Timeline of Star Trek

The below is an abridged timeline of events established in the group of television shows and feature films set in the fictional Star Trek universe. More exhaustive timelines are available in both Star Trek reference works and in various fan websites.

eries and movie settings

This table shows each TV series and movie, its year of release or broadcast, the year it was set in, according to the prevailing Okuda chronology (see below) and the stardate range for that year.

Timeline

This timeline is based on the "Star Trek Chronology" model described below, supplemented by data from startrek.com.

Note: Many of these dates are rounded-off approximations, as the dialog from which they are derived often includes qualifiers such as "over," "more than," or "less than."

Millions of years ago

*c. 6 billion years ago
**The Guardian of Forever is created. [The Guardian notes in the episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" that it has existed "since before your sun burned hot in space".]
*c. 4 billion years ago
**A humanoid civilization seeds the oceans of many planets with genetic material, which would lead to the development of humanoids on many planets. [This event is the key plot point of "The Chase".]
*c. 1 million years ago
**Sargon's people explore the galaxy and colonise various planets, possibly including Vulcan. [Established in the episode "Return to Tomorrow".]

1st millennium

*c. 4th century
**The Vulcan Time of Awakening. In the midst of horrific wars on Vulcan, the philosopher Surak leads his people, teaching them to embrace logic and suppress all emotion. [The seventh-season TNG episode "Gambit" says this was around 2,000 years before.]
**The Dominion is founded in the Gamma Quadrant by the shapeshifting race known as the Changelings. [Weyoun says the Dominion is 2,000 years old in the fourth-season DS9 episode "To the Death".]
*c. 9th century
**Kahless the Unforgettable unites the Klingons by defeating the tyrant Molor in battle, and provides his people with teachings based on a philosophy of honor. [The sixth-season TNG episode "Rightful Heir" said this event was 1,500 years ago)]

Pre-20th century

*c. 1570
**The ancient Bajorans use solar sail ships to explore their solar system, and at least one reaches Cardassia. [800 years prior to the third-season "DS9" episode "Explorers"]

*18th century
**The Preservers transport various Native Americans to a faraway planet. [The "Chronology" dates this by the culture seen in the episode which features the transplant, "The Paradise Syndrome"]

*c. 1871
**The Cardassian Union is established. [Gul Dukat says this happens five centuries before the third-season DS9 episode "Defiant"]

*c. 1893
** "Time's Arrow" (TNG)

20th century

* 1930
** "The City on the Edge of Forever" (TOS)
* 1937
** Several humans are secretly abducted by aliens and brought to the Delta Quadrant. "The 37's" (VOY)
* 1944
** "Storm Front" (ENT)
* 1947
** "Little Green Men" (DS9)
* 1957
** A Vulcan scout ship visits Earth, according to a story told by T'Pol (which may or may not have been a true story; see episode entry). "Carbon Creek" (Enterprise)
* 1967
** Captain Braxton's 29th century Federation timeship "Aeon" crashlands on Earth. "Future's End" (Voyager)
* 1968
** "" (TOS)
* 1969
** "Tomorrow is Yesterday" (TOS)
** Apollo 11 lands on the Moon (real-life).
* 1986
** ""
* 1992
** the Eugenics Wars startDates are given in dialogue in "Space Seed"]
* 1996
** the Eugenics Wars end
** "Future's End" (VOY)
* 1999
** Voyager VI is launched [The "Chronology" speculates on the year, noting that "", does not give an exact figure.]

