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1902
July 7: James McCartney was born. Father of Paul McCartney.
1909
May 28: Harold Harrison was born. Father of George Harrison.
1911
March 10: Louise French was born. Mother of George Harrison.
1912
December 14: Alfred "Freddie" Lennon was born. Father of John
Lennon.
1914
March 16: Julia Stanley was born. Mother of John Lennon.
1930
May 20: Harrold Harrison and Louise French get married at the Brownlow
Hill Register Office.
1933
February 18: Yoko Ono was born.
1934
September 19: Brian Epstein is born.
1936
Sometime that year: Richard Starkey and Elsie Gleave get married. Parents
of Ringo Starr.
1938
December 3: Freddie Lennon and Julia Stanley get married at the Mt. Pleasant
Register Office, Liverpool.
1940
June 23: Stu Sutcliffe is born.
July 7: Richard
Starkey (Ringo Starr) is born.
October 9: John
Lennon is born.
1941
November 24: Pete Best was born.
Sometime that year:
James McCartney and Mary Patricia Mohin get married.
1942
June 18: James Paul McCartney was born.
1943
February 24: George Harrison was born.
December: John's
dad jumped ship in America while employed as a steward and left John and
his mother.
Sometime that year:
Ringo's parents were divorced and Elsie worked as a bar maid.
1945
or 1946
John's mother Julia placed John in care with his aunt, Mimi Stanley Smith.
1946
July: Freddie Lennon reemerged and took John to Blackpool and tried to
persuade him to leave the country with him. He almost did but went back
to stay with his mother at the last minute.
That year: Ringo's
appendix blew up. He was in a coma for several weeks and spent nearly
a year in the hospital.
1949
Sometime that year: Julia was now residing with John Dykins, who John
called Twitchy.
1953
April 17: Ringo's mother, Elsie, married Harry Graves, who became Ringo's
stepfather.
1955
June 5: George Smith, John's uncle, died suddenly, leaving John to be
raised by Mimi.
1956
Early that year: John forms a skiffle group. First dubbed the Black Jacks
and quickly changed to the Quarry Men. Named after Quarry Bank High School.
John on guitar and Pete Shotten on washboard, Bill Smith joined on an
intermediate basis. Soon they were joined by Nigel Whalley and Ivan Vaughan
who took turns playing the tea chest bass. Rod Davis (banjo), Colin Hanton
(Drums), and Eric Griffiths (Guitar) also joined. Len Garry took over
on Bass when Nigel Whalley became manager.
That year: Paul
McCartney wrote his first song, "I Lost My Little Girl."
October 31: Paul's
mom, Mary, died.
1957
June 9: The Quarry Men audition at Carroll Levis' "TV Star Search"
at Liverpool's Empire Theater. They
did poorly and lost to a midget.
June 22: The Quarry
Men play at outdoor party.
July 6: They played
at St. Peter's Parish Church. Paul McCartney was introduced to John, who
was slightly drunk at the
time. Paul impressed the band greatly with his ability to tune a guitar.
July 20: Paul joined
the band. They got more gigs.
Middle of that year:
John joins the Liverpool art institute.
Later that year:
Rod Davis leaves the Quarry Men. Nigel Whalley resigned as manager because
of T.B.
1958
January 24: The Quarry Men played at the Cavern Club.
February 6: Quarry
Men appear at Wilson Hall, Garston. It is perhaps this appearance where
Paul's friend, George Harrison, met the Quarry Men. He filled in on guitar
and eventually joined.
July 15: Julia was
hit by a car and died.
December 20: The
Quarry Men played at George's brother's wedding.
Middle of that year:
The Quarry Men, now consisting of John, Paul, George, (all playing guitar),
John Lowe on piano, and Colin Hanton on drums, went to the Phillip's Sound
Recording Service and recorded a cheap 78 rpm record including, "That'll
Be the Day" and "In Spite of All the Danger" wrote by George
and Paul. Both songs have John on lead vocals.
Late that year:
They failed an audition for ABC TV.
1959
January 1: Shortly after they play at Wilson Hall, Colin Hanton, the drummer,
quits.
