Timeline
Note that all publication dates refer to the British editions of Lewis’s works.
1898
29 November: Birth of Clive Staples Lewis
1899
29 January: Baptised at St. Mark’s, Dundela, Belfast
1905
18 April: Lewis family moves into Little Lea
1908
23 August: Death of Flora Lewis
18 September: Begins studies at Wynyard School
1910
September: Begins studies at Campbell College, Belfast
1911
January: Begins studies at Cherbourg School, Great Malvern
1913
September: Begins studies at Malvern College, Great Malvern
1914
19 September: Begins private study with William Thompson Kirkpatrick at Great Bookham
1916
13 December: Learns he has been accepted at University College, Oxford
25 April: Applies to join Oxford University Officers’ Training Corps
29 April: Takes up place at University College
7 May: Joins E Company, No. 4 Officer Cadet Battalion, stationed at Keble College, Oxford, and meets Paddy Moore
26 September: Commissioned as second lieutenant in 3rd Somerset Light Infantry
17 November: Crosses to France and joins British front line near Arras
1918
1–28 February: Hospitalised at Le Tréport, near Dieppe
15 April: Wounded in battle at Riez du Vinage
25 May: Repatriated to England for convalescence
1919
13 January: Returns to Oxford to resume studies at University College
20 March: Spirits in Bondage published
1920
31 March: Gains First Class Honours in Classical Moderations
1921
24 May: Wins Chancellor’s Essay Prize
1922
4 August: Gains First Class Honours in Literae Humaniores
1923
16 July: Gains First Class Honours in English Language and Literature
1925
1 October: Takes up tutorial fellowship in English Language and Literature at Magdalen College, Oxford
1926
18 September: Dymer: A Poem published
1929
25 September: Death of Albert Lewis
1930
23–24 April: Visits Little Lea for the last time, along with Warnie
10 October: Moves into The Kilns
29 October: Informs Arthur Greeves that he has begun to attend college chapel
1931
19 September: Realises, after a conversation with Tolkien, that Christianity is a “true myth”
25 December: Attends Holy Communion for the first time as an adult at Holy Trinity Church, Headington Quarry, Oxford
1932
15–29 August: Writes The Pilgrim’s Regress while staying with Arthur Greeves
21 December: Warnie moves into The Kilns
1933
25 May: The Pilgrim’s Regress published
1936
21 May: The Allegory of Love published
1939
2 September: Warnie recalled to active military service
3 September: Britain declares war on Germany
1940
18 October: The Problem of Pain published
1941
6–27 August: Gives four live broadcast talks on the BBC Home Service from Broadcasting House, London
1942
11 January–15 February: Gives five more live broadcast talks on the BBC Home Service from Broadcasting House, London
9 February: The Screwtape Letters published
13 July: Broadcast Talks published
20 September–8 November: Gives eight more live talks on the BBC Home Service from Broadcasting House, London
1943
20 April: Perelandra published
1944
22 February–4 April: Gives seven more live broadcast talks on the BBC Home Service from Broadcasting House, London
1945
9 May: End of Second World War in Europe
15 May: Death of Charles Williams
16 August: That Hideous Strength published
1946
14 January: The Great Divorce published
1947
12 May: Miracles published
8 September: Appears on cover of Time magazine
1948
2 February: Elizabeth Anscombe criticises Lewis’s argument against naturalism at the Socratic Club
17 March: Elected fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
1950
16 October: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe published
1951
12 January: Death of Mrs. Moore
1954
4 June: Accepts professorship of Medieval and Renaissance English at University of Cambridge
16 September: English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, Excluding Drama published
1955
7 January: Takes up residence at Magdalene College, Cambridge
July: Elected fellow of the British Academy
19 September: Surprised by Joy published
1956
23 April: Marries Joy Davidman in civil ceremony at Oxford Register Office
1957
21 March: Marriage ceremony to Joy Davidman in Churchill Hospital, Oxford, conducted by Reverend Peter Bide
1960
28 March: The Four Loves published
13 July: Death of Joy Davidman; Writes A Grief Observed
1961
24 June: Diagnosed with enlarged prostate gland
1963
22 November: Death of C. S. Lewis