Distant past

Billions of years ago

16 billion years ago

• The universe is formed in the instantaneous expansion that scientists called the "Big Bang". The "Big Bang" was theorized to be caused by destabilizing Omega molecules. (VOY: "The Omega Directive")
• This point in time represents a hideout for members of the Q Continuum. The USS Voyager was briefly transported here by Quinn in order to escape Q, but he too had once used this hideout and was thus able to find the ship. (VOY: "Death Wish")

The age of the universe was given in VOY: "Good Shepherd" as sixteen billion years, which was the estimated age during the filming of the episode. Current real-world scientific evidence indicates the age of the universe to be 13.799 ± 0.021 billion years.

According to an okudagram from TNG: "The Royale", showing data about planet Theta VIII, its age was "7.2e10×10¹⁰ solar years", i.e., 72 billion years old.

9 billion years ago

• Hundreds of protostars collapsed in close proximity to one another forming the astronomical phenomenon later known as a black cluster. (TNG: "Hero Worship")

5 billion years ago

• The star Sol begins to form out of nebular dust and interstellar gases. (VOY: "Death Wish")
• Female Q is born. (VOY: "The Q and the Grey")

4.5 billion years ago

• The Guardian of Forever was asked its last question until 2267, when it told Captain James T. Kirk and Spock that it had awaited a question "since before your sun burned hot in space." (TOS: "The City on the Edge of Forever")
• The ancient humanoids, one of the oldest known sentient species, seeded the oceans of many worlds with DNA codes, directing the evolution of life towards a physical pattern similar to their own. The varieties of lifeforms that carried this seed code to fruition include the Humans, Vulcans, Klingons, and Cardassians, and likely many other humanoid species of the galaxy. (TNG: "The Chase")

4 billion years ago

• Q and the female Q begin their romantic involvement around this time. (VOY: "The Q and the Grey")
• The planet Pollux IV forms in the Beta Geminorum system. (TOS: "Who Mourns for Adonais?")

3.5 billion years ago

• On Earth, in a region later known as France, amino acids combine to form the first proteins. In an alternate timeline, an anti-time eruption prevents the formation of life, fulfilling Q's verdict for Humanity. (TNG: "All Good Things...")

According to current real-world science, there is evidence that suggests life took hold on Earth already between 3.8 and 4.1 billion years ago [1] and flourished in the oceans by at least 3.7 billion years ago. [2]

2 billion years ago

• Civilization on Tagus III exists as of this time. According to Q, they "really knew how to party back in those days". (TNG: "Qpid")

It was not elaborated whether this civilization was already Taguan or some preceding species.

1 billion years ago

• The Slaver Empire is the master of all intelligent beings in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Slavers and all of their subjects are exterminated in a massive war which caused all intelligent life to re-evolve. (TAS: "The Slaver Weapon")

Millions of years ago

400 million years ago

• In the Devonian period, Eryops, the last common ancestor of cold-blooded and warm-blooded organisms, lives on Earth. (VOY: "Distant Origin")

According to real-word science, Eryops lived some hundred million years later during the Permian period.

300 million years ago

• An alien ship of an insectoid race is invaded by a magnetic organism. Trapped in orbit of Questar M-17, the crew destroys their own ship to prevent it being carried to other worlds. (TAS: "Beyond the Farthest Star")

87 million years ago

• The D'Arsay civilization launches the archive of their culture. (TNG: "Masks")

65 million years ago

• A mass extinction occurs at the end of the Cretaceous period on Earth when an asteroid impacts the planet, wiping out the dominant reptile superorder, the dinosaurs, among others. (VOY: "Distant Origin"; ENT: "Azati Prime")
• According to the Distant Origin Theory, some of Earth's dinosaurs belonging to the hadrosaur genus survive the mass extinction. Although the dominant reptile superorder was almost wiped out, these surviving dinosaurs continue to develop, likely on a secluded, later destroyed landmass. Sometime thereafter, they possibly become one of the first interstellar species in the galaxy when they leave Earth and travel to the Delta Quadrant, laying the foundation for the Voth civilization. (VOY: "Distant Origin")

While Dr. Forra Gegen suggests this hypothesis for the origin of the Voth, Chakotay later theorizes that the Voth's ancestors left before the extinction event, the impending catastrophe being what motivated them to do so in the first place.