August 29: They
begin playing at Mona Best's "Casbah Club." Pete Best was a
drummer with the Blackjacks
there. They also preformed. Ken Brown joined the Quarry Men.
October 10: Ken
Brown quit. The Quarry Men quit playing at the Casbah for a short time.
They would later return in December 1960.
1960
Early that year: The Quarry Men change their name to The Moondogs.
January: John's
friend, Stuart Sutcliffe, joined the Quarry Men. Stu played a Bass, which
he had never learned to play.
May: John asks Allen
Williams to manage The Moondogs. He agrees and finds them a drummer, Tommy
Moore, who was far older than the others.
May 10: Larry Parnes,
a promoter for top bands, sent out an article looking for musicians to
back up Billy Fury. This attracted the Moondogs. While they were preparing,
they decided to change their name.
Stu suggested The Beatles, after Buddy Holly's Crickets. John changed
it to The Beatles. Allan
Williams didn't like it and suggested "Long John and the Silver Beatles."
John shortened it to "The
Silver Beetles”. Parnes knew
they had potential, except for their drummer. Tommy had arrived late and
was replaced by Johnny Huchinson of Cass and The Casanovas.
May 14: They play
at the Lathom Hall, Liverpool as the Silver Beetles.
May 18: The Silver
Beetles play with Johnny Gentle. They went on a nine day tour of Scotland
where three of the Silver Beetles got stage names. Paul Ramone, Carl Harrison,
and Stu deStael.
May 20-28: The Silver
Beetles tour Scotland.
Sometime in May:
The Silver Beetles were attacked by a gang after a show and Stu
had a severe kick to the
head.
May 23: Prior to
a show, The Silver Beetles are in a car accident. Tommy Moore lost several
teeth. Johnny Gentle was driving.
May 30: The first
of several Monday night fill-ins for the Silver Beetles at Alan Williams'
Jacaranda Coffee Bar in Liverpool. June 2: A 16-year-old boy is nearly
kicked to death at a Silver Beetles performance.
June 6: The Silver
Beetles perform at a dance promoted by Les Dodd. They played with Gerry
and
Pacemakers.
June 11: They asked
Allan Williams to find them a drummer.
June 13: Tommy Moore
played his last performance on drums. He returned to his old job of driving
a forklift. Williams decides to send them to Hamburg, Germany.
Sometime in July:
John drops out of Liverpool College of Art to devote more time to his
music career.
August 12: John,
Paul, and George auditioned Pete Best. They invited him to travel to Hamburg
with them and become their permanent drummer. They were signed for a two
month engagement but stayed for three.
August 16: The group,
now decided on the name The Beatles, go to Hamburg, Germany where they
played long, long nights first at the Indra Club (Aug. 17 - Oct. 3) and
then at the Kaiserkeller (Oct. 4 - Nov. 30).
December 5: John straggles back to Liverpool after the Beatles were forced to leave Hamburg due to a labor contract dispute with their employer, George Harrison's deportation for being under-age, and Paul and Pete Best's alleged crime of setting fire to their less-than-adequate housing facilities.
1961
March 21: The Beatles play at the Cavern club for the first time. They
eventually played there almost 300 times over a span of 2 1/2 years.
October 28: Brian
Epstein, a local record shop owner, learns of the Beatles' existence.
November 9: Brian
Epstein, owner of a local record shop, attends a lunchtime performance
of the Beatles at the Cavern after receiving so many requests for the
single "My Bonnie" by the Beatles.
December 3: Epstein offers the Beatles his services as manager, which soon after they accept.
1962
January 1: The Beatles attend an audition at Decca in London. They are
eventually rejected with the reason that "guitar groups are on the
way out" (big mistake).
April 10: Former
Beatle and John's best friend Stuart Sutcliffe dies at the age of twenty-one
in Hamburg, Germany. Many believe it was due to brain damage resulting
from a beating both he and John took earlier in Liverpool.
June 4: The Beatles
sign with Parlophone Records, a small label within EMI.
June 6: The Beatles'
first recording session at EMI Studios (later renamed Abbey Road Studios).
August 16: Pete
Best is fired as the Beatles' drummer and is replaced by Ringo Starr.
