"I refuse to bow down any longer."
-- Percival Graves (WFT)
One very interesting line of speculation coming out of the new film is how the timelines of Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Newt Scamander integrate with each other. I will be creating a very detailed master timeline with all the information laid out, but in the meantime here is what we know (with a few speculations thrown in). Let the canon discussions and theorizing begin!
NOTE: The timeline bar at the bottom of the page provides links to each of these events.
1881 – Dumbledore born
1883 – Grindelwald born
c. 1891 – Ariana Dumbledore attacked by Muggle boys: did she become an Obscurial and did Grindelwald learn of the power of the Obscurus from this?
1897 – Newt Scamander born
1899 – Grindelwald expelled from Durmstrang, Dumbledore and Grindelwald meet in Godric’s Hollow
1899 – August – Ariana Dumbledore killed, Grindelwald flees
c. 1905 – Grindelwald, after researching the Deathly Hallows in Godric’s Hollow, tracks down the Elder wand and steals it from Gregorovitch
1907 – Merope Gaunt is born
1908 – Newt Scamander starts Hogwarts, Dumbledore is a teacher
1918 – Augustus Worme of Obscurus Books commisions Newt to write a guide to magical creatures (the name of the publishing company is intriguing!)
1925 – c. December – Merope Gaunt fools Tom Riddle into marrying her
1926 – c. March 31 – Merope Gaunt become pregnant with Tom Riddle’s child
1926 – before December – Grindelwald escapes capture by five Aurors at a chateau, probably in Switzerland, then travels to America to pursue his vision of an Obscurial. He uses powerful magic to impersonate Percival Graves. (According to the script, this is the day before Newt arrives in New York, but this seems problematic — how could Grindelwald have come to NYC, attacked Graves, discovered the whereabouts of the Obscurial, ingratiated himself to Credence, etc. all in about twelve hours?).
1926 – December 6-7 Newt Scamander’s beastly adventures in New York City, Newt captures Grindelwald
1926 – December 31 – Tom Marvolo Riddle born in London
1927 – first edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is published
1928 – December 6 – Rubeus Hagrid is born
1930 – the infamous “Pure-Blood Directory” is published
1935 – October 9 – Minerva McGonagall is born
1938 – August – Dumbledore visits Tom Marvolo Riddle in the orphanage and invites him to Hogwarts
1938 – September – Tom Marvolo Riddle starts Hogwarts
1940 – September – Hagrid starts Hogwarts
1942 – summer – Tom Marvolo Riddle kills Riddle family
1943 – c. May – Riddle learns to open the Chamber of Secrets
1945 – June – Tom Marvolo Riddle leaves Hogwarts, goes to work for Borgin and Burkes, creates diadem Horcrux
1945 – Dumbledore and Grindelwald duel to end Grindelwald’s attempt to take over the world
1947 – September 1 – McGonagall starts Hogwarts