Timeline

This is a complete timeline of all known and trackable significant events within The Last of Us universe.

1636[]

• The town of Lincoln is established in northeast Massachusetts.

1776[]

July[]

July 4[]

• The Declaration of Independence is signed and the United States of America establishes its independence.

1882[]

• The town of Silver Lake is settled in Colorado.

1899[]

• The University of Eastern Colorado is established in Boulder, Colorado.

1964 or 1965[]

• Eugene Linden is born.

1981[]

September[]

September 26[]

• Joel Miller is born.

1982[]

February[]

February 26[]

• Tess Servopoulos is born.

Between 1983 and 1995[]

• Tommy Miller is born.

1999 or early 2000s[]

• Joel graduates high school and marries an unnamed woman.

2000 or 2001[]

• Sarah Miller is born to Joel and an unknown mother.

Early or mid 2000s[]

• Joel's wife leaves him shortly after Sarah's birth, leaving Joel as a single father.

2007[]

• Jerry Anderson graduates with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Northern Utah Medical University.

2007 or 2008[]

• Henry is born.

Late 2000s[]

• Joel and Tommy rent two Harley-Davidson motorcycles on Tommy's birthday and go for a cross-country ride.

2013[]

• A fungus known as the Cordyceps brain infection mutates somewhere among South American crops and infects the first human, soon causing a pandemic throughout the entire continent.
• The infection spreads throughout the rest of North and Central America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
• Signs of change in human behavior due to the infection.
• The first stage of infected become runners.
• A leaked report from the World Health Organization reveals that vaccination tests for Cordyceps have failed, resulting in worldwide panic.
• The Federal Disaster Response Agency seizes power in the United States, deposing the pre-outbreak American government and establishing a military dictatorship.

September[]

• The infection spreads into the United States.
• The infection arrives in Austin, Texas.

September 26[]

• Joel's 32nd birthday. Sarah stays up late to give him a new watch.

September 27[]

• The Cordyceps outbreak in Austin occurs in the early hours of the morning.
• Sarah is shot and killed by a FEDRA soldier during their attempts to quarantine Austin, while Joel and Tommy manage to escape.

October 4[]

• Schools are closed in Lincoln, Massachusetts.

October 14[]

• The Secretary of Defense issues a directive pursuant to the provisions of Section 21 of the Internal Security Act of 1950, restricting access to many areas and placing them under military control.

October 17[]

• FEDRA begins to round up citizens from Lincoln into a quarantine zone, having changed the original evacuation date from October 24.

Late 2013[]

• The infection arrives in Lincoln, infecting those who did not leave the town.
• FEDRA begins establishing the first quarantine zones.
• The infection arrives in Boston, Massachusetts.
  • Boston is quarantined.
• The infection arrives in Hartford, Connecticut.
  • Hartford is quarantined.

2013 or 2014[]

• The first sign of infection arrives at the University of Eastern Colorado.
• The infection arrives in Denver, Colorado.
  • Denver is quarantined.
    • The Colorado Mountain Plaza is occupied by FEDRA and turned into an evacuation site but is later abandoned.
• The infection arrives in Salt Lake City, Utah.
  • Salt Lake City is quarantined.
  • FEDRA sets up a triage site in the Salt Lake City QZ, which is later abandoned along with the zone.
• The infection arrives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  • Pittsburgh is quarantined.
• In Seattle, Washington, a woman becomes the leader of a group of survivors in the lower Queen Anne suburb, who later become a cult known as the Seraphites.
• Los Angeles, California is placed under martial law.
• Several quarantine zones begin to suffer rioting and food shortages.
• Marlene founds a militia group called the Fireflies.
  • Quarantine zone authorities begin to clash with the Fireflies.
• The initial group of first-stage infected begin to to mutate into stage two: stalkers.

2014[]

March[]

• Military forces discover the Seraphite community. They decline to become residents of the Seattle QZ, and their survival is reported as a miracle by the news.

April[]

• The survivors at the University of Eastern Colorado begin waiting for rescue.^[1]

December[]

• The last known publicly-produced radio broadcast occurs.^[1]

2015[]

• The World Health Organization publish a report which estimates that Cordyceps has either killed or infected at least 60% of the world's population.

January[]

January 18[]

• The survivors at the University of Eastern Colorado find the last known food on campus.

