Timeline

The following is a timeline of events that occur or are mentioned in Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2. Although the games are set at separate points between 1899 and 1914 inclusive, the background of the characters and the world spans well over a century of American history.

Table of Contents
The 1700s	1720 - 1745 - 1755 - 1779 - 1782-1797
The 1800s	1800 - 1801 - 1802 - 1803 - 1804 - 1805 - 1806 - 1807 - 1808 - 1809
The 1810s	1810 - 1811 - 1812 - 1813 - 1814 - 1815 - 1816 - 1817 - 1818 - 1819
The 1820s	1820 - 1821 - 1822 - 1823 - 1824 - 1825 - 1826 - 1827 - 1828 - 1829
The 1830s	1830 - 1831 - 1832 - 1833 - 1834 - 1835- 1836 - 1837 - 1838 - 1839
The 1840s	1840 - 1841 - 1842 - 1843 - 1844 - 1845 - 1846 - 1847 - 1848 - 1849
The 1850s	1850 - 1851 - 1852 - 1853 - 1854 - 1855 - 1856 - 1857 - 1858 - 1859
The 1860s	1860 - 1861 - 1862 - 1863 - 1864 - 1865 - 1866 - 1867 - 1868 - 1869
The 1870s	1870 - 1871 - 1872 - 1873 - 1874 - 1875 - 1876 - 1877 - 1878 - 1879
The 1880s	1880 - 1881 - 1882 - 1883 - 1884 - 1885 - 1886 - 1887 - 1888 - 1889
The 1890s	1890 - 1891 - 1892 - 1893 - 1894 - 1895 - 1896 - 1897 - 1898 - 1899
The 1900s	1900 - 1901 - 1902 - 1903 - 1904 - 1905 - 1906 - 1907 - 1908 - 1909
The 1910s	1910 - 1911 - 1912 - 1913 - 1914 - 1915 - 1916 - 1917 - 1918 - 1919
Miscellaneous

1700s to 1790s

1720

• The city of Saint Denis is founded and serves as the capital of the French New World until the territory is purchased by the United States of America in the early 1800s.

1745

• Ross Gray informs the British government of the impending Jacobite rebellion.

1755

• The Gray family emigrates from Scotland to North America and settles in the region of Scarlett Meadows.

1779

• The Braithwaite family settles in Scarlett Meadows and builds Braithwaite Manor.

1782

• Birth of Josiah Blackwater.

1797

• Jesuit missionary Rodolfo dies in New Austin after having left a Spanish mission in California carrying a letter written by Cardinal Blanco in Madrid.

1800s to 1840s

1806

• Douglas Gray and Lucille Braithwaite conspire to steal large sums of gold from their families to fund the abolition of slavery. The Grays and Braithwaites, each believing that the other family had their missing gold, begin a blood feud that endures until 1899.

1817

• 24 April: Birth of Hannah Chilcott.

1823

• Birth of Esther Sinclair.

1824

• Birth of Edgar Shelton.
• Birth of Seth Trice.
• Birth of Amelia Eaves.

1826

• June 18: Birth of Quincy T. Harris.

1831

• Birth of Lila Shelton.

1834

• Birth of Judith Johnston.

1835

• Birth of Greta van der Linde.

1842

• Death of Belle Finch, of cholera.

1843

• Birth of Ada Stillman.

1844

• Sisika Penitentiary was established.
• Approximate year that Hosea Matthews was born.
• Approximate year that Angelo Bronte was born.

1846

• Birth of Leopold Strauss.
• Birth of Alma Horlick.

1847

• Death of Seth Trice, of unknown cause.

1848

• 22 July: Death of Hannah Chilcott, of unknown cause.

1849

• 7 August: Death of Amelia Eaves, of cholera.
• Fall: The latest possible date for Uncle's birth.

1850s

1851

• Birth of Hoover Cowan.
• Birth of Dwight Bundy.
• The West Elizabeth Co-Operative Bank is established.

1852

• Birth of Delilah Gaskell.
• Birth of David Purvis.
• Birth of an unnamed individual buried in Tumbleweed.
• Death of Henrietta Feaney.

1854

• Birth of Betsy Glover.

1855

• Birth of Mabel Bryars.
• Birth of Dutch van der Linde.
• Bank of Rhodes is established.

1856

• Birth of Ulysses Howard.
• Birth of Murtel Purvis.
• Birth of Rosie Tenerton.

