Rapture Timeline

This is a chronological timeline of events related to the history of Rapture, based on information revealed in the BioShock game series, There's Something in the Sea, and BioShock: Rapture. Please note that when specific months and days are not given, they are only known to occur within the specified month or year.
==1906==
;September 3
*Orrin Oscar Lutwidge is born.Documents about RØd Killian Quain from Tollevue Mental Hospital
==1917==
;Undefined Date
*Pearl Philips is born.Pearl Porter's Headstone
==1919==
;Undefined Date
*Andrew Ryan, as a child, flees Russia in the wake of revolution; arrives in the United States of America.Andrew Ryan's Speech in BioShock Public Address announcements
== 1922 ==
Undefined date
* Mark Meltzer is born.Documents about Mark Meltzer from Tollevue Mental Hospital
==1923==
;May 17
*James Millard Oakes is born.James Millard Oakes' United States Navy identification card
==1936==
;June 15
*Charles Milton Porter graduates from Lincoln University with a Master of Mathematics degree.Charles Milton Porter's Lincoln University Degree
==1937==
;Undefined Date
*Sander Cohen meets Martin Finnegan and discovers his talents, in Marseille, France.Radio Message in Fort Frolic
== 1938 ==
December 17
* Jerry Lynchman is arrested at Miami, Florida, using the name "Jeremiah James".Jeremiah Lynch's criminal file
==1939==
;May 14
* Jerry Lynchman is arrested at Orlando, Florida, using the name "Ian Lynch".
;June 17
*Pearl Philips and Charles Milton Porter are married.The Porters' Wedding Invitation
;August 26
*After accepting a job opening from Alan Turing, Charles Milton Porter and his wife Pearl take the Apollo Airways Flight DF-0113 from Philadelphia to London, to begin working with him for the Allies.
;September 1
*Beginning of World War II.
==1940==
;February 10
* Jerry Lynchman is arrested at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, using the name "Mick Lynchman".
;September 7
*Beginning of the Blitz on London. Pearl Porter is killed by the first bombing.Charles Milton Porter's Audio Diary: Nothing But Ashes
==1943==
==1945==
Undefined date
* Sullivan gives Andrew Ryan two reports, including one about the bombing of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities.
;August 6
*The United States drops an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Sofia Lamb survives the bombing but loses all her friends in the explosion.
;August 9
*A second atomic bomb is dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki.
;August 21
*Andrew Ryan announces the plans for the construction of Rapture. He discusses the manner in which the city will be built and how they will keep the building materials hidden from the government.Andrew Ryan's Audio Diary: Building the Impossible!
;September 2
*End of World War II.
==1946==
;Undefined Date
* Bill McDonagh goes to Andrew Ryan, at his Park Avenue home, to install his bathroom. Andrew Ryan notices Bill, who uses brass. The day after McDonagh becomes Ryan's new general contractor.
* Frank Gorland becomes the owner of the bar "The Clanger", in New York City.
*Work begins on the construction of Rapture.Twitter post from Ken Levine
*Frank Gorland kills Frank Fontaine, takes his identity and becomes the owner of Fontaine Fisheries.
*Brigid Tenenbaum disappears."Among the Missing:The Tenenbaum Mystery", article by Ulrich Broder
;November 5
*Rapture's infrastructure is built up enough to become habitable for a large population. The city opens to an influx of citizens.Monument of Rapture's founding in Welcome to Rapture, "RAPTURE Nov 5 1946 ONE MAN'S VISION MANKIND'S SALVATION"
;December
*Yi Suchong is noted missing in Chinese paper.Chinese article mentioning Suchong's disappearance
==1947==
;Undefined Date
*Dr. J.S. Steinman disappears.Newspaper article clipping, "NYC Professor Pursues Missing Person.
;February
*A number of Australians, including Kyburz, disappear from Turtle Bay.Newspaper article clipping, "The Secret of Turtle Bay"
==1948==
;Undefined Date
*Rapture Grown Coca is established.BioShock: Rapture, Chapter 7
*The pay-phone is installed in Rapture.Date on Pay-phone
*Wissmuller Beer is established.Date on Wissmuller Beer's logo
*Frank Fontaine arrives in Rapture.Radio message: "A Big Investment"
*Julie Langford disappears from the surface.Article from Phase Two Day 18 of There's Something in the Sea, "Noted Botanist Still Missing" newspaper clipping article is dated January 7, 1949 but it is implied that Langford has been missing for at least several weeks 
*The Farmer's Market is established.Date on the Farmer's Market marquee
;June 16
*Fontaine Futuristics designs an advertisement for a Teleportation Plasmid.Unfinished advertisements for a Teleportation Plasmid (Date on the picture may have been a mistake because it's too early for ADAM)
==1949==
;Undefined Date
* Sophie McDonagh, daughter of Bill and Elaine McDonagh is born.BioShock: Rapture, Chapter 7
* Fontaine Fisheries is established.