21st century

* 2002
** The interstellar probe Nomad is launched. [The "Chronology" speculates on the year, noting the episode "The Changeling" does not give an exact figure.]
* 2004
** The past events of "Carpenter Street". (Enterprise)
* 2009
** The first successful Earth-Saturn spaceprobe mission takes place. [The "Chronology" speculates on the year, noting the episode "Tomorrow is Yesterday" does not give an exact year.]
* 2012
** The world's first self-sustaining civic environment Millennium Gate which became the model for the first habitat on Mars, completed in Portage Creek, Indiana. ("", Voyager)
* 2018
** Sleeper ships are made obsolete. [According to the episode "Space Seed". The year is clearly specified by Lt McGivers, ship's historian.]
* 2024
** The reunification of Ireland
** The past events of "Past Tense" (DS9)
* 2032
** Ares-IV, a manned mission to Mars is launched. [Established in the episode "One Small Step".]
* 2037
** The spaceship "Charybdis" makes an attempt to leave the solar system. [The year is stated in "The Royale"]
* 2053
** World War III ends and the Earth is left devastated by the nuclear carnage of it. Scientific advancement continues, however. [The war ends 10 years before "Star Trek: First Contact", set in 2063.]
* 2063
** The past events of "". Zefram Cochrane makes the first human warp flight with the "Phoenix". This attracts the Vulcans and they make first contact with humans.
* c. 2065
** The "SS Valiant" is launched. [The "Chronology" dates this exactly 200 years before the episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before".]
* 2067
** the unmanned interstellar warp probe Friendship 1 is launched [Established in the episode "Friendship One".]
* 2069
** the colony ship SS Conestoga is launched. It would found the Terra Nova colony. [Established the episode "Terra Nova"]
* 2079
** Earth begins to recover from its nuclear war. ["Encounter at Farpoint" features a Q-induced flashback to this era.]
* 2088
** Future "Enterprise" chief science officer T'Pol is born on Vulcan.

22nd century

* 2111
** Jonathan Archer is born in upstate New York on Earth.From a computer screen in "In A Mirror, Darkly"]
* 2119
**Zephram Cochrane who now is residing on Alpha Centauri sets off for parts unknown and disappears. Some thought he was testing a new engine. After an exhaustive search, it is believed that Cochrane has died. He becomes one of the most famous missing people in history. [About 150 years before "Metamorphosis" (dated by Okuda as 2267), which is shown by "Enterprise" to be an approximation.]
* 2129
** Hoshi Sato is born.
* 2151-2155
** The events of ' take place."' [cite web|url=http://www.startrek.com/custom/include/series/ENT/episode_list_season.html|title=Star Trek: Enterprise: Episodes by Season|accessdate=2006-12-31]
* 2156-2160
** The Earth-Romulan War is fought between the United Earth and its allies, and the Romulan Star Empire, at the end of which the Romulans are defeated at the Battle of Cheron. The Romulan Neutral Zone is established.
* 2161
** The United Federation of Planets is founded by Earth, Tellar, Andoria, and Vulcan. [The "TNG" episode "Conundrum" refers to this date, based on an early draft of the "Chronology", which had proposed 2161. "These Are the Voyages..." depicts the founding ceremony and officially states the founding members.]
* 2165
** Sarek, Federation diplomat and father of Spock, is born on Vulcan. [Sarek gives his age as 102.437 in "Journey to Babel".]
* 2160s to 2196
** The Daedalus class starship is active. [In the episode "Power Play", Data gives the year 2196 as the retirement date of the "Daedalus" class starships, which had been active 200 years before the episode, in the 2160s.]