1857

• Birth of Elenora Riddick.
• Birth of Clinton Underwood.
• Birth of Juan Calomarde.
• 2 February: Death of Judith Johnston, of unknown cause.

1858

• Birth of Dorothy Hewitt.
• Birth of Alberto de la Fuente.
• Birth of Herbert Forth.

1860s

1860

• Birth of Ira Somers.
• Birth of Pearl Palmer.
• Birth of Micah Bell.
• Birth of Leigh Johnson.
• Darragh MacGuire is involved in a Fenian uprising in Galway.

1861

• The American Civil War begins. Lemoyne is one of several states that secedes from the United States to form the Confederate States of America.
• Billy West married Annabel.
• Birth of Edgar Ross.

1863

• Birth of Arthur Morgan.
• March 30: A Confederate charge led by Major Hobart Crawley is routed by Union troops, resulting in the deaths of 3,202 Confederate soldiers. Major Crawley is the only survivor. The battle is later memorialized with a statue in Rhodes.
• May 8: A Confederate Army force under General Quincy T. Harris attacks Fort Brennand under cover of night and massacres the Union Army garrison.
• July: Leopold Strauss arrives in New York with his uncle.

1864

• The Battle of Scarlett Meadows occurs at Bolger Glade in Lemoyne. Despite suffering massive casualties, Confederate troops successfully repel a major Union Army offensive. General Quincy T. Harris participates in the battle.
• 24 August: Death of Esther Sinclair, of unknown cause.

1865

• The American Civil War concludes, with the Union victorious over the Confederacy. Lemoyne is subsequently readmitted to the United States of America.
• Death of Edgar and Lila Shelton, struck by a lightning bolt.

1866

• Birth of Bill Williamson.
• Birth of Lupe del Valle.
• Death of Philip J. Greenup
• Otis Miller and his boys commit the first train robbery in history.
• 13 September: Death of Georgia Dobbs, killed by a falling oak tree.

1867

• Birth of Hamilton Murphy.
• Birth of Obediah Graves.
• Birth of Andreas Müller.

1868

• Birth of Louisa Warthington.
• Birth of Harold MacDougal.
• Birth of Mary Dutton.
• 4 November: Death of an unknown individual buried in Odd Fellow's Rest, of unknown cause.

1869

• Annesburg mine is founded.

1870s

1870

• The start of the "Picturesque Period". Many stories and legends from this period were later adapted to motion pictures in the 1910s.
• Dutch van der Linde leaves home.

1872

• Birth of Mr. Pickering.
• Birth of Houston Greenup.

1873

• Birth of John Marston.
• Death of John Marston's mother, died during childbirth.
• Death of Ellen Nugent, to an epileptic fit.

1874

• The Lemoyne Raiders are founded.
• Professional figure skater Felix Hawley loses his right leg.
• Lyle Morgan is arrested for larceny.

1875

• Death of Ada Stillman, choked on a fishbone.

1876

• Birth of Sam Odessa.
• Birth of Butch Somers.
• During a bloody coup, Francisco Ramirez Torres becomes President of Mexico.
• 11 January: Death of Juan Calomarde, of unknown cause.
• 18 January: Death of Gideon Knox, presumably from an orgy with six women.
• Death of James Jacob Somers.
• Frank Heck travels through The Heartlands, signing his name on Register Rock.

1877

• Birth of Abigail Marston.
• Birth of Vincente de Santa.
• Birth of Norman Deek.
• Micah Bell Jr. and Micah Bell III are on the run for the murder of Roscoe and Jean Briggs.

1878

• Birth of Fred Peagler.
• Birth of Ellie Boone.
• Birth of Lydia Grubb.
• Death of Rosie Tenerton, of unknown cause.
• 1 April: Death of Josephine Byrd, of unknown cause.

1879

• Death of Mabel Bryars, of unknown cause.
• Birth of Kit Skaggs.
• Birth of Harold Thornton.
• Birth of Nelly Dillard.
• Birth of Isabeau Katharina Zinsmeister.
• Otis Miller travels through The Heartlands, signing his name on Register Rock.
• 14 March: Death of Lucile Riggs, of unknown cause.
• 10 May: Death of Samuel Makepeace, of unknown cause.

1880s

1880

• Birth of Earl Errington.
• 26 May: Death of Emma Crawford, of unknown cause.
• Birth of Lenny Summers.