August 23: John
Lennon marries his girlfriend from Liverpool Art College, Cynthia Powell.
October 5: 'Love
Me Do', the Beatles' first UK single, is released. It climbs to No. 17
on the charts -- helped no doubt by Brian Epstein's order of 10,000 copies.
1963
January 8: The Beatles appear on STV's "Round-up", miming to
Please Please Me.
February 11: In
three separate sessions totaling just over eleven hours, the Beatles record
their first album, Please Please Me.
March 2: The Beatles
second single, 'Please Please Me', reaches the top spot on the Melody
Maker chart.
April 8: John and
Cynthia Lennon's son, Julian, is born.
April 28: John and Brian Epstein leave for a twelve-day vacation in Spain.
May 4: Please Please
Me, the Beatles' first album, reaches the top spot on the Melody Maker
chart.
June18: John punches
Cavern D.J. Bob Wooler at Paul's twenty-first birthday party after Bob
implied that John and Brian were involved in a homosexual affair.
June 29: John's
first appearance on TV without the other Beatles. He participated on BBC's
Juke Box Jury, where he got to rate new pop songs.
August 3: The Beatles' 292nd appearance at the Cavern. They never played there again.
1964
January 9: John appears on Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's television show
'Not Only...But Also' reading a story from 'In His Own Write'.
February 15: John
takes his driving test and passes it.
February 22: Shooting
of 'Help!', the Beatles' second movie, begins in the Bahamas.
March 18: John helps
out his childhood friend and former Quarry Man by giving him enough money
to open a grocery store.
June 12: Buckingham
Palace announces that each Beatle will be made Members of the Order of
the British Empire (MBE).
June 13: Several
MBE holders protest the Beatles' award by returning their medals.
June 24: John's
second book, 'A Spaniard In The Works,' is released.
July 29: The world
premiere of 'Help!' is shown in London.
August 3: John buys
Aunt Mimi a more-secluded house in Poole, Dorset, so she can escape the
deluge of fans in Liverpool.
August 15: 55,600
fans attend a Beatles concert at Shea Stadium in New York City -- a world
record for attendance of a pop concert.
October 13: The
Beatles appear on Sunday Night at the London Palladium and the term 'Beatlemania'
is used for the first time by journalists to describe the hysteria of
the fans.
October 26: The
Beatles attend Buckingham Palace to receive their MBEs.
November 4: The
Beatles appear in the Royal Command Performance in the presence of the
Queen. John says his famous 'Rattle Your Jewelry' joke. 1965
December 31: John's father, Fred Lennon, in an attempt to capitalize on his son's fame, releases 'That's My Life (My Love And My Home)', his first and, fortunately, his only single.
1966
March 4: An interview with John by his friend Maureen Cleave is published
in London's Evening Standard. Inspired by some recent reading on religion,
John's expresses his opinion that the Beatles are more popular than Jesus.
The British people have no adverse reactions to John's comments.
May 1: A fourth
and final appearance at the New Musical Express Poll-Winners' All-Star
Concert turned out to be the Beatles' last live concert in Britain.
June 26: The Beatles
returned Hamburg, Germany -- the city where they acquired much of their
musical training -- to give two shows.
July 5: The Beatles barely escape Manila, Philippines, after an angry crowd threatens them for supposedly snubbing the president's wife, the shoe queen herself, Emilda Marcos.
July 29: The US
teen magazine Datebook re-publishes John's comment that the Beatles are
more popular than Jesus -- out of context of the original interview.
July 31: Many radio
stations in the southern US ban all Beatles music and organize bonfires
of Beatles records in response to John's comments about Jesus.
August 6: In an
attempt to help quench the uproar caused by John's remark, Brian Epstein
flies to New York and holds a press conference.
August 12: Faced
by an angry mob of reporters at a press conference in Chicago to kick
off the Beatles' third American tour, John is coerced into apologizing
for his statement on Jesus.
August 29: The Beatles give their final concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
September 6: Shooting
of the movie 'How I Won The War' begins in West Germany. John, in his
first and only movie role without the other Beatles, plays the part of
Private Gripweed. He is given 'granny glasses' for the part which become
part of his image.