23rd century

* 2222
** Montgomery Scott is born in Scotland. [The episode "Relics" establishes that Scotty was born 147 years prior to 2369.]
* 2227
**Leonard McCoy is born in Georgia on Earth. [McCoy is 137 years old in "Encounter at Farpoint", set in 2364.]
* 2230
**Spock, the son of Sarek and the human Amanda Grayson, is born on Vulcan. [The "Chronology" dates this based on a line from an early draft script from "Journey to Babel"]
* 2233
** James T. Kirk is born in Riverside, Iowa, on Earth. [Kirk is said to be 34 in "The Deadly Years, which Okuda dates to 2267.]
* 2237
**Hikaru Sulu is born in San Francisco. [Conjecture by the "Chronology", making Sulu's age match Takei's during the original series.]
* 2239
** Uhura is born in the United States of Africa. [Conjecture by the "Chronology", assuming Uhura was 27 in season one of the original series (Nichols was 34).]
* 2245-2250
** The "USS Enterprise", a Constitution class vessel is launched under the command of Robert April, on a five-year mission of exploration.
* 2245
** Pavel Chekov is born to Ukrainian parents. [Chekov is 22 in the episode "Who Mourns for Adonais".]
* 2251-2256
** After a refit, the "USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)" is launched on a second five-year mission under Captain Christopher Pike.
* 2254
** The events of "The Cage". [Thirteen years before the events of "The Menagerie", according to dialogue.]
* 2261-2264
** The "USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)" undergoes a major refit, increasing its crew complement from 200 to 400.
* 2263
**Boothby, groundskeeper and counselor at Starfleet Academy, is born.
* 2264-2269
** James T. Kirk is captain of the starship "Enterprise" on a historic five-year mission.
* 2265
** The events of "Where No Man Has Gone Before".
* 2267-2269
** The events of ' take place.
**2269
*** The "USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)" returns from its five-year mission under the command of Captain James T. Kirk and enters major refit while Kirk is promoted to Admiral at Starfleet Command.
* 2272
** The events of "".
* 2271-2276
** The upgraded "USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)" embarks on a five-year mission under the command of Admiral James T. Kirk.
* 2277
** Around this time the "USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)" is retired from active duty and assigned as a training vessel in orbit of Earth.
* 2285
** The events of "".
** The events of "". The "USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)" is destroyed to prevent it from falling into Klingon hands.
* 2286
** The events of "".
** The "USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)" is launched.
* 2287
** The events of "". (Note that this film apparently takes place very nearly after the fourth film, as evidenced by Scotty's complaints about repairing the ship after its shakedown cruise, which was depicted at the end of Star Trek IV. Star Trek V would then take place in early 2287, with the events of Star Trek IV spanning most of 2286, with several months passing after Kirk's return to the future to account for the preparation of the Enterprise-A and Gillian's training for her space assignment.)
* 2293
** The events of "". The Enterprise-A is slated to be decommissioned shortly afterwards.
** The "USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B)" is launched. James Kirk is presumed killed.

24th century

* 2305
** Jean-Luc Picard is born in LaBarre, France on Earth.A biography shown in "Conundrum" establishes the birth-year and birth-place.]
* 2311
** The Tomed Incident. [This incident, the last contact between the Romulans and the Federation is said to be 53 years prior to "The Neutral Zone"]
* 2324
** Beverly Howard is born in Copernicus City, Luna.
* 2332
** Benjamin L. Sisko is born in New Orleans, Louisiana on Earth.
* 2333
** Jean-Luc Picard becomes captain of the USS "Stargazer".
* 2335
** Geordi La Forge is born in the African Federation, Earth
** William T. Riker is born in Valdez, Alaska on Earth.
* 2336
** Deanna Troi is born on Betazed.
** Kathryn Janeway is born in Bloomington, Indiana on Earth.Fact|date=February 2007
* 2337
** Tasha Yar is born in a failed Federation colony on Turkana-IV.
* 2340
** Worf, son of Mogh is born on the Klingon Empire homeworld, Qo'noS. [The "Chronology" derives this figure from working backwards from the Khitomer massacre of 2346.]
* 2341
** Julian Bashir is born. [Bashir celebrates his 30th birthday in "Distant Voices"]
* 2343
** The "Galaxy" class development project is officially given the greenlight by Starfleet Command.
* 2344
** The "Enterprise-C", under the command of Capt Rachel Garrett, is destroyed defending a Klingon settlement on Narendra III under attack from Romulans. [This is said to occur twenty-two years before "Yesterday's Enterprise" (2366)]
** Due to the "Enterprise-C" 's sacrifice, a new era of more-open communication begins between the Federation & the Klingon Empire.
* 2346
** Worf's parents are killed in the Khitomer attack. Worf (age 6) is adopted by human parents. [The "Chronology" derives this figure by subtracting 20 years from 2366 ("Sins of the Father"). The "Chronology" notes an inconsistency, as the episode "Birthright", which it sets in 2369, gives a figure of 2344.]
* 2349
** Annika Hansen is born in Tendara Colony, to Magnus and Erin Hansen
* 2355
** Annika Hansen is assimilated by the Borg.
* 2357
** Worf is the first Klingon to enter the Starfleet Academy.
** USS "Galaxy" (NX-70637), the prototype "Galaxy" class is launched.
* 2363
** "USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)", the third Galaxy class starship (Following the "Galaxy" and "Yamato") is launched from Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards in orbit of Mars, and becomes the Federation's new flagship.
* 2364-2370
** The events of '."'
* 2367
** The Borg Assimilate Captain Jean-Luc Picard - the Battle of Wolf 359 is fought in Sector 001. The battle results in the loss of 39 Starfleet vessels and over 11,000 lives with the borg continuing to Earth. Picard is rescued and the borg cube is destroyed via the actions of the "Enterprise-D"
* 2369-2375
** The events of '."'
* 2371
** The events of "Star Trek Generations". The "USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)" is destroyed - the stardrive section by a warp core breach; the saucer section containing the crew makes a forced landing on Veridian III. The ship is subsequently declared a total loss.
* 2371-2377
** The events of ""
** "Caretaker: the USS Voyager is stranded in the Delta Quadrant.
* 2372
** "Sovereign"-class USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) launched.
* 2373
** The events of "".
* 2373-2375
** The Dominion War is fought. After devastating losses on both sides, The Dominion surrenders to the Federation. With the Klingon military in ruins, and the Cardassian Union shattered, The Federation and Romulan Empire emerge from the conflict as the only major powers with the influence to affect Alpha quadrant politics.
* 2375
** The events of "". [cite web|url=http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/MOV/009/character/1119649.html|title=Biography: Anji|publisher=startrek.com] Dialogue in this film and in the DS9 finale "What You Leave Behind" place the chronology of this film as during that episode, after the final battle of the war but before the treaty signing ceremony. Most notable in the film is Worf's ability to leave the station to join the Enterprise, as well as a line about Federation diplomats being involved in Dominion negotiations, and the Federation's willingness to work with the Son'a, who are established as a Dominion ally during the war.
* 2377
** With the help of a future Admiral Janeway, the U.S.S. Voyager returns to the Alpha Quadrant. ("Endgame")
* 2379
** The events of "Star Trek Nemesis", resulting in the presumed death of Lt. Cmdr. Data. [cite web|url=http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TNG/character/1112457.html|title=Biography: Data|publisher=startrek.com]
* 2385
** The rumored bookend events of "Star Trek (2009)", when an elderly Spock recounts events from his time at Starfleet Academy. Date is derived from the six year time lapse between the production of "Star Trek: Nemesis" and "Star Trek" (2009).