1881

• Death of John Marston's father, of a cause presumably related to his alcoholism.
• Death of an unnamed individual buried in Tumbleweed, of unknown cause.
• Death of Abe Shackleford.
• Death of Greta van der Linde.
• Birth of Hank MacFarlane.
• Birth of Walton Lowe.
• Birth of Isabel Feaney.
• 27 October: Death of Charlotte Eaves, of unknown cause.

1882

• Birth of an unnamed thief, later buried in Blackwater Chapel.
• Emmet Granger is sighted at the Beaver Brook Massacre.
• Slim Grant kills Ged Calloway.
• 17 March: Birth of Owen MacFarlane.
• 27 June: Death of Elenora Riddick, of unknown cause.

1883

• Birth of Gus MacFarlane.
• Birth of Betsie Errington.
• Death of Dorothy Hewitt, of unknown cause.
• Death of Alberto de la Fuente, of unknown cause.
• An eclipse occurred which famously blinded a man named Stretch Hawthorn. The story was later adapted to a motion picture in 1911.
• 18 October: Death of Minerva Pratt, from a fever.
• August : Pleasance was founded.

1884

• Birth of Ethan and Bonnie MacFarlane.
• Birth of Abraham Reyes.
• Birth of Willie Feaney.
• Birth of Antonio de la Cueva.
• June: Princess Isabeau Katharina Zinsmeister of Luxembourg disappears during a royal visit to the United States.

1885

• Birth of Travis Glover.
• 3 June: Death of Elijah Liggons, of unknown cause.
• John Marston joins the Van der Linde gang.

1886

• The 3rd Street Hardware opened in Blackwater.
• Death of Obediah Graves, hanged for a murder which, according to his gravestone, he did not commit.
• Death of Betsy Glover, of unknown cause.
• Emmet Granger is rumored to be involved in the disappearance of the Laidlaw family.
• 19 July: Death of Carmen Galindo, of unknown cause.
• 7 November: Death of lawman Calvin Draper, killed by a criminal.

1887

• Birth of Charlotte Lauterback.
• Birth of Hattie Tanner.
• Death of Pearl Palmer, of unknown cause.
• Death of Dwight Bundy, of unknown cause.
• Death of Lupe del Valle, of unknown cause.
• 15 April: The Lee and Hoyt Banking House is robbed by Arthur Morgan, Hosea Matthews, and Dutch van der Linde.
• 10 October: Death of Bryon Vickers, from losing a duel in New Austin.

1888

• Birth of Alberto Viveros.
• 9 April: Death of General Quincy T. Harris.
• 18 August: Death of Felix Hawley.

1889

• Death of Ira Somers, presumably from syphilis.
• The Prancing Fox Brand, a company selling socks, was established.
• June: Darragh MacGuire is killed by British agents in Boston.
• 29 November: Death of Sergeant Joseph Drummond, of unknown cause.

1890s

1890

• Emmet Granger is suspected in the Chapparal killings.
• 10 Jan: Death of Myra Leathers, of unknown cause.

1891

• Birth of Carlos Bonavides.
• Death of Delilah Gaskell, of unknown cause.
• 23 June: Death of Jack Greenwood, of unknown cause.
• 12 July: Death of Theodore Kilbane, of unknown cause.
• 29 September: Death of an unnamed young black male, buried in the Blackwater Chapel, of unknown cause.

1892

• Birth of Luisa Fortuna.
• Birth of Mary Shackleford.
• Death of Hoover Cowan, of unknown cause.
• 25 August: Death of Truman Briggs, murdered by his wife.
• 27 December: Bill Williamson is dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Army.

1893

• Birth of Mary Shackleford.
• Bill Williamson attempts to rob Dutch van der Linde.
• The Panic of 1893 begins, resulting in JD McKnight and others selling gold to the US Treasury.
• 18 August: Death of Matilda Eaves, of unknown cause.
• 2 November: Death of an unnamed outlaw, buried in the Blackwater Chapel, of unknown cause.
• 8 December: Death of Hank MacFarlane, to tuberculosis.

1894

• 15 January: Death of Peter Turner, from a blow to his head.
• 3 March: Death of Willie Swenson, of unknown cause.
• 19 May: Death of a child buried in Perdido, of unknown cause.
• Bill Williamson joins the Van der Linde gang following his dishonourable discharge from the Army.
• Abigail Roberts joins the Van der Linde gang.
• Emmet Granger turns witness on Fosse Gang, leading to their arrest.

