December 14, 1903 The Wright Brothers build and fly the first motorized airplane in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, proving that man does not need wings to fly. ( Enterprise exploration timeline, historical accounts, "North Star" )

October 1, 1905 Albert Einstein introduces his special theory of relativity and quantum theory, and introduces the idea of space-time. Einstein also predicts that the speed of light is the absolute velocity in the universe and that mass and energy are equivalent and transposable. (Enterprise exploration timeline )

1914 The sixth ship to bear the name USS Enterprise, a gunned motorboat, enters non-commissioned service with the US Navy.

1918 Motorboat 790 (Enterprise) is scrapped.

1925 The Cardassians achieve warp capability. (Star Trek Star Charts, p. 35)

March 17, 1926 The historic first flight of a liquid-fuel rocket when Robert Goddard's ungainly assemblage lifts itself 41 feet at Pakachoag Hill near Auburn, Massachusetts. (historical accounts - Robert Goddard is shown writing on a blackboard in the )

May 20-21, 1927 Aviator Charles Lindbergh makes the first nonstop solo transatlantic airplane flight in his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, and galvanizes world interest in avionics. ( Enterprise exploration timeline. Lindbergh's plane is shown in the opening credits of Enterprise. )

1930 Dr. Leonard McCoy is sent back through time to New York City of this era by the Guardian of Forever and is ultimately taken in by Dr. Edith Keeler. Kirk and Spock come back to this time in search of McCoy, and Kirk discovers that in order to prevent changing history, he must prevent Bones from saving Edith Keeler's life. ("City on the Edge of Forever")

Also in 1930, famed aviator Charles Lindbergh manages to secure money from the Guggenheim Foundation to fund Robert Goddard's rocket research. (historical accounts, mentioned in article on StarTrek.com about Goddard footage in opening sequence of Enterprise)

November 21, 1931 The motion picture "Frankenstein," starring Boris Karloff, is released. ("Horizon")

1933 In the Delphic Expanse, on the Xindi Homeworld a war that would last 100 years begins between the six species of the Xindi. (100 years before destruction of Xindi Homeworld - "The Shipment")

October 3, 1936 The U.S.S. Enterprise (CV-6), a United States aircraft carrier which served in World War Two, and that was one of the most successful warships in history, was launched in Newport News, Virginia. (contemporary accounts.)

July 2, 1937 Aviator Amelia Earhart, who captured the world's attention as the first woman to match Lindbergh's transatlantic flight, vanishes somewhere over the Pacific Ocean while circumnavigating the globe. ( Enterprise exploration timeline ) Earhart is later discovered to have been one of three hundred humans taken from Earth to the Briori Homeworld, some 70,000 light years away in the Delta Quadrant. ( "The 37's" (VGR)., Earhart is seen in the opening credits of Enterprise. ) Earhart was a role model to Kathryn Janeway. ("The 3t's")

1947 Quark and Rom accompany Nog on his way to Starfleet Academy, when their shuttle "Quark's Treasure" is thrown back to the year 1947 and crashes near Roswell, New Mexico. The three Ferengi are responsible for the so-called Roswell Incident. Officials keep the incident a secret, and claim the object was a weather balloon. People begin to believe beings from outer space are visiting Earth. ( "Little Green Men", ; Enterprise exploration timeline )

October 14, 1947 Test pilot Chuck Yeager travels faster than the speed of sound in a new rocket-powered plane, the Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis. Yeager's supersonic flight begins the Jet Age. ( Enterprise exploration timeline , this event is shown during the opening credits of Enterprise.)

1949 Dr. Henry Starling is born in the United States. (speculation based on age on actor).

c. 1950 The Vulcans begin to expand outward in their exploration of space, and soon encounter the Andorians and the primitive people of Earth.

1953 The Andorians and Vulcans first encounter each other, leading to two centuries of border conflict. (200 years before "Proving Ground")

October 4, 1957 The Space Age, and the so-called space race, begins when the USSR puts an artificial satellite, Sputnik-1, into orbit around the Earth. ( contemporary accounts, Enterprise exploration timeline )

October 1957 Shortly after the launch of Sputnik, a Vulcan survey vessel was dispatched to study the vehicle, and to do surveys of the planet. (Carbon Creek, Enterprise exploration timeline)

November 1957 Three weeks after having arrived in Earth orbit the Vulcan survey vessel had a serious systems failure, and the crew was forced to attempt an emergency landing on the Earth. (Carbon Creek, Enterprise exploration timeline)

The Captain of the four person vessel was killed during the crash landing, and the ship rendered inoperable. The remainder of the crew, T'Mir (great grandmother of T'Pol), Mestral and Stron survived on rations, determined to avoid the Earth humans and prevent contamination of their culture. It was there hope that the Vulcan High Command would soon respond to their distress signal.