History of the chronology

There have been several efforts over the years to develop a chronology for the events depicted by the Star Trek television series and its spin-offs. This matter has been complicated by the continued additions to the Star Trek canon, and the scarcity of Gregorian calendar dates given in the show (stardates instead being used).

Original series

There are few references setting the original series in an exact time frame, and those that exist are largely contradictory. In the episode, "Tomorrow is Yesterday", a 1960s military officer says that he's going to lock Captain Kirk up "for two hundred years", to which a bemused Kirk says, "That ought to be just about right". Likewise, in the episode "Space Seed", it is said that the 1996 warlord Khan is from "two centuries" ago. Both these references place the show in the 22nd century. However, in the episode "Miri", it is said that 1960 was around 300 years ago, pushing the show into the 23rd century. Finally, the episode "The Squire of Gothos" implied that the light cone of 19th century Earth has expanded to 900 light years, which seems to set the show in the 28th century, since light would take nine centuries to traverse that distance.

According to notes in "The Making of Star Trek", the show is set in the 23rd century, and the "Enterprise" was supposed to be around 40 years old. Roddenberry says in this book that the stardate system was invented in order to avoid pinning down the show precisely in terms of time frame.cite book|title=The Making of Star Trek|year=1968|publisher=Ballatine Books|author=Whitfield, Stephen E and Roddenberry, Gene] Roddenberry's original pitch for the series dated it "'somewhere in the future. It could be 1995, or maybe even 2995". [cite book|title=The Star Trek Compendium|publisher=Titan Books|author=Asherman, Allan|year=1987|id=ISBN 0-907610-99-4]

