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Time-Line Continuum: the home of the timelines

Every story has a timeline.

Carefully researched timelines that show how events, ideas and lives actually unfolded: voyages and journals, disasters and discoveries, and the histories of the things we build. Read one in minutes and see the whole shape of a story.

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29 timelines · 3,067 events · free to read, no account needed

Featured timeline

A closer look at one story. Timelines like this one turn a complicated history into something you can follow from beginning to end.

Highlights from James Cook’s First Voyage

41 events · Exploration & Discovery · Literature & Journals

Lieutenant James Cook’s voyage aboard His Majesty’s Bark Endeavour (1768-1771) stands as a landmark of discovery, endurance, and innovation. From the harbours of Plymouth to Rio de Janeiro, Tahiti, New Zealand, the east coast of Australia, and the fever-ridden port of Batavia (now Jakarta), the expedition advanced the frontiers of…

  1. About This Timeline

    This timeline presents the story of Lieutenant James Cook’s first great voyage through a series of selected highlights rather than daily entries. These selected events allow the expedition to be followed clearly and…

  2. 26 August 1768

    Departure from Plymouth, England (August 1768)

    Cook’s Journal (Wharton): “Friday, 26th. First part fresh Breezes and Cloudy, remainder little wind and Clear. At 2 p.m. got under Sail and put to Sea, having on board 94 Persons, including Officers, Seamen, Gentlemen…

  3. 25 October 1768

    "Crossing the Line" (the Equator)

    Cook’s Journal (Wharton): “Wednesday, 26th. First part light Airs and Cloudy weather, the remainder a Moderate Breeze and Cloudy. After we had got an observation, and it was no longer Doubted that we were to the…

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Popular timelines

The ones readers return to most: history, innovation, culture, aviation and the organisations that shaped them.

  • Highlights from James Cook’s First Voyage

    Dated · 41 events

    Lieutenant James Cook’s voyage aboard His Majesty’s Bark Endeavour (1768-1771) stands as a landmark of discovery, endurance, and innovation. From the harbours of Plymouth to Rio…

    Exploration & Discovery · Literature & Journals

  • AI: Rise of the Thinking Machine

    Dated · 84 events

    AI: Rise of the Thinking Machine is a visual timeline that shows how artificial intelligence has changed over time-from early machines and simple programs to today’s smart robots…

    Science & Technology

  • Qantas: Australia in the Skies

    Dated · 59 events

    This timeline showcases the remarkable journey of Australia’s flag carrier, Qantas Airways, from its humble beginnings in 1920 as a regional air service in Queensland to becoming…

    Aviation & Military

  • Dorothy Wordsworth Alfoxton Journal (Part 1)

    Dated · 98 events

    A timeline exploring Dorothy Wordsworth’s Alfoxden Journal, capturing her vivid observations of nature, daily life, and poetic inspirations alongside her brother, William…

    Literature & Journals · Personal & Biographical

  • Sky Warriors: The Story of the Flying Tigers

    Dated · 48 events

    The story of the Flying Tigers, the American volunteer pilots who flew for China against Japan, in 48 dated entries running from the early years of military aviation in 1911 to…

    Aviation & Military

  • History of the Rotary Club of Parramatta City

    Dated · 66 events

    A history of the Rotary Club of Parramatta City in 66 dated entries spanning 1910 to 2022, covering the club’s founding, its people, and the community projects it has run.

    Business & Institutions · Environment & Community

See all 29 timelines

What is a timeline?

A structured visual narrative. It puts events, decisions and milestones in a clear sequence, so you can see how a story developed, and spot the causes and connections that an article buries in paragraphs. Every one is built from three things.

  1. 1

    A date

    When it happened, and where it sits in the sequence. Where a source only knew the month or the year, we say only that.

  2. 2

    An event title

    One clear, scannable line that names the moment, so a whole story can be read at a glance before you read a word of detail.

  3. 3

    The narrative detail

    The context that explains why the moment mattered, with the photographs, documents and quotations that go with it.

Make one of your own

Everything on this site was built with our own tools. There are three, and they all do the same thing for different kinds of story.

Time-Line Continuum Personal

Your own story, in the order it happened.

Childhood memories, a family history, a career, a long project, a life worth remembering. Add an event name, a date and a few words, then photographs, videos and links, and TLCp turns scattered details into a timeline you can keep, share and add to for years.

  1. Create your account

    Free, and takes a minute.

  2. Create your timeline

    One story: a life, a family, an event, a project.

  3. Add your events

    A name, a date, a few words. Photographs if you have them.

Create your timeline

Time-Line Continuum News

Today’s news, in context

Headlines from major news organisations, gathered through the day and placed on one chronological timeline. Filter by source, category or keyword and follow a developing story across days or weeks instead of reading it one fragment at a time.

Visit TLC News →

Time-Line Continuum Family

Your family, generation by generation

A family tree that keeps the people, the dates and the relationships between them in one private place, and lets you put anyone at the centre and follow the line down through their children and grandchildren.

Start your family tree →