Late February or early March[]

• The U.S. military recalls their search efforts from all regions not located within 10 miles of established quarantine zones. The U.S. Attorney General made this clear in a letter.

2016 or 2017[]

• Riley Abel is born.

Between 2014 and 2018[]

• Abby Anderson is born.^[2]

2019[]

• Ellie Williams is born to an unknown father and Anna.
• Anna dies, possibly from CBI. Her daughter, Ellie, is initially cared for by Anna's friend Marlene, and later delivered by Marlene into FEDRA custody in the Boston QZ.

2019 or 2020[]

• Sam is born.

Late 2019 or early 2020[]

• The initial group of second-stage infected begin to to mutate into stage three: clickers.

2021 or 2022[]

• Yara is born.

Likely between 2018 and 2023[]

• The Jackson County Hydro Dam Reservoir is occupied by FEDRA, but is later abandoned.
• The regular United States military is completely absorbed by FEDRA. Military vehicles, such as tanks that belonged to the United States Marine Corps, are repainted with FEDRA markings.
• The Washington Liberation Front is founded.
• Rations begin to run low in Pittsburgh.
• Three teenagers in Pittsburgh kill a small family. They are put on public trial, but are found not guilty, and are told to help with gathering supplies.
• The remaining civilians in Pittsburgh join the hunters. Those who opposed verbally were shot dead by the acting leader of the hunters.
• The initial group of third-stage infected begin to to mutate into stage four: bloaters.

Unknown year, before August 29[]

• The Fireflies set up a base at the University of Eastern Colorado and send supplies there from other bases for seven months.

Unknown year, September 14[]

• The UEC Fireflies receive five recruits from Chicago.

Unknown year, December 20[]

• The UEC Fireflies receive three recruits and a Biologist from San Francisco.

Unknown year, February 22[]

• The UEC Fireflies receive 10 crates of supplies from the Salt Lake City Hospital.

Sometime after SLC shipment[]

• A scientist with the UEC Fireflies is bitten by an infected lab monkey.^[3]
• The remaining UEC Fireflies evacuate to Salt Lake City.

2024 or 2025[]

• Lev is born.

Unknown dates between 2013 and 2033[]

• Joel becomes a hunter, causing a rift between him and his brother Tommy.
• Bill and/or Frank set traps in Lincoln.
• Having had enough of Joel's methods of survival, Tommy joins the Fireflies, but eventually leaves the group.
• Maria and her father establish a settlement in the town of Jackson, Wyoming, and grow it into a thriving community.
• Tommy moves to Jackson, meets, falls in love with, and marries Maria.
• A group of survivors, including David, gather together in the town of Silver Lake, Colorado. The group turns to cannibalism to feed themselves.
• Joel obtains residency in the Boston QZ, meets Tess, and becomes a smuggler.
• Joel, Tess, and Bill smuggle supplies between Boston and Lincoln.

2033[]

• Tess buys guns from a man named Robert, which are later bought by Marlene.

Summer[]

• FEDRA begins a crackdown on Fireflies in the Boston QZ.
• The Hartford QZ has been falling apart, experiencing widespread riots. Notably, an entire squad of FEDRA soldiers was lynched in the street as an act of "retribution", with word later reaching Boston. Several FEDRA soldiers in Boston suspect that the Fireflies are sowing dissent among Hartford's populace.

Late June[]

• Refugees from Hartford begin to try to sneak into the Boston QZ via Liberty Gardens, often while infected. Sergeant Winston Asher informed Major Banks about the situation for several weeks, but ultimately nothing was done about it.
• Sergeant Winston Asher suffers a fatal heart attack while patrolling on horseback.

Mid-July[]

• The Boston QZ runs low on supplies, resulting in multiple half-ration weeks.
• Ellie and Riley Abel explore Liberty Gardens. They are attacked by infected and bitten.
• The Fireflies discover that Ellie is immune and try to smuggle her out of Boston.

Unknown day(s)[]

• Waters and his squad deploy to downtown Boston via helicopter, and are attacked and killed by infected within six hours.

Early August[]

• Mark is beaten and detained by soldiers in Boston after being caught using fake ration cards.
• Maryanne is arrested for Firefly affiliation.

