Timelines of History

Presented by Ken Polsson, Victoria, BC, Canada.

Last updated: 2008 March 8.

These are the various topics I am continually researching as a hobby.

From 1995 to 2005, these were strictly timelines. Chronological listings of events for about seven major topics. In 2006, I did some work on my timeline generating software to allow a single database to easily generate timelines for smaller related topics. For example, the personal computer timeline now has offshoots for Apple Computers, IBM, Amiga, and Commodore 64. Other major topics have similarly been split.

Another thing I started was to assemble lists of "pop culture references". For some of my topics, I now have lists of the occurances of the topic in TV shows and movies. For example, when The Simpsons does a parody of Disney's Mary Poppins film, that's a Pop Culture reference. I've been having great fun watching shows on the computer and saving images of the references.

And one more thing that I started just for Corvettes, is a list of racing successes. I have a separate list of any major race where a Corvette placed 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. There have been a lot!

Something combining all timeline data is Ken P's Today in History. This Web page will detect today's date, and display a list of all events from all timeline topics for the day. I also generate a larger This Day in History using the World History and Sports databases.

On to the timeline topics...

Oak Island Treasure Hunt

Three recent additions are initially based on anonymous "Today in History" data files:

Notable Deaths
I am starting to work on refining them, adding documented events and extending their range and depth.

Computers

This is the daddy of them all. The one that got me started in doing timeline research: microcomputers, or personal computers as they became more commonly know after the IBM Personal Computer.

My Chronology of Personal Computers is completely free on the Web. This timeline incorporates over 5,000 events, and can be printed on hundreds of pages.

But if all you need is a brief timeline of personal computers, with a few entries of the major events in each year, then I have A Brief Timeline of Personal Computers for free on one page.

Here you will find my list of Personal Computer References in Pop Culture.

Here are some smaller related computer timelines that I have constructed:

Walt Disney

The next big timeline topic is The Walt Disney Company. This timeline of one company quickly grew to become larger than the entire personal computer timeline, with over 8,000 events! I have read books and magazines to get all the details of film releases, theme park attractions, personnel changes, and thousands of big and little decisions since the early days of Walt's talents in 1919.

The Chronology of The Walt Disney Company is completely available on the Web, with the full version available for a fee in a large PDF file of hundreds of formatted pages.

As with the PC timeline, I have A Brief Timeline of the Walt Disney Company available for free, highlighting the major film and theme park events of the company.

A very fun project is the list of Disney References in Pop Culture. I love it when an artist goes out of their way to specifically pay tribute to, or poke fun at, something Disney. Whether it's The Simpsons' kids choosing Knoxville over Disney World, or Disney's own Scar in The Lion King imploring Zazu to NOT sing "It's a Small World", you'll find it all here.

Disney characters are a popular topics for postage stamps of many countries. I have assembled a list of Disney References in Postage Stamps here.

Three recently-created timelines cover the complete details of Disney's first two theme park areas, and the Mickey Mouse character:

Chevrolet Corvettes

I am a big fan of the Corvette. I remember the first time as a young teenager when I learned that the Corvette was made by General Motors, I was amazed that a company with a dull name and image could have produced such a radical car. Few North American cars share the exotic looks of world-class sports cars. The Corvette has survived corporate neglect, budget cuts, and competition to remain one of America's few true sports cars.

I owned a 1976 L-82 Corvette for ten years, and hope to own a few more in the future. I would like to try a 1984-87 style, and a 1960 red with white coves, eventually settling on a early 1970s model. In the meantime, I'll have to be content with researching the history in books and magazines.

The Chronology of Chevrolet Corvettes gives you over 2,000 entries, with details of the development of every model since 1953. The work of Zora Arkus-Duntov, the brave racing attempts of the Grand Sport Corvettes, the numerous showcars, and the races, they're all here. Any major race involving a Corvette has a place in this timeline. Auction events that include Corvettes are here too, so we can see the prices rise over the years to the first million dollar Corvette.

If a quick timeline is all you need, I also have A Brief Timeline of Chevrolet Corvettes.

To see the top-three finishes of Corvettes in all races known to me, Corvette Racing Successes is what you're after.

And finally, Chevrolet Corvette References in Pop Culture documents the movie and TV appearances of our favorite car.

Video Games

I grew up with video games. I longed for the Pong and Breakout games at Sears, and bought an Atari 2600. I remember paying something like $50-70 for my first cartridge: Defender. I paid my share of quarters on weekends in the early 1980s on Dig-Dug, Time Pilot, Defender, Asteroids, Space Duel and countless others. My kids (and me!) now play GameCube and PlayStation 2, and my son routinely beats me at just about any game now. Arrg!

