Timeline
Teilhard de Chardin
1881-1924
1926-1938
1939-1955
1881-1924
| DATES | PRINCIPAL EVENTS | LOCATION | MAJOR WORKS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1881 May 1 | Marie – Joseph Pierre Teilhard de Chardin born | Sarcenat | |
| 1899 March 20 | Enters Jesuit noviciate | Aix-en Provence | |
| 1902 October | First year as a scholastic Geological field trip in Jersey | Jersey | |
| 1905 End of August | Leaves for Egypt for required three years teaching in Jesuit college | Cairo | |
| 1909 October | First year of theology Geological field trip with Pere Pellotier | Hastings The Weald; Jersey | L’eocene des environs de Minieh |
| 1911 August 24 | Ordained priest | Hastings | |
| 1912 October | Begins course under Marcellin Boule at the Museum of Natural History Studies phosphorites in Quercy | Paris | |
| 1914 July | Field trip with Jean Boussac | Alpes du Dauphine | |
| 1914 August | Begins tertianship | Canterbury | |
| 1914 December | Called up for service with medical corps | Clermont | Les carnassiers des phosphorites du Quercy |
| 1915 January | Stretcher-bearer (2nd class) in the 8th Moroccan Light Infantry | ||
| 1915 May | Ypres Sector | ||
| 1915 June | Transfers to 4th combined regiment of Zouaves and Light Infantry | ||
| 1915 August | Arras District | ||
| 1915 August 29 | Mentioned in divisional orders | ||
| 1915 September 1 | Croix de Guerre | ||
| 1916 January | In billets behind the line | Nieuport-Ville | |
| 1916 March 24 | From this date onwards drafts numberous writings | La vie cosmique (Ecrits guerre) | |
| 1916 April 24 | Finishes La vie cosmique | Dunkirk sector | |
| 1919 July | Passes certificate in geology | Paris | l’evangelisation des temps nouveaux |
| 1919 July | Passes certificate in geology | Paris | l’evangelisation des temps nouveaux |
| 1920 March | Passes certificate in zoology | Paris | |
| 1920 June | Preparation of doctoral thesis in geology at the Institut Catholique | ||
| 1920 July | Excavations near Rheims in connection with thesis | Rheims | |
| 1922 March 22 | Oral examination for doctoral thesis | Les mammiferes de l’eocene inferieur francais | l’evangelisation des temps nouveaux |
| 1922 March 22 | Assistant Professor of Geology | ||
| 1923 April 6 | To China via Suez, Ceylon, Sumatra, Hong Kong, Shanghai | ||
| 1923 May | Joins Pere Emile Licent, S.J. | Tientsin | |
| 1923 June | First field trip with Licent | Ordos | |
| 1923 August 6 | Writes Mass on the World in the Ordos Deser | ||
| 1924 April | Field trip with Pere Licent | Eastern Mongolia | |
| 1924 August | Joins Professor George Barbour | Kalgan | |
| 1924 September | Returns to France by sea | Shanghai | |
| 1924 October | Resumes courses at Institut Catholique | Paris | |
| 1924 October | Gives retreats for students of Grandes Ecoles |
1926-1938
| DATES | PRINCIPAL EVENTS | LOCATION | MAJOR WORKS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 April | Leaves for China with Pere Licent and Pere Lejay | ||
| 1926 November | Drafts treatise on spirituality | Tientsin | |
| 1926 December | Visited by Professor Alfred Lacroix of the Museum of Natural History | Peking | |
| 1927 May–July | Field trip with Licent | Dalai-Nor (Tari N.) | |
| 1929 February | Return to China via Jibuti and Ceylon | Le sens humain | |
| 1929 April | Accepts post as scientific adviser to Peking Geological Service Lives with Lazarist Fathers Works with Dr. Davidson Black and Dr. Wong Wen Hao at Chou-Kou-Tien | ||
| 1929 December 2 | Pei-Wen-Chung, Director of Excavations at Chou-Kou-Tien, discovers the first Sinanthropus skull | Chou-Kou-Tien (with C.C. Young) | |
| 1930 February | Trip with Barbour | Shensi, Shansi | |
| 1930 May | Joins Chapman Andrews expedition | Mongolia, Gobi Desert | |
| 1931 January | Trip to USA to make arrangements for Citroen expedition | New York, Chicago | |
| 1931 February | Return to China via Hawaii and Japan | San Francisco | |
| 1931 May 8 | Joins expedition | Kalgan, Gobi Desert | |
| 1932 January 1 | With the Divine Word Fathers | Liangchow (Kansu) | |
| 1932 September | Return to France for four months | Paris | |
| 1933 February | Leaves for fifth journey to China | ||