20 million years ago

• Now considering themselves a race indigenous to the Delta Quadrant, the recorded history and identity of the Voth dates back to around this time. (VOY: "Distant Origin", "Friendship One")

10 million years ago

• The humpback whale evolves on Earth. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)

5 million to 2.5 million years ago

• The Pliocene epoch spans this time on Earth. Hanon IV had reached this level of geological evolution by the 24th century. (VOY: "Basics, Part I", "Basics, Part II")

1 million years ago

• On Earth, the ancestors of Humans begin to distinguish themselves from their primate ancestors by their intelligence and reasoning skills. (TOS: "A Taste of Armageddon")
• Construction of the vast city around the Guardian of Forever, stretching out to the horizon of its' planet. (TOS: "The City on the Edge of Forever")
• Lactrans attain a level of development that would not be met in terms of Human development until the late 23rd century. (TAS: "The Eye of the Beholder")

Indeterminate

• The inhabitants of Organia evolve to beings of pure energy. (TOS: "Errand of Mercy")

Ayelborne said that his people had evolved beyond the need for physical bodies "millions of years ago."

Hundreds of thousands of years ago

• A Sphere-shaped lifeform that died in the mid-23rd century dates back to this era. It records everything it sees and experiences starting around this time as well, including data on countless civilizations (DIS: "Project Daedalus")

In "An Obol for Charon", initial scans suggest the sphere is only one hundred thousand years old, but this seems to have been revised to hundreds of thousands years by Project Daedalus.

600,000 years ago

• The Tkon Empire collapses. (TNG: "The Last Outpost")
• The humanoid ancestors of Arretans colonize the galaxy. Their colonists may have caused, or influenced, the rise of intelligent life on Vulcan. (TOS: "Return to Tomorrow")

500,000 years ago

• Arretan is destroyed in a massive civil war when the atmosphere is ripped from their planet. Only a few survivors escape by preserving their consciousnesses in a cave deep below the surface. (TOS: "Return to Tomorrow")
• Bajoran civilization begins to flourish. The ancient Bajorans are renowned for their accomplishments in science, mathematics, philosophy, and the arts long before Humans learn to speak or make tools. (TNG: "Ensign Ro")

While the emergence of language among Humans cannot be exactly dated, Humanity had begun to use stone tools already 2.6 million years ago according to real-world science.

• The planet Exo III becomes uninhabitable after its sun begins to go dark. The inhabitants resettle beneath the surface and construct androids to serve them. (TOS: "What Are Little Girls Made Of?")

According to Star Trek: Star Charts, p. 34, the Talosians become warp-capable.

200,000 years ago

• The Iconians, a highly developed civilization, are presumed destroyed in an orbital bombardment of their homeworld. (TNG: "Contagion"; DS9: "To the Death")
• The large bioplasmic organism, later dubbed the "telepathic pitcher plant", is born in the Delta Quadrant. (VOY: "Bliss")
• The Eightfold Stars, an octonary star system, is created around the planet Aia. (PIC: "Broken Pieces")
• By at least this point, as according to Guinan, the Borg have begun their evolution into cybernetic beings. (TNG: "Q Who")

Star Trek: Destiny presents a different point of origin for the Borg.

