1899
July 21 Ernest Hemingway is born in Oak Park, Illinois, to Dr. Clarence Edmonds Hemingway and Grace Hall Hemingway. He is the second child and first son of the family.
1914
June 28 Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Duchess Sophie by a Bosnian Serb.
July 5 Austria-Hungary obtains German support for a war against Serbia if Russia intervenes.
July 23 Austria-Hungary presents Serbia with 10-point ultimatum, including prosecution of all involved in assassination.
July 28 When Serbian response to ultimatum is deemed unsatisfactory, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, and Russia prepares for intervention. Netherlands declare neutrality.
July 31 Germany warns Russia to stop military preparations, and Russia refuses.
August 1 Germany declares war on Russia. Italy declares neutrality. Germany and Ottoman Empire sign secret treaty of alliance.
August 2 Germany invades Luxembourg. First military action on Western Front.
August 26 Germany captures Longwy near Luxembourg border, opening France to mass German invasion.
August 3 Germany declares war on France. Belgium denies permission for German forces to pass through to French border. Switzerland declares neutrality.
August 4 Germany invades Belgium to outflank French army. Britain protests the violation of Belgian neutrality and declares war on Germany. U.S. declares neutrality.
August 5 Ottoman Empire closes the Dardanelles.
August 6 Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia. Serbia declares war on Germany.
August 7 British Expeditionary Force arrives in France.
Aug. 7-Sept. 13 Battle of the Frontiers. Germany gets victory against British Expeditionary Force and France’s Fifth Army.
Aug. 11 France declares war on Austria-Hungary.
Aug. 12 U.K. declares war on Austria-Hungary.
Aug. 16-20 Serbs defeat Austro-Hungarians at the Battle of Cer.
Aug. 17 Russian army enters East Prussia.
Aug. 20 Germans occupy Brussels.
Aug. 21-23 Battle of the Ardennes, phase of Battle of the Frontiers.
Aug. 23 Japan declares war on Germany. Battle of Mons, a phase of the Battle of the Frontiers.
Aug. 23-25 Battle of Krasnik, a phase of Battle of Lemberg. Austro-Hungarian First Army defeats the Russian Fourth Army.
Aug. 24-Sept. 7 Germans besiege and capture Maubeuge Fortress.
Aug. 24-Sept. 28 Allied Great Retreat to River Marne.
Aug. 25 Japan declares war on Austria-Hungary
Aug. 28 Austria-Hungary declares war on Belgium.
Sept. 5-12 First Battle of the Marne. German advance on Paris is halted, marking failure of the Schlieffen Plan.
Sept. 13-28 First Battle of the Aisne ends in draw. Race to the Sea begins.
Sept. 25-29 First Battle of Albert.
Sept. 28-Oct. 10 Germans besiege and capture Antwerp, Belgium.
Oct. 9-Nov. 1 Central powers control Belgrade.
Oct. 16-31 Battle of the Yser. French and Belgian forces secure the coastline of Belgium.
Oct. 19-Nov. 22 First Battle of Ypres ends the Race to the Sea. Germans prevented from reaching Calais and Dunkirk.
Oc.t 29 Ottoman Empire launches surprise attack on Russian Black Sea coast.
Nov. 1 Russia declares war on Ottoman Empire.
Nov. 2 U.K. begins the naval blockade of Germany.
Nov. 5 France and the U.K. declare war on Ottoman Empire.
Nov. 11 Sultan Mehmed V declares Jihad on the Allies.
Nov. 16-Dec. 15 Battle of Kolubara, Austro-Hungarians leave Serbia.
Dec. 20 First Battle of Champagne begins.
1915
Jan. 19 First Zeppelin raid on Britain.
Feb. 4 German submarine warfare against merchant vessels begins.
March 5 First Battle of Champagne ends.
April 22-May 25 Second Battle of Ypres, which ends in stalemate. Germany first uses poison gas.
April 26 Treaty of London between Allies and Italy. If Allies win war, Italy will gain territory under Austria-Hungary control.
May Gabriele D’Annunzio tells crowd in Rome that Italian soldiers would soon turn the Isonzo River red with barbarian blood.
May 7 German sub sinks British liner Lusitania.
May 23 Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.
June 23-July 7 First Battle of the Isonzo.
July 1 First aerial victory by a synchronized gun-armed fighter aircraft.
July 18-Aug. 3 Second Battle of Isonzo.
July 25 Italians Capture Cappuccio Wood.
Late Summer Chapter I of A Farewell to Arms.
Sept. 1 Germany suspends submarine warfare against merchant vessels.
Sept. 5-8 Zimmerwald Conference of anti-militarist European socialist parties held in Zimmerwald, Switzerland.
Sept. 25-28 Battle of Loos, major British offensive, fails.
Sept. 25-Nov. 6 Second Battle of Champagne.
Oct. 18-Nov. 4 Third Battle of the Isonzo.
Nov. 10-Dec. 2 Fourth Battle of the Isonzo
1916
Jan. 27 Conscription introduced in the United Kingdom.
March 1 Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare.