However, five days after the rations ran out, T'Mir and Mestral decided to walk to the nearby town of Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania, where they assumed disguises and were able to obtain food. Although their identities remained secret, this was the first contact between Vulcans and the people of Earth.

After a time, the Vulcans came to believe that rescue would not ever come, as so they took jobs in Carbon Creek, and began to interact with the townsfolk, who remained unaware of the true identities of their alien neighbors.

The three Vulcans became cherished members of the community, particularly Mestral who saved a number of miners from a cave-in, and who took to dating one of the local women.

February 1958 Three months after their first having entered town, the Vulcans were contacted by a rescue vessel. In order to help fund the college fund of a young student named Jack, T'Mir apparently sold a patent for a Velcro like material. Mestral decided to not return to Vulcan, and instead remained on Earth.

T'Mir and Stron returned to Vulcan, and indicated to the Vulcan authorities that Mestral had died in the crash. T'Mir took along with her a purse from Earth which ultimately was passed down to her great-granddaughter, T'Pol.

Mestral presumably lived the remainder of his life span on Earth, perhaps some 150 years. ("Carbon Creek")

1960 Earth's first radio telescopes devoted solely to the search for extraterrestrial life go online. ( Enterprise exploration timeline )

April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin is the first human to achieve orbital space flight. His craft, Vostok I, circles the Earth once. The craft is ground controlled because there is doubt that the human body can withstand such a journey. Enterprise exploration timeline )

May 5, 1961 A Mercury Redstone 3 (MR-3) rocket carries Commander Alan B. Shepard, Jr., on his historic sub-orbital flight. Alan Shepherd became the first American in space. (A sequence of Alan Shepherd boarding this rocket, as well as a mechanical drawing of a Mercury Redstone features in the opening credits of Enterprise)

Feb 20, 1962 John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth aboard the Friendship 7. (depicted in the opening of Enterprise)

The first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Enterprise CVAN-65 is commissioned. (later redesignated CVN-65. Sources: Enterprise exploration timeline , Captain Archer has a picture of the U.S.S. Enterprise on the wall of his cabin, and there is picture shown to Ilia of this ship in Star Trek-The Motion Picture. This U.S.S. Enterprise is featured in Star Trek IV, and a public address message by Scott Bakula saluted the crew of the Enterprise in 2001.)

1967 Captain Braxton's 29th century timeship, Aeon, crash lands on Earth, 30km north east of Phoenix, Arizona. The crash is witnessed by the young Henry Starling who steals the ship, and appropriates the technology. Over the next 29 years, Starling would build a huge multinational corporation by gradually introducing future technologies into the marketplace, and profiting from its sale. Braxton ended up living as a homeless person, whose tales of time travel were dismissed as lunatic ravings. Future's End, Parts I & II (VOY)

Note: It is unclear how much of these events were wiped out when the Voyager crew "restored" the timeline. Some technologies clearly remained in the resorted timeline, such as the Doctor's mobile emitter. It is also interesting to note that these events happened before Gary Seven's return to Earth, and he was unable to effect them.

1968 Note: Star Trek History's Point of Divergence. This is the point where the Star Trek timeline and the actual events of history begin to most clearly diverge. Although some events have been shown to be slightly different in the Star Trek universe in years prior to 1968, it is with the episode "Assignment: Earth" featuring Gary Seven that we first see a clearly divergent history, that is not "fixed" at the end of the episode. Indeed, Spock determines that the U.S.S. Enterprise intervention in 1968 was, in fact, an established and important part of history.

In that episode, 1968 is shown to be a year of such critical importance that aliens have sent an emissary, Gary Seven, to help guide the Earth. In addition, Starfleet actually sends the Enterprise back in time to do historical research (likely one of the first such temporal research missions attempted by the Federation).

It could of course be argued that 1968 was a critical year in many ways in our own history. However, the key reason for the initial involvement of both Gary Seven and the Enterprise crew is the destabilizing effect of the deployment of space based nuclear missile platforms by the United States, something which did not happen in actual history, and is a significant departure from real events.

