1730: born, son of an Irish clergyman
1744: entered Trinity College, Dublin
1747: ran away to Cork, perhaps with intention to sail to America
1749: graduated with BA from TCD
1752: to Edinburgh, Scotland, to study medicine
1755-6: visited France, Switzerland, Italy
1756: returned to London; was physician at Southwark
1762: Citizen of the World ("Chinese Letters") published
1764: The Traveller (poem); Lord Clare became his patron
1766: The Vicar of Wakefield sold for him by Dr Johnson
1768: Goodnatured Man produced at Covent Garden
1769: History of Rome
1770: lives of Thomas Parnell, Henry St John, Viscount Bolingbroke published
1770: The Deserted Village
1771: an English history published
1773: She Stoops to Conquer at Covent Garden
1774: The Retaliation; The History of Greece; A history of the earth and animated nature
1774: died