100,000 years ago

• The subspace network which will be later claimed by the Hirogen is constructed. (VOY: "Message in a Bottle", "Hunters")
• The ocean planet, later home of the Monean civilization, is created by extracting all water from a class M planet and containing it inside an immense force field. (VOY: "Thirty Days")
• In Africa on Earth, the /Xam Abathwa tribe gathers to share a story about a girl who created the milky way. In one later told version of the story, the girl belonged to a group of primitive farmers afraid of the night, until the girl encounted an alien. (DIS: "Brother"; ST: "The Girl Who Made the Stars")

Tens of thousands of years ago

50,000 years ago

• The Horta of Janus VI begin their latest cycle of rebirth. (TOS: "The Devil in the Dark")
• Bele begins to chase Lokai, who has led a revolution on the planet of Cheron. (TOS: "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield")

45,000 years ago

• Around 42,600 BC, extraterrestrial visitors, known as the "Sky Spirits", visit a people on Earth who become the indigenous inhabitants of South America. (VOY: "Tattoo")

30,000 years ago

• The Verathan civilization, originally from the Verath system in the Gamma Quadrant, reaches its height, spanning two dozen star systems. (DS9: "Q-Less")
• An ancient city is built on Bajor with walls and a stone tablet. Trapped inside the tablet are two antagonistic non-corporeal lifeforms, a Pah-wraith and a Prophet. (DS9: "The Reckoning")

28,000 years ago

• On Earth, the Neanderthals become extinct. (ENT: "Dear Doctor")

25,000 years ago

• The stone tablet city in Bajor is abandoned, sediments bury the ruins, and eventually the ancient city of B'hala is built on top. (DS9: "The Reckoning")

22,000 years ago

• The first of at least 947 archaeological expeditions is conducted at the ancient ruins on Tagus III. (TNG: "Qpid")
• The Trill begin their life as a joined species. (TNG: "The Host")

20,000 years ago

Circa 17,627 BC to 17,600 BC

• The Bajoran Holy City of B'hala is lost to history. (DS9: "Rapture")
• The Bajorans begin celebrating the Bajoran Gratitude Festival. (DS9: "Fascination")

12,000 years ago

• An artisan known only as the Master of Tarquin Hill on Kurl, during the Third Dynasty, creates small ceramic figurines, called naiskos, that embody that culture's belief that within each person is a community of individuals, each with its own desires, views, and voices. (TNG: "The Chase")

10,000 years ago

• The machine-god Vaal is built on Gamma Trianguli VI. (TOS: "The Apple")
• The civilization on Sigma Draconis VI, by this point at its technological peak, advanced well beyond 23rd century Federation capabilities, experiences a catastrophic glacial age. As a result, the inhabitants of the planet begin to de-evolve to a primitive level, and the male and female inhabitants experience a great schism in their society. (TOS: "Spock's Brain")
• When their sun is about to go nova, the Fabrini leave their system on a propelled asteroid known as Yonada. (TOS: "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky")
• A species of intelligent spacefaring organisms which form symbiotic relationships with humanoid lifeforms that live within their bodies becomes nearly extinct. Gomtuu is the last known survivor. (TNG: "Tin Man")
• The first of the Orbs is discovered by the Bajorans in the sky above their planet. Over the next ten millennia, a total of nine of these extraordinary objects are discovered, inspiring revelations that shape Bajoran religion. (DS9: "Emissary")
• According to Quinn, this is the last time that "ordinary" Q in the Q Continuum have to speak with each other. (VOY: "Death Wish")
• Bajoran archaeologists begin their unsuccessful search for the lost city of B'hala, which is not uncovered until the year 2373. (DS9: "Rapture")
• A path on a Delta Quadrant planet was said to be cut out by unknown spacefarers. The path endured into the 24th century, when it was used by Mikhal Travelers who had an outpost on the planet. (VOY: "Darkling")

In "The Dogs of War", Weyoun 8 euphorically claims that "the Dominion hasn't surrendered in battle since it was founded ten thousand years ago." This seems to contradict Weyoun 4 in "To the Death", who states "The Dominion has endured for two thousand years [...]."

In DS9: "Little Green Men", Nog states that it "took [ten thousand years] to establish the Ferengi Alliance", which implies it dates back to 8000 BC or earlier. This might also imply that Gint, the first Grand Nagus and original author of the Rules of Acquisition lived at this time, if he is considered the founder of the Alliance.