September 19: Shooting
for 'How I Won The War' switches to Almeria, Spain. With long periods
of inactivity, he finds time to write one of his masterpieces, 'Strawberry
Fields Forever'.
November 9: John
visits the Indica Gallery in London for an art exhibition by a Japanese
artist, Yoko Ono. He is impressed by her work.
December 26: John makes a 2nd, but brief, appearance in Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's TV show 'Not Only...But Also'.
1967
February 17: The Beatles release the outstanding Double-A side single
with John's 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and Paul's 'Penny Lane'.
June 1: The highly
acclaimed album, 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', is released
(2 June in the US).
June 25: The Beatles
represent Britain in the worldwide TV special 'Our World'. An estimated
audience of 350 million watched the Beatles sing 'All You Need Is Love',
especially written for the occasion.
August 24: The Beatles
meet the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for the first time at a lecture on transcendental
meditation given in London.
August 25: The Beatles and their wives take a train to Bangor, North Wales, to spend the weekend with the Maharishi studying transcendental meditation.
August 27: While
the Beatles are away in Bangor, Brian Epstein is found dead in his home.
Officially, the cause of death was accidental overdose of sleeping pills,
but many believe it was suicide. He was becoming increasingly depressed
over his lack of involvement with the Beatles and also his personal turmoil
caused by trying to keep his homosexuality a secret.
September 11: Shooting
begins in various locations for the TV movie 'Magical Mystery Tour', the
Beatles' third movie. This one would be produced by the Beatles themselves.
October 17: The
Beatles attend a memorial service for Brian Epstein.
October 18: The
world premiere of the movie 'How I Won The War' is shown in London.
November 20: The
BBC effectively, but unofficially, bans John's new song 'I Am The Walrus'
from the radio and TV.
December 26: The world premiere of Magical Mystery Tour was shown on BBC television. Critics and fans alike hated it. It was the first time the Beatles truly failed since becoming stars.
1968
January 5: John's father, Fred Lennon, unexpectedly turns up at John's
home looking for a handout -- which John eventually gave him.
February 16: John,
George and their wives fly to Rishikesh, India, for an extended study
of transcendental meditation with the Maharishi. Paul, Ringo and their
significant others arrive four days later.
April 12: John,
George and their wives suddenly leave Rishikesh after allegations surfaced
that the Maharishi made advances towards some of the female guests. Paul,
Ringo and their significant others had already left.
May 15: John and
Paul announce the formation of Apple Corps. on the US TV show 'The Tonight
Show'.
June 15: For their first 'happening' as a couple, John and Yoko Ono plant two acorns for peace outside Coventry Cathedral.
June 18: The stage
adaptation of 'In His Own Write' opens at London's National Theatre and
John and Yoko attend.
July 1: John's first
art exhibition 'You Are Here' opens at the Robert Fraser Gallery.
July 17: The world
premiere of the Beatles' animated motion picture 'Yellow Submarine' takes
place in London.
August 22: Cynthia
files divorce proceedings on the grounds that John has committed adultery
with Yoko Ono.
October 18: John
and Yoko are arrested after a police raid of their temporary home yields
cannabis resin. They are also charged with obstructing the police in carrying-out
the search warrant.
October 19: John and Yoko are released on bail until their court date on 28 November.
October 25: John
and Yoko announce that Yoko is pregnant and that the baby is due in February
1969.
November 8: Cynthia
is granted a divorce from John, which goes uncontested.
November 21: Yoko
suffers a miscarriage -- her first, but not the last.
November 28: John
pleads guilty to unauthorized possession of cannabis, but both John and
Yoko are found not guilty of obstructing the police.
November 29: John
and Yoko release the avant-garde album 'Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins'
which has a picture of the two of them completely naked in full-frontal
view.
December 10: John puts his mansion 'Kenwood' up for sale.
December 11: John
and Yoko take part in the Rolling Stones' 'Rock and Roll Circus'.
December 18: The
first 'Bagism' event -- John and Yoko appear inside a white bag onstage
at the Royal Albert Hall.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: This
information was taken from:
The Beatles: the ultimate recording guide Third Edition ed.
You can use this for reports and such if needed. This is a very good reference
guide for any Beatles fan.