1895

• The end of the "Picturesque Period". Many stories and legends from this period were later adapted to motion pictures in the 1910s.
• Tavish Gray receives a letter from Edinburgh University historian Malcolm Moffat revealing that his ancestor Ross Gray was not an exiled Jacobite as he had believed, but a spy for the Duke of Cumberland who had been forced to flee Scotland to escape the Jacobites' reprisals against informers.
• Birth of Jack Marston.
• 12 October: Death of Estella Blankenship, of unknown cause.
• Javier Escuella joins the Van der Linde gang.
• Emmet Granger retires to his hoggery, granted by the federal government.

1896

• Approximate point which John Marston deserted the Van der Linde gang.
• Death of the Butcher brothers, killed in a gunfight with Landon Ricketts.
• National Bureau of Criminal Identification is founded by the National Chiefs of Police Union.
• 23 June: Death of Owen MacFarlane, to chronic diarrhea.
• 7 September: Jake and Sadie Adler marry.

1897

• Approximate point which John Marston returned to the Van der Linde gang.
• Leigh Johnson became the marshal of Armadillo.
• Death of Clinton Underwood, of unknown cause.
• The Blackwater Restaurant was established.
• President Alfred MacAlister approves the finalized demarcation lines for the states of New Hanover, Lemoyne, Ambarino, West Elizabeth, and New Austin.
• 23 May: Death of Francis Moon, killed by Walton Lowe.
• 16 September: Death of an unnamed cowboy, buried at Coot's Chapel, of unknown cause.

1898

• Birth of Florence Snyder.
• Death of Larry Chambers.
• Death of Philip LeClerk by gunshot, leading to the events of Red Dead Online.
• 18 March: Death of Hattie Tanner, of unknown cause.
• Micah Bell, Charles Smith and Lenny Summers join the Van der Linde gang.
• The Spanish-American War occurs. Of note, Colonel Thaddeus Waxman captures San Juan Hill in Guarma.

1899

• The main setting of Arthur Morgan's part in Red Dead Redemption 2.
• The Wilder Publishing Company publishes the Atlas of the United States of America 1899. This edition features maps of the states of New Hanover, Lemoyne, Ambarino, West Elizabeth, and New Austin compiled and drawn by cartographer N.J. Worthingham.
• May: The Blackwater Massacre occurs.
• An outbreak of Scarlet Fever occurs in Armadillo.

• Dissolution of the Van der Linde gang.
• Wapiti Indians exiled to Canada.
• 26 July: Death of Cole MacFarlane, from a gunshot wound to the head.
• 7 November: Death of Oscar Palomares, of unknown cause.

1900s

1900

• Death of Butch Somers, hanged for his crimes as a horse thief.
• 24 July: Death of Maybelle Fordham, Archer Fordham's mother, of unknown cause.

1901

• Basilio Aguirre Olmos de la Vargas begins his 10 year search for his great-great-grandfathers treasure.
• Death of Mary Dutton, of unknown cause.
• Death of Herbert Forth, of unknown cause.
• Death of Walter Pettigrew, the founder of Manzanita Post, of unknown cause.
• 21 August: Death of Rosalie Tanner, of unknown cause.
• 16 September: Death of Antonio de la Cueva, of unknown cause

1902

• After a gunfight in eastern California, Landon Ricketts moved from USA to Mexico.
• Death of David and Muriel Purvis, parents of Cyril Purvis, of unknown cause.
• Death of Alberto Viveros, of unknown cause.
• A bicycle model (later branded the "1902 Model") was produced and sold by the Blue Head Wonder Coaster company.

1903

• Death of Ethan MacFarlane, after irritating a bull.
• Death of Hamilton Murphy, of unknown cause.
• Birth of Ralph Anderson.
• The infamous Irving Factory Explosion occurred, killing over 400 child workers.
• 18 March: Death of an unnamed thief, buried in the Blackwater Chapel, of unknown cause.
• 23 April: Death of Priscilla Johnson, of unknown cause.
• 31 October: Death of Dolores Falcon, of unknown cause.

1904

• 29 April: Death of Lincoln Crenshaw, of unknown cause.
• 2 June: Death of Fred Peagler, presumably from a brawl.
• United States take over construction of the Panama Canal from France.

