| 1817 |
Born, David Henry Thoreau, 12 July in Concord, Massachusetts, to John and Cynthia (Dunbar) Thoreau |
| 1828-33 |
Attended Concord Academy |
| 1833-37 |
Attended Harvard College |
| 1837 |
Taught briefly at Concord Center School (public) |
| 1838-41 |
Conducted a private school, Concord Academy, with his elder brother John |
| 1839 |
Went on boating excursion on Concord and Merrimack rivers with his older brother John, which formed the basis of Thoreau's first book, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers |
| 1840 |
Poems and essays published in The Dial |
| 1841-43 |
Lived with Ralph Waldo Emerson and his family in Concord |
| 1842 |
Brother John cut himself while stropping a razor and died of lockjaw; “Natural History of Massachusetts” published |
| 1843 |
“A Walk to Wachusett” and “A Winter Walk” published; tutored
William Emerson’s children on Staten Island, New York |
| 1844 |
With Edward Hoar, accidentally set fire to a part of Walden Woods |
| 1845-47 |
Lived at Walden Pond |
| 1846 |
Traveled to Maine woods; spent one night in jail for refusing to pay poll tax, which formed the basis for his essay, "Civil Disobedience" |
| 1847-48 |
Lived in Emerson household while Ralph Waldo Emerson lectured in England |
| 1848 |
Began lecturing professionally; “Ktaadn and the Maine
Woods” published |
| 1849 |
A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers and “Resistance to
Civil Government” published; traveled to Cape Cod; older sister
Helen died, apparently of tuberculosis |
| 1850 |
Traveled to Cape Cod and Quebec |
| 1853 |
Traveled to Maine woods; portions of “A Yankee in Canada” published |
| 1854 |
Walden; or, Life in the Woods and “Slavery in Massachusetts” published |
| 1856 |
Surveyed Eagleswood Community near Perth Amboy, New Jersey |
| 1857 |
Traveled to Cape Cod and Maine Woods; “Chesuncook” published |
| 1858 |
Traveled to White Mountains in New Hampshire |
| 1859 |
Father John died; “A Plea for Capt. John Brown” published |
| 1860 |
“The Succession of Forest Trees” published |
| 1861 |
Traveled to Minnesota with Horace Mann, Jr., in effort to regain health |
| 1862 |
Died 6 May in Concord, Massachusetts, of tuberculosis |