Indeterminate

• The Custodian is built by the Progenitors on the planet Aldea. (TNG: "When The Bough Breaks")

Duana stated that this was "hundreds of centuries ago."

Thousands of years ago

9,000 years ago

• The Zakdorn earn a reputation as brilliant strategists. (TNG: "Peak Performance")

6,000 years ago

circa 4000 BC

Unknown aliens remove several Humans from Earth to be eugenically bred on a distant planet, lest Humanity destroy itself in its early technological age. Gary Seven, Agent 201 and Agent 347 will be among their descendants. (TOS: "Assignment: Earth")

3834 BC

Akharin is born in Mesopotamia on Earth. A soldier felled in battle, he soon realizes that no injury can kill him. He goes on through many aliases, becoming the immortal known as Flint. (TOS: "Requiem for Methuselah")

circa 3733 BC

Landru of Beta III preaches peace and coexistence among his people, ending a period of savagery. He creates a powerful computer to guide and protect his people after his death. (TOS: "The Return of the Archons")

5,000 years ago

circa 2700 BC

Earth is visited by aliens who settle in the region near Greece and the Mediterranean, where they are worshiped by the Greeks as gods. (TOS: "Who Mourns for Adonais?")

The Star Trek Encyclopedia (4th ed., vol. 1, p. 125) dated this event to around the year 3000 BC.

Sarpeidon experiences an ice age. Zarabeth is later exiled to this time period, and Spock and Leonard McCoy are briefly stranded here as well. (TOS: "All Our Yesterdays")

By this time, Vulcans are still barbaric, war-like and "nearly killing themselves off with their own passions". (TOS: "All Our Yesterdays")

circa 2600 BC

The Egyptians build the pyramids of Giza. They are observed by anthropologists from the future (specifically, the year 2769). (ENT: "Cold Front")

A battle warm-up is developed, that according to legend, "makes the heart a friend to the hand." (DS9: "Rivals")

circa 2500 BC

Vulcans begin to mentally train themselves to suppress their emotions. (VOY: "Random Thoughts")

Humans develop currency. (DS9: "Little Green Men")

4,000 years ago

circa 1800 BC

The Xindi-Avians build a concealed fortress on a planet that will one day become the home of the Xindi Council. (ENT: "The Council")

circa 1735 BC

According to Spock, this is when Humans begin to glorify organized violence. (TOS: "Dagger of the Mind")

Humans on Earth begin the tradition of confining law-breakers to prisons. (TOS: "Dagger of the Mind")

According to the Star Trek Encyclopedia (4th ed., vol. 2, p. 103), the Olmec civilization begins in Mexico in ca. 1500 BC.

3,000 – 2,000 years ago

circa 950 BC

Flint claims to live the life of King Solomon on Earth. (TOS: "Requiem for Methuselah")

circa 850 BC

The Vulcan monastery on P'Jem is built. (ENT: "The Andorian Incident")

The Star Trek Encyclopedia (4th ed., vol. 2, p. 119) dated this event to around 800 BCE.

circa 730 BC

The Kalandan outpost planet, "a few thousand years old" in 2268, may be constructed around this time. (TOS: "That Which Survives")

circa 630 BC

The Bajoran prophet Trakor first encounters the Orb of Prophecy and Change, and writes a series of prophecies concerning the Emissary of the Prophets. (DS9: "Destiny")

circa 525 BC

Aeschylus is born in Greece. (DIS: "The Sound of Thunder")

480 BC

The Battle of Thermopylae is fought on Earth between the Spartans and the Persians. (DS9: "What You Leave Behind")

circa 400 BC

Survivors from the Sahndara system supernova arrive on Earth. Their sojourn coincides with the time of the philosophers Socrates and Plato. "After the death of the Greek civilization they idolized" they move on to the planet Platonius. (TOS: "Plato's Stepchildren")

While the Platonians state that they were on Earth during the time of Plato, this is later contradicted by giving their dates of birth occurring hundreds of years later (circa 30BC) well after Greece had fallen to the Roman Empire. It is unknown if this was an accidental error in the plot or if the Platonians might have only studied Plato while on Earth.