1905

• Death of Louisa Warthington, of unknown cause.
• Death of Kit Skaggs, of unknown cause.
• Death of Isabel Feaney, of unknown cause.
• Death of Houston Greenup, presumably from losing a duel.
• 15 January: Death of Ellie Boone, of unknown cause.
• 25 February: Death of Quincy Brogles, presumably from a brawl or duel.
• 15 March: Death of Ambrose Lee, of unknown cause.
• 4 August: Death of Gus MacFarlane, killed in a bar fight.

1906

• Dutch van der Linde is rumored to have died in a fire following a failed robbery.
• 25 May: Death of Jane Scranton, of unknown cause.
• 8 September: Death of an unnamed woman, buried in the Church of Tumbleweed, suicide.
• 9 September: Death of Joshua Benning, of unknown cause.
• 6 November: Death of Freda Dunbar, wife of Oswald Dunbar.

1907

• The Bureau of Investigation is founded.
  • Edgar Ross is appointed Director.
• President Thaddeus Waxman appoints Colonel William Thomas Kirchner as the chief engineer of the Panama Canal project.
• The main setting of John Marston's part in Red Dead Redemption 2.
• Death of Evelyn Miller.

• John and Abigail marry at Beecher's Hope.
• Armadillo experiences an outbreak of Cholera.
• Death of Charlotte Lauterback, of unknown cause.
• Death of Travis Glover, of unknown cause.
• Death of Mr. Pickering, by a gunshot.
• Death of Gustavo Obregon, of unknown cause.
• 15 May: Death of Grace Blankenship, of unknown cause.

1908

• Death of Nelly Dillard, of unknown cause.
• 11 April: Death of Lambert Henning, hit by a train.

1909

• Death of Lydia Grubb, of unknown cause.
• Death of Carlos Bonavides, of unknown cause.
• 23 February: Death of Orla Gaston, hit by a car.
• 14 August: Death of Alejandro Fortuna, killed by the Mexican Army.
• 19 November: Death of Hart Cummings, presumably from a deadly illness.

1910s

1910

• Death of Mr. Braithwaite, of an unknown cause.
• In yet another bloody coup, Ignacio Sanchez becomes President of Mexico.
• Crops in New Austin were ruined by an unknown personnel, and farmers were forced to sell their lands at a cheap price. The culprit behind this was rumored to be Jeremiah Somerset.
• The map of the frontier, later used by John Marston in 1911 and passed on to his son Jack Marston, was drawn.

1911

• The main setting of John Marston's part in Red Dead Redemption.
• The Mexican Revolution led by Abraham Reyes to overthrow General Ignacio Sanchez begins.
• John Marston arrives at Blackwater in search of his former gang members.
• Professor Harold MacDougal moves to Blackwater to study the local Native Americans.

• Dissolution of Dutch's Gang and the Williamson gang.
• Death or apprehension of Javier Escuella.
• Landon Ricketts moved back to the United States.
• After being absent for 6 months, Professor Harold MacDougal moved back to Yale.
• Birth of Francis Leonard Errington.

1913

• Professor Harold MacDougal published a thesis declaring the impossibility of taming a savage man.
• Edgar Ross retires from the Bureau of Investigation.

1914

• The main setting of Jack Marston's part in Red Dead Redemption.

• Leigh Johnson resigned the position of Marshal of Armadillo.
• 28 July: Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, marking the start of World War I in Europe.
• Seth Briars finds treasure in Tall Trees.
• Bonnie MacFarlane gets married to an unidentified man.
• Jeb Blankenship marries his love, Lucy.
• Harold MacDougal gets expelled from Yale University.

Miscellaneous

• Harrison Cherry's gravestone in 1911 writes that he dies on December 7, 1968.

Apparently this could be a very elaborate Beatles reference. To wit: In 1968, Eric Clapton gave George Harrison a cherry red guitar. At the time, Harrison was 25 (1943 + 25 = 1968) and Clapton was 23 (1945 + 23 = 1968), which averages to the age of 24. That guitar had serial numbers that corresponded to a batch that had shipped from a factory in a December, with 7 being the first number in the serial. Harrison then used the guitar through many of the Beatles' most famous works. See this page for more info on the guitar. Also, Harrison apparently named the guitar 'Lucy' in homage to comedienne Lucille Ball, and this could be why Jeb Blankenship's 'love' is named Lucy. Special thanks to therealcaro at reddead.net for doing the research.

• Captain Maxwell Laskey died on August 24 in an unknown year. He was 31 when he died. He is mentioned briefly in a newspaper story at the end of Red Dead Redemption.