March 29, 1968 Having arrived in the 20th century, the Enterprise crew and the mysterious Gary Seven both try to prevent an nuclear conflict, however, they hinder each other in doing so. Ultimately, the two groups join forces and are able to destroy a nuclear weapon in the atmosphere about 100 miles above the surface. (date based on airing of episode)

July 9,1969 After nearly colliding with a black hole, The U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701) is accidentally sent into Earth's past and accidentally captures a U.S. Air Force pilot. Date is based on radio comment referring to "next Wednesday's moon launch". One of Star Trek's lesser known prognostications was that the moon shot would in fact take place on a Wednesday, July 16, 1969 to be specific. ( "Tomorrow is Yesterday" (TOS).)

July 20, 1969 First manned lunar landing. The crew of Apollo 11, Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., and Michael Collins, set down in the Sea of Tranquility, collect moon rocks, and return to earth. ( Enterprise exploration timeline on Star Trek.com, several images from the Apollo missions are shown during the opening of Enterprise.)

November 25,1969 Khan Noonien Singh, one of the first of the genetic supermen, is born - a product of genetic engineering. ("Space Seed." Assumes Khan was put in suspended animation at age 27. Note: Richardo Montalban was 46 at the time Space Seed was filmed. Date is actor Ricardo Montalban's actual birthday.)

Later that same year, Dr. Stravos Keniculus, the first cloned human, is born. (Speculation from "The Infinite Vulcan" - animated.)

Dr. Henry Starling introduces a new computer chip in 1969 and his company, Chronowerx, starts the late twentieth century computer revolution and comes to dominate the new industry. (Future's End, Parts I and II)

1970 Captain Shaun Geoffrey Christopher is born in the United States. conjecture from "Tomorrow is Yesterday." (TOS))

March 3, 1972 The Pioneer 10 Jupiter flyby space probe sends 500 images of this enormous planet, and amazing technical data, back to Earth. ( Enterprise exploration timeline )

Also this year, Henry Starling meets President Richard Nixon. (speculation of date. picture of their meeting is briefly shown in Future's End (VOY)) President Nixon is the most recent President of the United States to be mentioned in Star Trek.

July 17, 1975 The US-USSR Apollo-Soyuz test project achieves its goal of docking the two spacecraft safely in orbit. (contemporary accounts)

September 3, 1976 Viking 2 lands on Mars at Utopia Planitia and sends images from the planet's red surface to Earth. Viking conducts experiments to discover the presence of microorganisms. The test results are debated. ( Enterprise exploration timeline )

1976 NASA unveils its first reusable orbiting craft, or shuttle, named Enterprise (Space Shuttle OV-101). Flight testing begins the following year. ( Enterprise exploration timeline , footage of the shuttle Enterprise being unveiled is used in the opening credits of Enterprise. The shuttle was given this name in 1976 after Star Trek fans sent over 400,000 letters to NASA. )

November 15, 1977 The first spaceship Enterprise undergoes flight testing. (depicted in opening of Enterprise.)

July 11, 1979 The American space station Skylab burns up in the Earth’s atmosphere. (contemporary accounts)

April 12, 1981 - The Space Shuttle Columbia lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, beginning the historic first shuttle flight into space. (the ignited engines of the shuttle are shown just before launch and the shuttle and fuel tank lifting off are both shown in the opening sequence of Enterprise)

April 14, 1981 - Columbia landed on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards AFB at the conclusion of its first mission. (the Space Shuttle's desert landing strip is briefly depicted in the opening sequence of Enterprise)

June 13, 1983 Pioneer 10 passes Pluto's orbit boundary and becomes the first man-made object to exit Earth's solar system. The probe carries an engraved plaque with a message of greetings from the people of Earth. ( Enterprise exploration timeline )

January 28, 1986 NASA's space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after lift-off, killing all seven on board including the first civilian in space. The tragedy brings the space program to a temporary halt, pending an investigation. ( Enterprise exploration timeline )

February 20,1986 The first human habitat to permanently orbit Earth, the Mir space station, begins construction. Mir becomes a shared resource and training ground for future space stations. ( Enterprise exploration timeline , Star Trek Chronology)

July 1986 A Klingon Bird of Prey piloted by Kirk and his crew lands in San Francisco to take two humpback whales back to the future. (sources: Star Trek Chronology, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.)