Early chronologies

The "Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology" and FASA, a publisher of the first licensed Star Trek role-playing game, chose to take the "Space Seed figure", adding a few years to make sure the events of the Original Series were in the 23rd century. This dating system is followed by other spin-off works in the 1980s, including Mr Scott's Guide to the Enterprise. This timeline system gives the following dates [cite book|title=Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology|year=1980|last=Goldstein|first=Stanley and Fred|id=ISBN 0-671-79089-7] [cite book|title=Mr Scott's Guide to the Enterprise|year=1987|last=Johnson|first=Shane|id=ISBN 1-85286-028-6|publisher=Titan Books]

*the sub-warp ship the "UNSS Icarus" makes first contact with Alpha Centauri in 2048, and there meets Zephram Cochrane, who has invented warp drive
*The first contact with Vulcans is in 2068.
*The Federation is formed in 2087.
*The Romulan War occurs in the 2100s.
*The first "Constitution"-class starship is launched in 2188.
*The USS Enterprise's under Captain Kirk lasts from 2207 to 2212.
*The events of "" occur in 2217.
*The events of "" occur around 2222 (dialog in the film says it is set "fifteen years" after the Season One episode "Space Seed").
*The events of "" occur on September 21, 2222.

The "Star Fleet Battles" game was published in 1979, with a license only covering the original series. It has since diverged into an entirely separate fictional universe, new additions to which continue to be published. It does not tie into the Gregorian calendar, instead using a "Year 1" of the invention of Warp on earth. Its version of the original series backstory is

*Y1 - Warp drive is developed on Earth.
*Y4 - Federation is formed by Earth, Vulcan, Andoria, Alpha Centauri.
*Y40-Y46 - Romulan War.
*Y71 - Starfleet is formed.
*Y126 - The "Constitution"-class is launched (an upgrade from the "Republic"-class).
*Y154-159 - The events of the Original Series.

See Star Fleet Universe timeline.

TNG era and Okuda

Press materials for "TNG" suggested it was set in the 24th century, seventy-eight years after the existing Star Trek, although the exact time frame had not yet been set in stone. The pilot had wording saying Data was part of the Starfleet "class of '78".cite book|title=Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion|publisher=Pocket Books|year=2003|author=Nemeck, Larry|id=ISBN 0-7434-5798-6] The pilot episode, "Encounter at Farpoint", also has a cameo appearance by Leonard "Bones" McCoy, who is said to be 137.

In the last episode of the first season, the year is firmly established by Data, as 2364. This implies McCoy was born around 2227, ruling out the "Spaceflight Chronology"-derived dating of the original series to the early 23rd century.

A "Star Trek Chronology" was published in 1993, written by production staff members Denise Okuda and Mike Okuda.cite book|last=Okuda|first=Mike|authorlink=Mike Okuda|coauthors=Okuda, Denise|title=Star Trek Chronology: The History of the Future|id=ISBN 0-671-79611-9|publisher=Pocket Books|year=1993] A second edition was issued in 1996.cite book|last=Okuda|first=Mike|authorlink=Mike Okuda|coauthors=Okuda, Denise|title=Star Trek Chronology: The History of the Future|id=ISBN 0-671-53610-9|publisher=Pocket Books|year=1996] Okuda originally drew up a timeline for internal use by writers, based on his own research and assumptions provided by Richard Arnold. The dates in the "Chronology" are consistent with the earlier '.cite book|author=Okuda, Michael and Sternbach, Rick|year=1991|title='|publisher=Pocket Books|id=ISBN 0-671-70427-3]

It gives the following dates:

