HPL: Timeline of Albus Dumbledore

Timelines
Albus Dumbledore

BK	YEAR	EVENTS
0	1881	Albus Dumbledore born in July or August. Year published on jkrowling.com when Dumbledore was declared Wizard of the Month for September 2007; month calculated from information in Skeeter's book.
	1891	Ariana Dumbledore is attacked by three Muggle boys, and is both physically and mentally injured. Their father Percival Dumbledore then attacked the boys and was imprisoned for the crime at Azkaban. Mother Kendra decides to keep her daughter's condition a secret and moves the family to Godric's Hollow. Date calculated from year of birth.
	1892 September	Albus enters Hogwarts and is probably sorted into Gryffindor. Hermione says, "I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad..." (PS6) Date calculated from year of birth.
	1899 June	NEWTs: Sits for his NEWTs, the Transfiguration and Charms tests administered by Griselda Marchbanks. Marchbanks told Umbridge, "Examined him myself in Transfiguration and Charms when he did NEWTs ... Did things with a wand I'd never seen before..." (OP31) Date calculated from year of birth. Leaves Hogwarts Albus begins planning a Grand Tour of the Wizarding world with his friend Elphias Doge. Date calculated from year of birth.
	1899 early summer	Ariana Dumbledore accidently kills her mother. Albus gives up his plans for his Grand Tour and stays at Godric's Hollow to care for Ariana. A few weeks later Gellert Grindelwald visits his aunt at Godric's Hollow and meets Albus. Gellert ensnares Albus in his plans for wizard domination of the world; Ariana is neglected. When Aberforth takes Albus and Gellert to task, a fight ensues and Ariana is killed. Gellert flees and Albus realizes his folly. Date calculated from year of birth.
	before 1938 - c.1955	Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts. It is unknown when he began teaching, but Dumbledore was at Hogwarts by 1938. Horace Slughorn began teaching Potions the same year that Dumbledore did, though Slughorn is much younger. Armando Dippet is the Headmaster. Date determined from the dates of Riddle's school years, fifty years before the events of the Y12-Y13 school year and also given on the DVD timeline (CS/dvd)
	1938 late summer	Meets Tom Riddle: Visits eleven-year-old Tom Riddle in his orphanage in London to tell Tom that he is a wizard and can attend Hogwarts (HBP13). Dumbledore is disturbed by Tom's fascination with power and apparent cruelty to others.
	1945 June	Tom Riddle finishes his 7th year at Hogwarts and begins working for Borgin and Burke's.
	1945 date unknown	Dumbledore defeats the Dark Wizard Grindelwald Exact year printed on Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog card (PS6, PS13).
	1956 December	Dumbledore hires Minerva McGonagall as Professor of Transfiguration.
	1965 September	Lucius Malfoy begins at Hogwarts and is sorted into Slytherin.
	1970s onward	First Wizarding War: Creates the Order of the Phoenix to battle Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
	1971 before September	Whomping Willow planted to guard the Shrieking Shack to protect Lupin during his monthly transformations.
	1971 September	Severus Snape, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and Lily Evans begin at Hogwarts.
	1975	Mundungus Fletcher is banned from the Hog's Head; Aberforth Dumbledore was the bartender.
	fall/winter 1979 or spring 1980 Y0	Before July on a "cold, wet night," a Prophecy: Interviews Sybill Trelawney for a position at Hogwarts and she unexpectedly makes a Prophecy. An eavesdropping Snape overhears part of it and tells Voldemort the first half of the prophecy (OP37, HBP25, DH33). This event may have happened as early as the fall of 1979, but a date in the spring seems more likely.
	1980 Y0 31 July	Harry Potter is born to James and Lily Potter. He, along with Neville Longbottom fit Trelawney's prophecy.
	1980 Y0 August?	A warning: Snape, desperate to protect Lily, warns Dumbledore that Voldemort is planning an attack on the family and begs Dumbledore to keep Lily safe in return for his loyalty. The Potters go into hiding at Godric's Hollow (DH33).
	1981 Y1 Oct 24	Protecting the Potters: Participated in the casting of the Fidelius Charm to hide the Potters and their baby boy (born July 31 Y0), in Godric's Hollow.
	1981 Y1 Oct 31	Voldemort attacks: Quite possibly midnight, Voldemort murders James and Lily Potter at their hiding place in the village of Godric’s Hollow. When he tries to kill Harry, however, Lily's self-sacrifice causes the the curse to rebound and Voldemort is nearly killed. Dumbledore learned quickly of the attack on the Potters and of Harry's survival. Rescue: Sent Hagrid to rescue Harry and take him to the Dursley house on Privet Drive.
	1981 Y1 Nov 1	Midnight 24 hours later: Meets Hagrid and McGonagall at Privet Drive. Leaves one-year-old Harry on the Dursley's doorstep, along with a letter explaining what happened (PS1, OP37).
	1981 Y1 Nov	Snape is distraught: Shocked by Lily's death, Snape reaffirms his allegiance to Dumbledore. He promises to protect Harry's life but tells Dumbledore that no one is to know of his unrequited love for Lily (DH33).
	1981 after Nov 1	Attack on the Longbottoms, and Death Eater trials: Bellatrix Black Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, and Bartemius Crouch Jr. are arrested for using the Cruciatus Curse on Frank and Alice Longbottom in an attempt to discover the whereabouts of Voldemort; all of the accused are sent to Azkaban. When Snape is denounced by Karkaroff as a Death Eater in the Wizengamot, Dumbledore vouches for his loyalty.