March 1-15 Fifth Battle of the Isonzo. No significant gains by either side.
May 10 Germany suspends unrestricted submarine warfare.
June 10 Paolo Boselli succeeds Antonio Salandra as Prime Minister of Italy.
July 1-Nov. 18 Battle of the Somme in France. Catherine Barkley’s fiancé is killed sometime during this battle. More than one million men are wounded or killed during the battle, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history.
Aug. 6-17 Sixth Battle of the Isonzo. Italians capture Gorizia. Chapter II of A Farewell to Armsopens with this victory.
Sept. 14-17 Seventh Battle of the Isonzo.
Oct. 9-12 Eighth Battle of the Isonzo.
Nov. 1-4 Ninth Battle of the Isonzo. No success in any of these attempts to extend bridgehead beyond Gorizia.
November Frederic Henry granted extended leave. The priest invites him to visit his family in the Abruzzi, but Frederic visits many other Italian cities instead.
1917
Feb. 1 Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare.
Feb. 23-April 5 Germans withdraw to the Hindenburg Line.
March 15 Russian Czar Nicholas II abdicates. Provisional government is appointed.
Spring Chapter III of AFTA. Frederic returns to the front following his extended leave, during which he toured various cities in Italy. Soon he meets Catherine Barkley, who has recently been assigned duty in a British hospital in Gorizia. They begin their love affair, which will continue through the rest of the novel.
April 6 U.S. declares war on Germany.
April 29-May 20 Series of mutinies in the French army.
May 12-June 6 Tenth Battle of the Isonzo. At some point during this battle Frederic Henry is wounded, eventually being sent to the Red Cross Hospital in Milan to recuperate. Catherine Barkley is reassigned from the Gorizia Hospital to the Milan Hospital, enabling them to continue their romance and consummate their relationship.
June Ernest Hemingway graduates from Oak Park High School, in a suburb of Chicago.
Summer Frederic’s recuperation extends over several months. Catherine becomes pregnant with his child, presumably sometime in July.
Summer Hemingway works at various farm jobs on family property around Walloon Lake in Michigan.
June 25 First American troops land in France.
July 1-19 Kerensky Offensive (last Russian offensive of war) fails.
July 31-Nov. 10 Third Battle of Ypres (aka Battle of Passchendaele) begins in France.
Aug. 18-28 Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo.
October Frederic Henry returns to the front
October Hemingway moves to Kansas City, Missouri, where he gets a job as cub reporter for the Kansas City Star.
Oct. 24-Nov. 4 Battle of Caporetto. Austro-Hungarians and Germans break through Italian lines. Italian army is defeated and falls back to the Piave River. Frederic Henry escapes execution at the Tagliamento River and deserts from the Italian Army, then joins Catherine at Stresa (Chapter XXXIV). Together they escape to Switzerland by rowing north on Lake Maggiore.
Oct. 30 Vittorio Emanuele Orlando succeeds Paolo Boselli as Prime Minister of Italy.
Nov. 7 October Revolution begins is Russia, and Bolsheviks seize power.
Nov. 9-Dec. 28 First Battle of the Piave: Austro-Hungarians and Germans try unsuccessfully to cross the river.
Nov. 11-Dec. 23 First Battle of Monte Grappa, Austro-Hungarian offensive halted.
Dec. 7 U.S. declares war on Austria-Hungary.
November Frederic and Catherine take up residence in a mountain chalet at Chamby, above Montreux, Switzerland.
1918
January Hemingway joins the Missouri Home Guard (which becomes the National Guard in March).
March 3 Bolshevik government in Russia signs “separate peace” treaty with Germany.
March 21-April 5 Second Battle of the Somme.
Late March Catherine Barkley and the child she has carried with Frederic die at hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland, and A Farewell to Armsends, with Frederic Henry returning to his hotel room in the rain.
Spring Hemingway and friend Ted Brumback enlist with American Red Cross to drive ambulances in Italy.
April 30 Hemingway called to service in the Red Cross, interrupts last fishing trip in Michigan.
May 23 Hemingway boards ship with other Red Cross drivers to cross to France. Stops briefly in Paris and sees German artillery shelling the city.
June 4 Hemingway arrives in Italy and is stationed at Schio with Ambulance Section 4. Sees limited service.
June 13-23 Second Battle of the Piave: Austro-Hungarian offensive is repelled.
June 22 Hemingway volunteers to operate rolling canteen on Piave River front, delivering chocolate and cigarettes to frontline troops near Fossalta.
July 8 While visiting a forward observation post at night, Hemingway is seriously wounded by a trench mortar shell.
Summer-Fall Hemingway recuperates at Red Cross Hospital, Milan, Italy. Falls in love with his nurse, Agnes Von Kurowsky, who is seven years older than he is.
July 15-Aug. 6 Second Battle of the Marne and last German offensive on the Western Front, which fails when the Germans are counterattacked by the French.
July 17 Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family are executed by the Bolsheviks.
Aug. 8-Nov. 11 Hundred Days Offensive by the Allies, the last offensive on Western Front.
Aug. 10 Second operation on Hemingway’s wounded leg.