August 2[]

• Bill smuggles his latest supply shipment into Boston, though it is somewhat lackluster. Tess makes a note to Joel that they need to deliver the pills from this shipment to Donovan in the West End District as soon as possible.

August 3[]

• Tess and Joel find and kill Robert, encounter Marlene, and agree to help her in order to get weapons.
• Warren and two other Fireflies are captured and summarily executed by FEDRA.
• Joel, Tess, and Marlene reach a safe house, where the two agree to smuggle Ellie out of Boston.
• Joel, Tess and Ellie sneak out of the quarantine zone that evening.

August 4[]

• At the Capitol building, the Firefly team waiting to escort Ellie has been wiped out.
• Tess, recently infected, implores Joel to take Ellie west to the Fireflies. She stays behind to give them a head start, and is killed in a gunfight with FEDRA soldiers.
• Joel and Ellie head to Lincoln in hopes of acquiring a vehicle from Bill.

Pittsburgh[]

• Joel and Ellie reach Pittsburgh and are ambushed by hunters, wrecking their truck in the process.
• Joel and Ellie encounter Henry and Sam, and team up to sneak out of the city after nightfall.
• The group are attacked by infected in the suburbs outside of the city. Sam is bitten, and Henry is forced to shoot him. Distraught, he then turns the gun on himself.

Autumn[]

• Joel and Ellie reach Jackson County, Wyoming, near the town of Jackson.
  • Joel is able to reunite with Tommy, who welcomes him with open arms, along with meeting his wife Maria.
  • After surviving a bandit attack on the Jackson County Power Plant, Ellie runs away, but Joel and Tommy eventually find her.
  • When Joel changes his mind over Ellie's custody, Tommy advises the pair to go to the University of Eastern Colorado. The pair are given a horse that Ellie later names Callus.
• Joel and Ellie reach the university.
  • They discover the Fireflies have relocated their main base to Salt Lake City.
  • Scavengers arrive at the university from Silver Lake to search for supplies. They attack Joel and Ellie on sight.
  • Joel is severely wounded after being impaled on a piece of rebar, and narrowly manages to escape with Ellie and Callus.
• Survivors from Silver Lake track Callus's horse tracks to the Colorado Mountain Plaza, and begin to hunt the pair. Encountering Ellie and several clickers in the old mall, the group are all killed.
• Ellie finds a first-aid kit, and treats Joel's wound.

Winter[]

• Despite stitching up his wound, Ellie discovers Joel has contracted sepsis.
• The pair take refuge in a lakeside resort, living off the wildlife.

Late 2033 or early 2034[]

• While Joel recovers from his injuries, Ellie encounters David and James, survivors from Silver Lake. She manages to trade meat for some penicillin for Joel, using it to cure his infection.
• David and his group find Ellie the next day and capture her, though she prevents them from discovering Joel.
• Joel, having recovered from his illness and injuries, captures and tortures two of David's men to learn Ellie's location, and sets off for the town.
• On the verge of being killed for food, Ellie manages to escape into the town, killing David and James in the process.
• Joel finds Ellie, pulling her away from David's corpse and the two escape the town.

2034[]

March[]

Early March[]

• Two Fireflies, Greg and Tania die.

March 15[]

• Marlene's group reaches Utah.

March 23[]

• Marlene's group reaches Salt Lake City.
  • She begins making a journal to recount how her men seem in better spirits after being reunited with their comrades and her dismay at learning that Ellie's escort was killed.

April[]

April 28[]

• Joel and Ellie reach Salt Lake City.
  • They encounter giraffes that serves to heighten the pair's spirits, Joel briefly considers going back to Tommy's, but Ellie is adamant on finishing the mission.
  • Ellie gifts Joel a picture of him and Sarah, Joel finally coming to terms with her death.
  • While traversing through the sewers to reach the hospital, the pair are caught in a flood. While Joel manages to rescue her, she is unconscious.
  • While giving Ellie CPR, Joel is knocked unconscious by a Firefly.
  • Dr. Jerry Anderson runs some tests on the unconscious Ellie and determines that she will die if they perform the operation necessary to create a cure. Though conflicted, he convinces Marlene of the necessity of the procedure. After Marlene agrees and goes to tell Joel, Dr. Anderson is comforted by his daughter; Abby, who tells him she'd want him to operate if it was her instead of Ellie.
• Joel awakes to find himself in the hospital with Marlene. On learning that Ellie needs to die to obtain the cure, he kills Ethan and many other Fireflies on his way to the operating room.
  • In the operating room Dr. Anderson threatens Joel with a scalpel and tries to reason with him - but Joel kills him and proceeds to rescue Ellie.
  • He rescues Ellie but is cornered by Marlene. Refusing to lose Ellie, he kills her and flees in a car.
  • When Ellie regains consciousness, he lies to her that Fireflies gave up their quest for a cure.
• Later the same day, Abby discovers her father has been murdered by Joel and is devastated.