356-323 BC

Flint lives the life of Alexander the Great on Earth. (TOS: "Requiem for Methuselah")

280 BC

The Lighthouse of Alexandria is built under Ptolemy II. (VOY: "11:59")

214 BC

Construction begins on the Great Wall of China on Earth. (VOY: "11:59")

120 BC

Hipparchus dies. (VOY: "Future's End")

44 BC

Parmen, future leader of the Sahndaran refugee community, is born on Sahndara. (TOS: "Plato's Stepchildren")

circa 40s BC

The spherical lifeform records data on Kaminar, indicating that a significant portion of Kelpiens have passed Vahar'ai to reach a more evolved state. (DIS: "The Sound of Thunder")

32 BC

Philana, future wife of Parmen, is born on Sahndara. (TOS: "Plato's Stepchildren")

3 BC

Philana, now 30, stops aging. (TOS: "Plato's Stepchildren")

Background information

The following events are from the fourth edition of the Star Trek Encyclopedia (vol. 1, pp.. 109, 143; vol. 2, pp. 103, 171, 395):

• In 5th century Asia, Buddha founds the nontheistic religion of Buddhism.
• Socrates is born in 469.
• Plato is born in circa 428.
• The Olmec civilization of Mexico ends in about 400.
• Socrates dies in 399.
• Plato dies in circa 348.
• Cicero is born in 106.
• Cicero dies in 43.

Indeterminate past

• Eons ago the Changelings are Solids before they evolve into a liquid-based, shapeshifting species. (DS9: "Behind the Lines")
• An unknown race, possibly of extragalactic origin, builds a massive planet killer. (TOS: "The Doomsday Machine")
• The population of Talos IV is largely wiped out in a war thousands of centuries ago. Forced to live beneath the surface, the Talosians develop their mental powers, while neglecting their technological knowledge and skills. (TOS: "The Cage", "The Menagerie, Part I", "The Menagerie, Part II")
• According to Klingon mythology, Kortar, the first Klingon, destroys the gods who created him. (DS9: "Homefront"; VOY: "Barge of the Dead")
• A neutron star in a binary star system in the Kavis Alpha sector begins exploding every 196 years. (TNG: "Evolution")
• A power struggle occurs within the highest ranks of a race called the Saltah'na, which ultimately destroys them. Before their extinction, the Saltah'na create a collection of energy spheres which preserve a record of the events leading to the species' destruction via a telepathic matrix, which can be transferred into the minds of some humanoid species, causing them to reenact the power struggle. (DS9: "Dramatis Personae")
• A scientist named Lazarus discovers the alternative warp, constructing a space-time vehicle which can transverse the corridor between two universes over both time and space. He begins his relentless pursuit of his nemesis "the thing" across centuries of time, who is in fact Lazarus's own counterpart from the alternate universe. (TOS: "The Alternative Factor")
• The people of Megas-Tu leave their dimension in search of companionship which they find initially on Earth. (TAS: "The Magicks of Megas-Tu")
• According to Cosimo in an alternate 2372, Harry Kim could have been sent to before the formation of sentient life on Earth by the time stream, had his attempt to restore history failed. (VOY: "Non Sequitur")
• In the Delos system, the two inhabited planets Ornara and Brekka took different paths, with Ornara becoming technologically sophisticated and Brekka not doing likewise. (TNG: "Symbiosis")

This is said to have begun "several thousand years ago".

• The being known as Kevin Uxbridge, a Douwd, begins living in the Milky Way Galaxy. (TNG: "The Survivors")

This is said to have begun "thousands of years ago".

• The Mintakans of the planet Mintaka III abandon their belief in the supernatural. (TNG: "Who Watches The Watchers")

This is said to have occurred a millennia ago.

Dawn of time

Timeline

1st century

External links

• Thousands of years ago at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Millions of years ago at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Billions of years ago at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Pre-22nd century at The Star Trek Online Wiki