| 1933 July | Trip to USA via Pacific route | San Francisco, Washington, New York | |
| 1933 July | Attends International Congress of Geology in Washington | ||
| 1934 May | Yangtze Expedition, and trip to Central Asia with Barbour | Yangtze, Hunan, Tsinling Mts. | |
| 1935 May | Return to France | Paris | |
| 1935 September | Departure for India to join Helmut de Terra | Red Sea, Kashmir | The Discovery of the Past (Vision of the past) |
| 1935 End of December | To Java at invitation of Von Koenigswald | Batavia, Bandung, Sangiran | |
| 1936 January | Return to China via Hong Kong and Shanghai | Peking | |
| 1937 February | Trip to USA across Pacific via Honolulu | Philadelphia | |
| 1937 April | Return to France via Atlantic route | New York | |
| 1937 August 6 | Leaves for China from Marseilles on board the D’Artagnan | Human Energy (Building the Earth) | |
| 1937 December | To Burma to join Helmut de Terra | Rangoon | |
| 1938 March | Arrival in Java with Helmut de Terra; stays with Von Koenigswald | Batavia, Bandung, Surakarta, Trinil, La Solo | |
| 1938 May | Return to China | Peking | |
| 1938 June | Begins The Phenomenon of Man | ||
| 1938 September | Leaves for USA via Pacific route | Vancouver, New York | |
| 1938 November | Returns to France via Atlantic route | Social Heredity and Progress (The Future of Man) |
1939-1955
| DATES | PRINCIPAL EVENTS | LOCATION | MAJOR WORKS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 June | Return to China via USA | ||
| 1939 August 30 | Arrival in China where he stays until 1946 | Peking | |
| 1940 May | Sets up Institute of Geobiology with Pere Pierre Leroy, S.J. | ||
| 1940 June | Finishes The Phenomenon of Man | The Phenomenon of Man | |
| 1940 June | Publishes several papers on Chou-Kou-Tien | ||
| 1941 March 3 | Lectures at French Embassy on ‘The Future of Man as seen by a Paleontologist’ | Some Reflections on Progress (The Future of Man) | |
| 1942 November 15 | Exposition of law of complexity – consciousness | Man’s Place in the Universe (The Vision of the Past) | |
| 1941 March 3 | Lectures at French Embassy on ‘The Future of Man as seen by a Paleontologist’ | Some Reflections on Progress (The Future of Man) | |
| 1942 November 15 | Exposition of law of complexity – consciousness | Man’s Place in the Universe (The Vision of the Past) | |
| 1943 | Founds journal Geobiologia | Peking | |
| 1946 May | In France. Various activities, including lectures | Paris | |
| 1947 June 1 | Heart attack | Paris | |
| 1948 March | Sixth trip to USA | New York | |
| 1948 June | Return to France | Paris | |
| 1948 August | Stays with his brother, Joseph | Les Moulins | Comment je vois |
| 1948 October | Seeks ecclesiastical approval for publication of The Phenomenon of Man and for appointment to Chair at College de France | Rome | |
| 1948 November | Return to France after negative response to both requests | Paris | |
| 1949 February | Lectures at Sorbonne on Groupe Zoologique humain | Paris | |
| 1949 October | Attends International Congress on Philosophy of Science | Paris | The Vision of our Past (The Vision of the Past) |
| 1951 July | Leaves for South Africa. Breaks journey in England, joins Barbour. Barbour flies to South Africa, Teilhard sails from Southampton | London | |
| 1951 August 28 | Visits sites of Australopithecus, finds with Barbour and van Riet Lowe | Johannesburg, Pretoria, Kimberley, Dry Harts Valley | |
| 1951 October | Visits Hopefield site with Dr. J. Goodwin | Cape Town | |
| 1951 November | Return to USA via Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro | New York | |
| 1951 December | Accepts research post with Wenner Gren Foundation offered by Dr. Paul Fejos | ||
| 1952 July | Trip across USA | Chicago | |
| 1953 July | Second South African trip | L’etoffe de l’univers | |
| 1954 June | In France | Paris | Species (The Appearance of Man) |
| 1954 June 28 | Lecture on Africa and origins of man | Paris | |
| 1954 July | Visits Lascaux with Pere Leroy. Last visit to birthplace | Lascaux | |
| 1954 August | Return to USA | New York | |
| 1955 April 10 | Dies on Easter Day | Recherche, travail et adoration |