So, yes, I have an extensive Chronology of Video Game Systems, as well as A Brief Timeline of Video Game Systems. All the home TV-based and handheld systems are there, including as many non-North American releases as I can find. Hundreds of game releases too, as well as dozens of standalone arcade machines. Releases of arcade games are hard to find. There just weren't magazines devoted to them like we have now for home systems. Note that I do not include computer games in here, only dedicated video game systems and software.

You can see just the Top Video Games by Month and system. So far I only have good data for top selling games in the USA. When I find more info, I will expand this to other parts of the world, and to computer games.

Video games often pop up in movies and TV shows, so I have a Web page for Video Game References in Pop Culture. There was an episode of Futurama which devoted a third of the show to a look at what life would be like as a video game. You have to see it for all the great classic video game references.

I've spun-off a couple of specific timelines as well, and may add more in the future:

Coins

I started collecting coins as a teenager (in Canada), but never got more serious than specializing in the smaller denominations. After working on acquiring every date and denomination of Canadian and American coins, I have backed off to type collecting coins of world coins. In support of this, I have started constructing web site listing and displaying all of the different types of coins of: Australia, Canada, Ireland, Irish Free State, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, United Mexican States, and United States of America.

My Chronology of Canadian Coins details the processes, decisions, and announcements of the whole history of decimal coins in Canada. For now I have left out early penny tokens, and decimal coinage of the British North America colonies.

I also have A Brief Timeline of Canadian Coins for a quick look at the more notable changes to Canadian coins.

Collector coins have become a very popular product of the Royal Canadian Mint. These are often called Non-Circulating Legal Tender, as they have a face-value, but are not intended for regular circulation. I have all of these "coins" in the main timeline, but have also created a Chronology of Canadian NCLT Coins to highlight these issues.

A new site documents What's Notable About the Year XXXX for Canadian Coin Collectors. This is an interesting year-by-year look at changes to Canada's coins.

I also collect stamps, and have recently started topical collecting. I have started a web site to list all world Coins on Postage Stamps.

For some 30 years, I have collected not just coins and stamps, but unrelated items that incorporate the design of a coin, stamp, or paper money in them. You've seen coffee mugs with a $20 bill wrapped around the side, but have you seen $100 bill toilet paper or a dollar coin cigarette lighter? Visit Ken P's Coin/Stamp/Bill Novelties to see these and many more.

World War II

I would have to call this my most ambitious timeline. I was born some 20 years after the war, and my Dad served briefly in the Swedish Army during the war. I have had a fascination with this war, as it seemed like such a clear-cut Good versus Evil war. I have learned a lot, and continue to, as there is a lifetime of books and magazines devoted to the topic. While I cover the war years of 1939 to 1945 in day-to-day detail, I also include relevant information on pre- and post-war events. Current magazines (and books) continue to uncover new details, so this Chronology of World War II is not a static timeline.

As usual, I also have A Brief Timeline of World War II covering the major developments from the first shots in September 1939 up to the surrender of Japan in 1945.

Sweden

My dad was born in Sweden, and came to Canada in the 1950s. I have visited the country a few times. What better way to learn more about the country, than to give it my timeline treatment. I don't have a lot of books available to me, but what I have found at the library gave a rather good first cut at a comprehensive Chronology of Sweden. I am now continuing to enhance the timeline from various magazines and newspaper archives.

For the coin collector, I have a series of Web pages cataloging the different type coins of Sweden.

A & W Root Beer

Perhaps the most obscure timelines of mine are the twin timelines of
Chronology of A & W Root Beer (Canada) and
Chronology of A & W Root Beer (USA). I have always loved the thick glass mugs, even more that the food at the A&W Restaurants. Did you know A&W has produced glass mugs for their restaurants since about 1919? I have about 130 different mugs in my collection, and even have a large Mug Shots Web site devoted to sorting out all the varieties of glass mugs known to exist. There is no other list of mugs anywhere that I know of, so I continue to add more as they pop up on eBay.

And last but not least, a big thanks must go to one of my sponsors: Amazon.com. Advertising, and your purchases through Amazon.com allow me to make so much available here. Please consider searching the Amazon.com Web site for your online purchases, perhaps for a Disney DVD, a Corvette book, a Nintendo video game, or a new laptop computer.

Visit my Amazon.com online stores:

Link to Ken P's home page.