Mid 2034[]

• Joel and Ellie return to Jackson.
  • Ellie confesses her survivor's guilt to Joel. Joel tries to console her, but her doubts over the Fireflies' downfall makes her question his honesty.
• Joel and Ellie begin to settle into Tommy's community. Having promised to teach her to play the guitar, Joel obtains one while out with Tommy. Joel confesses what happened at the Firefly Hospital to Tommy, who is shaken by the revelation but agrees to take his secret to the grave if he must. They return to Jackson and Joel sings Ellie a song.
• With all hopes of finding a cure to CBI lost after Jerry Anderson and Marlene's deaths, the remaining Fireflies officially vote to disband their organization.
  • They abandon St. Mary's Hospital soon after.
  • Abby and her group decide to head towards Seattle, Washington to join the Washington Liberation Front.

2035[]

• Ellie and Joel spend Ellie's birthday at the Wyoming Museum of Science and History looking at dinosaurs and hanging out in a space capsule.
• Abby and Owen, now members of the Washington Liberation Front in Seattle, Washington, explore the city's waterfront aquarium. She expresses her disappointment in all of her leads to Joel being dried up.

2036[]

• Ellie has suspicions that Joel isn't telling the truth about the Fireflies, but Joel won't admit it.
• Ellie returns to Salt Lake City and works out what happened. Joel catches up to her and she confronts him directly. He admits what he did, Ellie tells him "we're done", and no longer speaks to him.

2037[]

December[]

• Abby reveals to Owen that she has tracked down Tommy through ex-Fireflies who served with him. They plan on leaving a week later, along with six more of their WLF crew, all former Fireflies.

2038[]

February[]

• Abby and her group reach Wyoming and begin staying at the abandoned Baldwin mansion.

March[]

March 1[]

• Dina kisses Ellie at the town's winter dance, leading to an altercation between Joel and Seth after the latter is homophobic to the two women.
• Ellie drops by Joel's house and admits that she wants to try to forgive him. They agree and begin to repair their relationship.
• Maria's lookout patrol spots a horde of infected at the ski lodge.

March 2[]

• In the early hours of the morning Maria sends Joel and Tommy to scope the place out.
• Ellie, Dina, and Jesse go on patrol around Jackson, with Jesse's group set to replace Joel and Tommy at the ski lodge.
• Abby and Owen locate the Jackson settlement. Owen reveals their crew will not attack such a fortified area. Abby leaves Owen to find Joel alone.
• Dina and Ellie get caught in a snowstorm and take shelter in Eugene Linden's hideout.
• Abby is pursued by a horde, but Joel and Tommy save her at the lodge. Overwhelmed, the trio flee to the Baldwin mansion.
• Jesse finds Dina and Ellie and reveals Joel and Tommy did not rendezvous.
• At the Baldwin mansion, Abby has Tommy knocked out and then tortures and kills Joel just as Ellie breaches the room.

Early March[]

• Joel's funeral occurs.
• Tommy leaves Jackson to pursue Abby and her group.
• Ellie and Dina go to Seattle after Tommy to look for the Washington Liberation Front.

Unknown day 1[]

• In Seattle, Abby and Manny awake at dawn to enact patrol duty with Mel. They reach the forward operating base where their leader Isaac orders Abby lead the first attack on the Seraphites' island. Abby refuses and flees the base to find Owen, whom Isaac deems a traitor to the WLF.
• At some point during the day, Tommy arrives in Seattle and finds and tortures Nick at the Serevena Hotel for information on Abby's whereabouts. He then kills him and flees on horseback from another WLF patrol.
• Later in the day, Ellie and Dina arrive in Seattle. Ellie finds and kills Jordan at the elementary school and uses new information to locate Leah at the TV station. They find her corpse and search it for more information on Abby before fleeing from a WLF platoon. A while later, they take refuge for the night in the Pinnacle Theater.
• At night time, Abby is captured by a Seraphite patrol in the forest but is saved by Lev and Yara. While grateful, she leaves them at a trailer and presses on to the aquarium. There she finds Owen, who convinces her to abandon the WLF and go searching for Fireflies living in Santa Barbara.