Sept. 18-Oct. 17 Battle of the Hindenburg Line. Allies break through German lines.
Oct. 15 Agnes Von Kurowsky is sent on temporary duty to Florence, Italy.
Oct. 20 Germany suspends submarine warfare.
Oct. 24-Nov. 4 Battle of Vittorio Veneto. Austro-Hungarian army is routed. The Italians enter Trent and land at Triest.
Nov. 9 Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates and a republic is proclaimed.
Nov. 10 Austria-Hungary’s Emperor Charles I renounces participation in state affairs.
Nov. 11 Germany signs armistice. Fighting ends at 11 a.m.
Agnes Von Kurowsky returns to Milan from Florence.
Nov. 12 Austria is proclaimed a republic.
Nov. 20 Agnes Von Kurowsky is assigned to duty at Treviso, Italy.
Dec. 9 Hemingway visits Agnes at Treviso for one day. They never see each other again, though he leaves believing they are engaged to be married.
Dec. 26 Hemingway takes trip to Taormina, Sicily, with fellow Red Cross man, James Gamble.
1919
Jan. 4 Hemingway discharged from Red Cross. Leaves Italy for U.S.
Jan. 21 Hemingway arrives in New York, then returns to Oak Park in uniform and begins writing short stories intended for popular magazines. Believes his marriage to Agnes depends on his finding steady work.
March Agnes breaks off their relationship, saying she is too old for him. Hemingway, by all accounts, is devastated.
June 28 Treaty of Versailles signed.
1920
November Hemingway meets Hadley Richardson from St. Louis at the apartment of mutual friends in Chicago. Their attraction is immediately mutual.
1921
Sept. 3 Hemingway marries Hadley Richardson in Michigan. At first they live in Chicago, but make plans to live in Paris, on the advice of writer Sherwood Anderson.
Dec. 20 Hemingway and Hadley arrive in Paris to begin residence and pursuit of his writing career.
1922
Jan. Hemingway and Hadley spend two weeks at Chamby sur Montreux in Switzerland, providing Hemingway with details he will use in Book Five of A Farewell to Arms.
Dec. A valise with all of Hemingway’s early Paris writing, with the exception of the short stories “My Old Man” and “Up in Michigan” is stolen from Hadley in the Gare de Lyon of Paris as she is preparing to join Hemingway in Switzerland, where he has been covering a peace conference in Lausanne.
1923
Aug. 13 Hemingway’s first book, Three Stories & Ten Poems, is published in Paris.
Oct. 10 After moving to Toronto, Hemingway and Hadley celebrate birth of a son, John Hadley Nicanor Hemingway.
1924
Jan. 30 Hemingways arrive back in France to reestablish residence in Paris.
April 3 Hemingway’s second book, in our time, published, consisting of series of short vignettes.
1925
Spring Hemingway meets F. Scott Fitzgerald, and they become friends. Eventually Fitzgerald provides Hemingway important editing advice for The Sun Also Risesand, to a lesser extent, for A Farewell to Arms. He also may have helped Hemingway out of his contract with Boni and Liveright, so that he could sign a new contract with Scribners.
Oct. 5 Hemingway’s first collection of full length short stories, In Our Time, is published by Boni and Liveright in New York.
1926
May 28 Hemingway’s novella Torrents of Springis published by Scribners.
Aug. Hemingway and Hadley separate as a result of his love affair with Pauline Pfeiffer.
Oct. 22 Hemingway’s first substantial novel, The Sun Also Rises, is published by Scribners.
1927
Jan. 27 Hemingway’s divorce from Hadley is finalized.
May 10 Hemingway marries Pauline Pfeiffer.
Fall Hemingway begins drafting a new novel, tentatively called A New Slain Knight, the adventures of a gangster and his son.
Oct. 14 Scribners publishes Hemingway’s second full length short story collection, Men Without Women.
1928
March Hemingway stops writing A New Slain Knightafter completing 22 chapters and begins writing what will eventually become A Farewell to Arms.
March 17 Hemingway and Pauline sail for Key West, Florida, where he continues working on the new novel.
May 31 Hemingway and Pauline arrive in Piggott, Arkansas, home of her parents. He continues working on the novel there.
June 28 Following 18 hours of labor, Pauline gives birth to Hemingway’s second son, Patrick, via caesarean section in Kansas City, Missouri. Hemingway is about halfway finished with the draft of A Farewell to Arms. Pauline’s difficult childbirth provides details for Catherine Barkley’s similar experience in the novel.
Aug. 22 Hemingway finishes first draft of A Farewell to Armsin Sheridan, Wyoming.
Dec. 7 Hemingway’s father, Clarence Edmonds Hemingway, commits suicide by gunshot in Oak Park. After funeral, Hemingway returns to Key West to revise A Farewell to Arms.
1929
Jan. 22 Final typed draft of A Farewell to Armsis finished. Hemingway will continue to work on the ending and make other revisions through the spring.
June 21 Scribner’s Magazinebanned in Boston due to serial publication of A Farewell to Arms.
Sept. 27 Scribners publishes A Farewell to Armsas book.
