sylvia Miskin get married.
    • Kid Tannen escapes from San Quentin State Prison for about 3 hours. During this time, he makes love to Myra Benson, conceiving his son Biff.
• 1937
  • Friday, March 28
    • Biff Howard Tannen is born to Kid and Myra Tannen, Biff is taken custody by his grandmother Gertrude Tannen.
• 1938
  • Friday, April 1
    • George Douglas McFly is born to Arthur and Sylvia McFly.
  • Monday, April 18
    • The first issue of Action Comics (Known mostly for the introduction of Superman) is made available for purchase.
  • Dates unknown
    • Lorraine Baines is born to Sam and Stella Baines.
    • Match is born.
    • Skinhead is born.
    • 3-D is born.
    • Otis and Elsie Peabody get married.

1940s

• 1940
  • Date unknown
    • The Kroll process is perfected, making titanium commercially available.
• 1941
  • Date unknown
    • Martha Peabody is born to Otis and Elsie Peabody.
      • Sunday, December 7
    • The United States fights in World War II, 16-year-old Stanford S. Strickland lies about his age to fight in the war.
• 1943
  • Date unknown
    • Milton Baines is born to Sam and Stella Baines.
    • While teaching at the California Institute of Technology, Emmett Brown convinces Robert Millikan to get him an interview for the secret project for which he deduced the United States government was recruiting. Despite the disastrous interview, where Emmett pretends the home of his landlady, Mrs. Gomez, is his own, Emmett is given a job working for the Manhattan Project.
• 1944
  • Date unknown (before September 27)
    • Emmett Brown moves into Apartment 3B on 1191 South Kelsey Street in Hill Valley. He is given free rent in exchange for cleaning the oily rags from the service station below.
  • Date unknown
    • Sherman Peabody is born to Otis and Elsie Peabody.
• 1945
  • Date unknown
    • The blueprints of Emmett Brown's Fance-O-Dance dancing shoes are destroyed in a building fire.
• 1946
  • Date unknown
    • The Ford Super De Luxe Convertible is manufactured by Ford.
• 1947
  • Date unknown
    • Suitable replacement parts for repairing the DeLorean time machine become available.
• 1949
  • Date unknown
    • Sally Baines is born to Sam and Stella Baines.

1950s

• 1950
  • Dates unknown
    • 12-year-old George McFly tries to stand up for his friend Billy Stockhausen, but fails to do so.
    • The first year of sports statistics that is covered by Grays Sports Almanac.
• 1951
  • Dates unknown
    • Toby Baines is born to Sam and Stella Baines.
• 1952
  • Thursday, February 7
    • While shopping at the Hoggly Woggly grocery store, Emmett Brown has a tussle with a wrestling promoter over the last remaining potato. After winning the tussle, Emmett is offered a career by the promoter as a small town professional wrestler. Encouraged by the crowd, Emmett reluctantly accepts.
  • Friday, February 15
    • Emmett "Brainbuster" Brown is slated to fight against Mad Maximus. However, Emmett never shows up for the match, having decided to continue his pursuit of science.
• 1954
  • August
    • Tales from Space #8 is released.
  • Thursday, November 18
    • Cattle Queen of Montana starring Ronald Reagan and Barbara Stanwyck is released in theaters.
  • Wednesday, December 8
    • The Atomic Kid starring Mickey Rooney is released in theaters.
  • Dates unknown
    • George McFly reads How to Win Friends and Influence People, but the advice he gains from this book makes people stay away from him even more — with the exception of Biff who, on their first encounter in high school, rubs a hero sandwich in George's face.
    • Joseph "Joey" Baines is born to Sam and Stella Baines.
    • Otis Peabody breeds twin pines on his farm Twin Pines Ranch.
• 1955
  • Saturday, November 5
    • Emmett Brown slips off his toilet while hanging a clock, and has a vision of what will become his most successful invention, the flux capacitor. He hurriedly sketches his vision.
    • Biff Tannen and his gang pick on George McFly in Lou's Cafe warning him to never enter that cafe again, the cafe's busboy Goldie Wilson gives George advice of standing up for himself, George ignores the advice.
    • George McFly is hit by Sam Baines' car after falling out of a tree. Knocked unconscious, George is taken into their house. Lorraine Baines nurses George back to health and falls in love with him.
  • Sunday, November 6

• Emmett Brown tests his new invention the Brain-wave analyzer on his dog Copernicus.
  • Monday, November 7

• George McFly stop's writing science fiction stories due to his interest in Lorraine.
  • Tuesday, November 8

• Biff Tannen and his gang stop by Lou's Cafe to see if George McFly is there, then drive off (possibly commenting on a Manure truck that is nearby).

• George McFly asks Lorraine Baines out the Enchantment Under the Sea on the 12th, George apparently has no problem missing his favorite show Science Fiction Theatre scheduled on the same day.
  • Saturday, November 12

• Lorraine Baines along with her friend Babs picks up her dress from Ruth's Frock Shop for the dance. There is nobody else present.
• Marvin Berry and the Starlighters perform in the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance. Playing a set of music such as Earth Angel and Night Train. They take a break at 9.
• Biff Tannen and his gang spike the drink during the dance, and get caught by the principal Stanford S. Strickland who gives Biff an angry look.
• George and Lorraine attend the Enchantment Under the Sea dance together. George kisses Lorraine for the first time. It is at this moment that Lorraine realizes that she is going to spend the rest of her life with George.
• 10:04 p.m. Lightning strikes the clocktower of the Hill Valley Courthouse during the Hill Valley Thunderstorm. The lightning fuses the clock's internal mechanism, permanently stopping the clock.

• 1956
  • Date unknown
    • Ellen Baines is born to Sam and Stella Baines.
    • George McFly and Lorraine Baines graduate Hill Valley High School.
    • Lyon Estates housing development is built.

• 1958
  • Friday, March 28

• Biff Tannen celebrates his 21st birthday by visiting the racetrack, where he loses all his money.

• Monday, March 31
  • Chuck Berry releases the single Johnny B. Goode.

• Saturday, November 22
  • George and Lorraine go to the Essex Theater to see the new movie From the Earth to the Moon.

• Sunday, December 7
  • George McFly and Lorraine Baines get married.

1960s

• 1960
  • Monday, April 4
    • The 32nd Academy Awards are held at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.
• 1961
  • Date unknown
    • Every window in the greater Hill Valley Medfield Basin is broken due to a botched science experiment performed by Emmett Brown.
    • Emmett Brown attends the American College of Technical Science & Complicated Math and became friend with his college roommate Walter Wisdom and told him of his many inventions including the Flux capacitor, causing Walter to take credit for that invention.
• 1962
  • Wednesday, August 1
    • Emmett Brown and his dog, Copernicus, sleep in his fireproof garage.
  • Tuesday, October 16
    • The Cuban Missile Crisis, the standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union over ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba, begins.
  • Wednesday, October 24
    • Colonel Lomax and the retired Lieutenant General Leslie Groves go to Emmett Brown's mansion to offer him a large sum of money to invent a time machine, in order to prevent the Cuban Missile Crisis from ever happening. Needing money to complete his experiments, Emmett agrees.
  • Thursday, October 25
    • Emmett has regrets, coupled with worries about ushering in an arms race through time, in the same way he helped usher in the nuclear arms race through his participation in the Manhattan Project. He uses his prototype temporal field capacitor to send a letter through time to himself since he knows that it lacks a means to prevent overheating due to the overload of flux energy. He sends it to August 1, when he knows he and Copernicus were safe in the fireproof lab in his garage. This creates Timeline 2, which begins at the note's entry point on August 1, 1962 and Timeline 1 fades away.