* Zephram Cochrane invents warp drive around 2061 (in order that the SS Valiant can be constructed and go missing two hundred years before "Where No Man Has Gone Before", dated to 2265; the first edition gives 2061, the second edition moves this to 2063 per "")
* the Romulan War takes place in the 2150s (approximately a hundred years before "Balance of Terror")
* the Federation is formed in 2161, after the Romulan War, on the basis that "Balance of Terror" says that it was an Earth-Romulan war, not a Federation-Romulan War
* the first Constitution class starship is launched in 2244, followed by the Enterprise in 2245
* Kirk's lasts from 2264 to 2269, based on the assumption that the original series is set exactly 300 years after its original broadcast.
** aired live-action "Star Trek" episodes are dated from 2266 to 2269. The chronology does not include the events of ""
** An episode of ""—""—aired after the Chronology was published established that Kirk's five year mission actually ended in 2270.
* the events of "" take place in 2271 (Kirk has been Chief of Starfleet Operations for two-and-a-half years, according to dialog from Kirk and Decker)
** The "" dating for Kirk's five year mission, moves the first film to circa 2273.
* a takes place in the 2270s (speculation)
* the events of ' and ' take place in 2285
** "The Wrath of Khan" is a sequel to the episode "Space Seed", which Okuda dates to 2267. In Okuda's timeline there is a gap of eighteen years rather than the fifteen years established in dialog. The film was released in 1982, fifteen years after the episode's broadcast in 1967.
* the events of "" take place in 2286
* the events of "" take place in 2287
* the events "" take place in 2293, based on McCoy's statement that he had served on the Enterprise for 27 years, and his absence in "Where No Man Has Gone Before"
* "Star Trek Generations" is set "78 years" before 2371, thus is set in 2293 and soon after "Star Trek VI"

The gap between 1986's "Star Trek IV: the Voyage Home" (2286) and the 1987 first season of "The Next Generation" (2364) is 78 years by this timeline, matching early press materials.

There was a gap of 10 years between the broadcast of the last episode of "TOS" and the release of "The Motion Picture". The film skirted round the fact the actors had aged, supposing that only two and a half years had passed since the events of the TV show. For "Star Trek II", it was decided to acknowledge the reality of the ageing actors, both by setting the film some 15 years after "Space Seed", and by having Kirk worry about getting old. [cite book|title=From Sawdust to Stardust|author=Terry Lee Rioux|id=ISBN 978-0743457620|publisher=Pocket Books|year=2005]

Within the TNG era, episodes and films are easier to date. Stardates correspond exactly with seasons, with the first two digits of the stardate representing the season number. Okuda assumes the start of a season is January 1 and the end of the season is December 31. "The Next Generation", "Deep Space Nine", "Voyager" television series and movies have roughly followed "real time", and are set around 377 years after their release.

Since the "Chronology" was published, it has been generally adhered to by the producers of the show. The film ' and prequel series ' both revisit the early era. In "First Contact", Zephram Cochrane is confirmed as having invented warp drive on Earth, but the date is moved forward slightly to 2063, and it is revealed that Earth's official first contact with an alien species, the Vulcans, took place immediately afterwards as a result of this.

"Enterprise" is set in the 2150s, and ties into the Cochrane backstory. The show uses the Gregorian calendar extensively, making dating easier. Its pilot, "Broken Bow", depicts first contact with the Klingons occurring much earlier than the Okuda chronology anticipated (it suggested a date of 2218, based on a line in "Day of the Dove", noting that dialog in First Contact makes this problematic). It shows the opening of the Romulan war and the start of a coalition between Earth, Vulcan, Andor and Tellar in the 2150s. The date of the founding year of the Federation, 2161, was revealed in the fifth-season TNG episode "The Outcast," based on an early draft of the Okuda timeline. The final episode of Enterprise, "These Are the Voyages...", is consistent with the establishment of 2161 as the founding year for the Federation.

No version of the "Chronology" or the "Encyclopedia" has been published since 1999. A 2006 book by Jeff Ayers contains a timeline which attempts to date all of the many Star Trek novels. [cite book|author|Ayers, Jeff|title=Voyages of the Imagination: The Star Trek Fiction Companion|publisher=Pocket Books|date=2006|id=ISBN 1-4165-0349-8] This timeline has "The Motion Picture" in 2273, to account for the two-and-a-half-year gap between the end-date of 2270 established in "Q2" and the events of the movie. The official website, StarTrek.com, still gives the date of that movie as 2271. [cite web|author|Ayers, Jeff|url=http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/MOV/001/synopsis/81.html|title=Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Synopsis|publisher=startrek.com]

Eugenics Wars and World War III

When the original series of "Star Trek" was produced, the 1990s were in the future, and so various elements of the backstory to Star Trek are set in that era, particularly the Eugenics Wars. The references to the Eugenics Wars and to a nuclear war in the 21st century are somewhat contradictory.