Unknown day 2[]

• At dawn Abby returns to Lev and Yara. She carries Yara back to the aquarium, where Mel now is with Owen. Yara's injured arm means Mel must ampulate it, tasking Abby and Lev to collect the necessary supplies from the Lakehill Seatlle Hospital.
• Later that morning, Ellie learns from a radio broadcast that a trespasser is in the suburb of Hillcrest. Thinking it Tommy, she leaves Dina at the theater to check. However, it is actually Jesse. The pair fight their way back to the theater.
• Following another lead heard through the radio, by evening Ellie goes to the Lakehill Seattle Hospital hoping to find Nora.
• At the hospital Abby is recognized as being AWOL and is detained by fellow WLF members. Nora then secretly frees her and directs her to the lower hospital floors, where the medical equipment is.
• Soon after, Ellie arrives and confronts Nora. Ellie tortures and kills her in the basement. At the same time, Abby collects the medical supplies and kills a Rat king before reuniting with Lev. Tremulous, Ellie returns to Dina and Jesse at the theater by night with Abby's hideout location, the aquarium. Abby and Lev return to the aquarium, where Mel successfully operates on Yara.

Unknown day 3[]

• Owen invites Lev and Yara to go to Santa Barbara with them, but Lev returns to the Seraphite island to be with his mother. Abby and Yara go after him.
• Ellie and Jesse set out to the aquarium hoping to find anything on Tommy and Abby.
• Isaac orders Manny head to the marina to secure boats from the planned invasion.
• Tommy reaches the marina and attacks Manny's team. He kills them all, except Manny, who has a runner radio for help.
• Jesse and Ellie overhear the call out from the marina from a WLF team. Jesse leaves Ellie to head there, suspecting Tommy needs help.
• At the marina, Abby arrives and assists Manny in advancing on Tommy's position. Both make their way to him, but Manny is shot and killed. Abby, with Yara's help, overpowers Tommy and throws him into the sea.
• At some point, Jesse finds Tommy and helps him out from the water. Tommy loses his hunting rifle in the process.
• Isaac launches the WLF invasion on the Seraphites' island.
• Abby and Yara reach the Seraphite island and rescue Lev. On the way, they are met by Isaac's squad. In the following skirmish, Yara and Isaac are killed, but Abby and Lev successfully escape the island.
• As Abby and Lev return on a boat, Ellie reaches the aquarium and kills Owen and Mel. Tommy and Jesse then arrive and take Ellie back to Dina at the theater.
• Abby and Lev arrive in the aquarium and see their friends' corpses. Finding a map Ellie left behind, they travel to the theater.
• They enter the theater through it's side window into the radio room, where Abby understands that Tommy was tracking them. Through the radio, confirmation of Isaac's death and the WLF's retreat from the island is heard.
• Downstairs, Abby confronts Tommy, Jesse and Ellie. In the ensuing fight, Jesse is killed, Tommy is wounded, and Ellie and Dina are beaten to near death. After Lev's intervention, Abby decides to spare them.

Late 2038[]

• JJ is born.

2039[]

• Tommy comes to Dina and Ellie's farm in an effort to convince Ellie to track and kill Abby again.
• The next morning, Ellie leaves to pursue Abby.
• Dina takes JJ and abandons the farm.
• Abby and Lev are captured by the Rattlers in Santa Barbara, California.
• Two months later, Ellie reaches Santa Barbara, infiltrates the Rattler base and frees the prisoners.
• She finds Abby and Lev on the beach, frees them and then fights Abby in the nearby water. She gains the upper hand, but has a moral epiphany regarding Joel and decides to spare Abby.
• Abby and Lev continue their search for the Fireflies on Catalina Island.

2039 or 2040[]

• Ellie returns to the farm but finds it deserted. She finds the guitar Joel had given her in her upstairs art studio, and after playing it briefly and being reminded of Joel, she leaves the farm.

References[]