	1981	Hires Snape to teach at Hogwarts, though Dumbledore refuses Snape's request that he be assigned to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts (OP17). Snape told Umbridge in October 1995 that he had been teaching at Hogwarts for 14 years (OP17).
	c.1990 Y10	Minister of Magic? Many people wanted Dumbledore for Minister of Magic, but he didn't want the job, so it was given to Cornelius Fudge. According to an article in The Quibbler from September, Y15, Fudge had been made Minister of Magic "five years ago," which would have been in Y10 (OP10)
B K 1	1991-1992 Y11-Y12	Harry's first year: Dispatched Hagrid to tell Harry about Hogwarts and retrieve the Philosopher's Stone from Gringotts. December: Gives Harry his father's Invisibility Cloak as a Christmas present. Uses Mirror of Erised to protect Philosopher's Stone.
B K 2	1992-1993 Y12-y13	Harry's second year: In September, the Chamber of Secrets reopened and prejudice against muggle-born wizards again threatens to divide Hogwarts.
	1992-1993 Y12-y13 May 8	Dumbledore is removed as Headmaster of Hogwarts and Hagrid is sent to Azkaban.
	1992-1993 Y12-y13 May 29	In the Chamber of Secrets: Fawkes brings Harry Gryffindor's sword as he battles Slytherin's basilisk. Dumbledore tells Harry that he is a "true Gryffindor."
B K 3	1993-1994 Y13-Y14	Harry's third year: Sirius Black escapes. Dumbledore allows Hermione to use a Time-turner to manage her class load and again to go back in time to prevent the death of Buckbeak.
B K 4	1995 Y15 June 24	The rebirth of Voldemort: Voldemort uses Harry's blood to regenerate his body and regain his powers. Order of the Phoenix reactivated: Dumbledore calls together the old Order of the Phoenix to fight the Dark Lord, establishes headquarters at Number 12, Grimmauld Place. He does this in opposition to Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, who doesn't believe that Voldemort has regained his power.
B K 5	1995 Y15 Aug 12	Testifies on Harry's behalf in front of the Wizengamot.
	1996 Y16 spring	Removed as Headmaster: Dumbledore, in order to protect Harry from being expelled, accepts responsibility for creating "Dumbledore's Army," and is removed from his post as Headmaster. Umbridge is not able to arrest him; it is unknown where he goes (OP27).
	1996 Y16 June	Battle of the Ministry of Magic: Dumbledore battles Voldemort in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic's Headquarters but does not kill him. Reinstated as Headmaster: When Cornelius Fudge is forced to admit he was wrong about Voldemort, Dumbledore demands control of Hogwarts again.
B K 6	1996 Y16 late June or early July	Obtains a Horcrux, the ring of Salazar Slytherin, but is "desperately injured" when he puts it on: Dumbledore tells Harry that "Professor Snape's timely action when I returned to Hogwarts, desperately injured, I might not have lived to tell the tale" (HBP23). In reality, the cursed ring had done fatal damage and Snape tells Dumbledore that he has less than a year to live. Dumbledore's right hand remains blackened and withered (HBP3). Draco Malfoy is given the task of killing Dumbledore and getting a group of Death Eaters into Hogwarts. Snape makes an Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa Malfoy to kill Dumbledore if Draco is unable to. Narcissa and Bella didn't know that Snape had made the same promise to Dumbledore earlier.
	1996 Y16 July	Visit to Slughorn: Dumbledore and Harry convince Horace Slughorn to teach at Hogwarts. Tells Harry that he will be giving him private lessons.
	1997 Y17 June	The Horcrux cave: Enters Voldemort's hidden cave with Harry and drinks an emerald green, phosphorescent potion (as well as some of the lake water) in order to obtain one of Voldemort's Horcruxes (HBP26). Killed by Severus Snape: Returns with Harry to Hogwarts in an extremely weakened state to find the Dark Mark over the school. Disarmed by Draco, but killed by Snape at the top of the Astronomy tower.
	1997 Y17 June	Funeral: Buried in a white sepulcher at Hogwarts near the lake. Funeral attendees: all the Hogwarts staff, all the ghosts, and most of the students, Madame Maxime, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mad-Eye Moody, Tonks, Remus Lupin, the Weasleys, Fleur Delacour, Tom from the Leaky Cauldron, Arabella Figg, Ernie Prang, Madam Malkin, Aberforth Dumbledore, the witch who pushed the trolley on the Hogwarts Express, Cornelius Fudge, Scrimgeour, Rita Skeeter, Dolores Umbridge, Firenze, the merpeople, the centaurs, Grawp.
B K 7	1997 Y17 June or July	"Albus Dumbledore Remembered'" an article about Dumbledore's life written by Elphias Doge appears in the Daily Prophet, along with a preview of Rita Skeeter's exposé The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, which is to be published a week later (DH2).
	1997 Y17 July 31	Rufus Scrimgeour brings Harry, Ron and Hermione the gifts Dumbledore left them in his will (DH7).
	1997 Y17 Dec 25	Harry reads Skeeter's book on Dumbledore (DH18).
	1998 Y18 March	Voldemort breaks into Dumbledore's tomb to steal the Elder Wand (DH24).
	1998 Y18 May	Voldemort realizes that Dumbledore and Harry know about the Horcruxes (DH27).
	1998 Y18 May	Harry allows Voldemort to kill him, but does not die. Harry enters a kind of waystation between life and death and is able to speak with Dumbledore one last time (DH34, 35).

Related pages

Timelines Albus Dumbledore

Timelines
Albus Dumbledore