1992 Khan Noonien Singh rises to power, assuming dictatorial control over one quarter of the planet Earth, from South Asia to the Middle East. Khan is the product of genetic engineering and eugenics experiments. (sources: Star Trek Chronology, Space Seed (TOS).) This event, and the subsequent Eugenics Wars, are thus far the most divergent elements of Star Trek's "future history.")

1992 The book, Chicago Mobs of the Twenties, is published. ("Piece of the Action")

1993 A group of eugenically bred "superior" humans simultaneously seize control in some forty of the Earth's nations. ("Space Seed" (TOS)) The Eugenics Wars begin.

During the conflict, Captain Jonathan Archer's Great-Grandfather is involved in a campaign in North Africa. During that conflict, he contacts enemy forces in a successful effort to allow some non-combatant civilians time to get to safety. (Archer relates the tale in "Hatchery" - quote: "My great-grandfather was in North Africa during the Eugenics Wars. His battalion was evacuating civilians from a war zone when they came under attack. There was a school full of children directly between them and the enemy. If his men had returned fire, they might have hit it. So he called the commander on the other side, got him to agree to hold his fire long enough to evacuate the school." )

1994 An organization that places dead loved ones into cryogenic capsules orbiting Earth receives a brief surge of popularity. The hope is that future generations will revive the departed. Among those frozen are Ralph Offenhouse and Claire Raymond. ( Enterprise exploration timeline , "The Neutral Zone" (TNG))

1996 Earth scientists announce the discovery of life on Mars based on a Mars meteorite containing fossilized evidence of primitive bacterial life. Other scientists do not draw the same conclusions from this evidence. (sources: contemporary accounts, Enterprise exploration timeline)

1996 Earth's Eugenics Wars are over, as Khan Noonien Singh is overthrown. Khan escapes his home world on the DY-100 class sleeper ship S.S. Botany Bay along with 96 of his fellow "supermen." (sources: Star Trek Chronology, Space Seed (TOS), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.)

1996 The crew of the U.S.S. Voyager arrives in Los Angeles, and Janeway searches for a Henry Starling, a megalomaniac businessman who has stolen a 29th century timeship. ("Future's End, Parts I & II" (VGR)) It is clear from this episode that Los Angeles has been spared the ravages of the Eugenics War.

1996 At the end of the Eugenics Wars, Dr. Stavos Keniclius, Earth's first cloned human, is banned from the community. The tyrants' altered Humans are declared wards of the United Nations and are sent to live in a series of camps in isolated areas. Gene engineering of Humans is banned, although certain groups will pass on the forbidden knowledge. (Sources: "The Infinite Vulcan" (TAS), "Space Seed" (TOS), Curt Danhauser's Animated Star Trek Timeline - )

1996 'Nightingale Woman,' a love sonnet, is written by Phineas Tarbolde on Canopus. ("Where No Man Has Gone Before")

September 1996 Deep Flight One, a new personal submarine, is launched. Sponsored in part by Television New Zealand, IMAX, National Geographic Television and Rolex, DFI was launched in September 1996 from the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California. (A personal sub that looks very much like DFI is depicted in the opening sequence of Enterprise) see http://www.deepflight.com/subs/df1.htm

1997 Laws governing, and severely restricting, genetic enhancement are passed throughout the Earth.

July 4, 1997 The Pathfinder Mars Probe lands on Mars and dispatches the six-wheeled rover Sojourner. (Contemporary Accounts. Sojourner is shown during the opening credits of Enterprise.)

October 29, 1998 The launch of space shuttle mission STS-95, otherwise known as the "John Glenn shuttle mission" (Contemporary accounts. A shot of the mission crew during launch is shown during the opening credits of Enterprise.)

November 20, 1998. The International Space Station begins construction. (Contemporary Accounts. The International Space Station assembly is shown during the opening credits of Enterprise.)

1999 The sixth space probe in the Voyager series is launched and continues studying the planets in Earth's solar system. (sources: Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Enterprise exploration timeline )

1999 Astronomers witness the first extra solar planet passing in front of a star, confirming that solar systems may be a common phenomena in other parts of the galaxy and boosting the odds that intelligent life exists elsewhere. ( contemporary accounts, Enterprise exploration timeline )

1999 The Millennium Gate is completed. (VGR)

2000 The first resident crew of the International Space Station Alpha launches into orbit, establishing a permanent human presence in space. Mankind is no longer a purely planet-bound species. (Enterprise exploration timeline)