The episode "Space Seed" establishes the Eugenics Wars, and has them last from 1992 to 1996. Spock calls them "your last so-called World War", and McCoy identifies this with the Eugenics Wars. In the episode "Bread and Circuses" Spock gives a death toll for World War III of 37 million. The episode "The Savage Curtain" features a Colonel Green, who led a genocidal war in the 21st century. The "TNG" episode "Encounter at Farpoint" further establishes a "postatomic horror" on Earth in 2079.

The "Star Trek Concordance" identifies the "Bread and Circuses" figure as the death toll for a nuclear World War III, in the mid-21st century. ' firmly establishes World War III ended, after a nuclear exchange, in 2053, but with a body count of 600 million. The figure of Colonel Green is elaborated on in '.

Although the back-story of Star Trek contains numerous minor elements that did not occur in history, the Eugenics Wars marked a substantial deviation. The "Voyager" episode "Future's End" saw the "Voyager" crew time-travel to Los Angeles in 1996, which, as the "Encyclopedia" notes, seems entirely unaffected by the Eugenics Wars, which ended that year. The episode acknowledges the issue only by featuring a model of Khan's DY-100-class ship on a 1996 desk. cite book|title=The Star Trek Encyclopedia|last=Okuda|first=Mike|coauthors=Denise, Okuda with Mirek, Debbie|publisher=Pocket Books|id=ISBN 0-671-53609-5|year=1999] Khan's spaceship is another anomaly for the timeline, which has a variety of long-lost spaceships being launched between 1980 and 2100, with inconsistent levels of technology (caused by the increasing real life time and also decreased optimism about the pace of space exploration).

A reference in the "Deep Space Nine" episode "Doctor Bashir, I Presume?" suggests that the Eugenic Wars instead took place in the 22nd century. According to writer Ronald D. Moore, this was not an attempt at a retcon, but a mistake. [cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/6952/ron5.txt|title=Answers|date=March 3, 1997|author=Ronald D. Moore|accessdate=2006-12-31]

Greg Cox's two-book series "The Eugenics Wars" explains the Eugenics Wars in the context of real-life history by representing it as a secret history, and that the truth behind the various civil wars and conflicts in the 1990s was not generally known.

Cochrane

In the episode "Metamorphosis", it is stated that Zefram Cochrane of Alpha Centauri, the inventor of warp drive, disappeared 150 years ago, at the age of 87. Given Okuda's date of 2267 for that episode, this puts Cochrane's disappearance in 2117 and birth in 2030. 1980s spin-off material such as the "Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology" posit that Cochrane was from Alpha Centauri originally, and that a sub-warp ship the UNSS "Icarus" arrived at Alpha Centauri in 2048 to find he had discovered the theory behind warp drive. The "Icarus" then relayed its findings back to Earth, the first prototype warp ship was launched in 2055. The "Star Trek Chronology" does not hold with this theory, and asserts that Cochrane was an Earth native, who moved to Alpha Centauri later in life. The first edition "Chronology" notes that Cochrane's invention of warp drive must have been at least 200 years before "Where No Man Has Gone Before", and suggests a date of 2061, noting that Cochrane would be 31 that year.

The movie "" prominently features Cochrane's first successful warp flight. The film is set in 2063, two years after the "Chronology" suggestions, and therefore by the timeline Cochrane is 33. The actor who played Cochrane in that movie, James Cromwell, was 56 at the time of the film's release. The "Encyclopedia" notes the age issue, and claims that the Cromwell Cochrane had suffered from radiation poisoning, causing his aged appearance. "Enterprise" pins down Cochrane's disappearance to 2119, making Cochrane instead 31 at the time of "First Contact".

Ordering of episodes

The production order of original series episodes differed greatly from the original broadcast order. The "Chronology" assumes the correct chronological order is production order. Episodes of the original series tend to be largely standalone and rarely make references to other episodes.

For later series, the "Chronology" follows this model, except for obvious exceptions, such as "Symbiosis", an episode shot after Tasha Yar's death in "Skin of Evil" had been filmed, but featuring her. After the debut of "DS9" (and therefore the start of a period where there were two ongoing series of "Star Trek"), the Chronology instead adopts ordering by airdates. The latest edition of the "Chronology" was published in 1996, and thus does not cover Star Trek episodes or films released after then.

Notes