* A Le Marquis D'Epoque shop is established at Fort Frolic.BioShock: Rapture, Chapter 7
*Fort Frolic is inaugured.BioShock: Rapture, Chapter 7
*Lotz & Sons is established.Date on Lotz & Sons' logo
*Hop-Up! is established.Hop-Up cola Advertisement
*Zachary Hale Comstock arrives in Rapture and returns to using his birth name of Booker DeWitt.Based on Burial at Sea - Episode 1's ending and the following exchange in the elevator to the The Pavilion:Elizabeth: "When did you come to Rapture?"(Zachary Hale Comstock as) Booker DeWitt: "Oh, it was… jeez… I guess around '51. No… '48?"Elizabeth: "That's a rather large gap."Booker DeWitt: "Time… Life I had before… sort of becomes a blur. '49, '49 for sure."[Booker's nose start to bleed]Booker DeWitt: "Damn."Elizabeth: "You look a mess, Mr. DeWitt."Booker DeWitt: "Just keep your eyes open for Splicers. They can do us a whole lot worse."
==1950==
;Undefined Date
* Sofia Lamb arrives in Rapture.
* Dr. Lamb subjects Mr. Glidden to therapy.
*Mr. Gravenstein commits suicide after killing Gordon Ship, in Little Eden Plaza.BioShock: Rapture, Chapter 8
*Dr. Lamb subjects Margie to therapy.
==1951==
;Undefined Date
* (Presumably) Rapture is finished. Andrew Ryan cuts off contact with the surface.Orrin Oscar Lutwidge's letter to Andrew Ryan
*Zimmermann Chardonnay is established.
==1952==
==1953==
;Undefined date
*Dr. Steinman submits Sylvia Pleasance to surgery.BioShock: Rapture, Chapter 9
;March
* Chief Sullivan is attacked by a smuggler Mickael Lasko, at Neptune's Bounty, lower wharf, but constable Ivan Karlosky kills him and saves his life.
==1954==
;Undefined Date
* Persephone Penal Colony is in operation, founded by Augustus Sinclair.BioShock: Rapture, Chapter 12
==1955==
;Undefined Date
* Rupert Mudge kills his wife Sally, at their Sinclair Deluxe apartment.
* Hephaestus is sabotaged, as a warning from the followers of Sofia Lamb.BioShock: Rapture, Chapter 11
* Toby Griggs kills Harold Babcock and his wife in Artemis Suites.
* Fontaine's Home for the Poor is established.
* Ruben Greavy dies in Apollo Square, due to a telekinetic Splicer.
* Sofia Lamb is incarcerated in Persephone.
*Reports of a "Phantom Lighthouse" precedes the discovery of six capsized Icelandic fishing vessels.
;October 22
*The Russian KGB publishes an internal report about various missing person cases and suspected defection to western democracies.Document from Phase Two of There's Something in the Sea
==1956==
;Undefined Date
* Head constable Harker, Ivan Karlosky, Patrick Cavendish, Chief Sullivan, fight a Houdini Splicer at Rapture Detention who kills Harker.BioShock: Rapture, Chapter 13
* Andrew Ryan organizes a meeting between members of the Rapture Central Council, in which Anna Culpepper, Bill McDonagh, Sullivan, Anton Kinkaide and Rizzo are present.
* Jack is "born" in a lab under the supervision of Tenenbaum and Suchong.Radio Message: "Ain't strictly business"
*Jet-Postal's Pneumo system is activated in Rapture, on the 10th anniversary of Rapture's founding.Plaque in the Administrative Offices of the Therapy Wing in Inner Persephone
;July 12
*A successful mind control test on Jack is recorded by Suchong.
==1957==
;Undefined Date
*Celeste Roget travels to the Himalayas to find her father.
*After discovering the city of Rapture by accident, a deep-sea explorer is nicknamed 'Johnny Topside' by the city's populace and becomes something of a celebrity.Stanley Poole Radio Message about "Johnny Topside" in BioShock 2 Radio Messages: Dionysus Park
;January 22
*Frank Fontaine installs the first Power to the People machine in Rapture.BioShock Loading Screen Quotes
==1958==
;Early September
*Frank Fontaine passes out Plasmids, some of which are still experimental, to some of his followers and employees in preparation for the conflict soon to come.Ray Lardner's Audio Diary: A Gift from Fontaine
;September 9
*One of Fontaine's loyal men, Ray Lardner, starts to suffer from the heavy side-effects of the Old Man Winter Plasmid given to him by his boss.
;September 10
*Fontaine cancels the production of drinkable Plasmids developed by Suchong in favor of injectible versions, due to the drinkable's high cost in ADAM when Fontaine Futuristics was unable to effectively produce sufficient quantities of ADAM.Frank Fontaine's Audio Diary: Product Recall (note that the date was inverted with that of You Stupid Bastard)
;September 12
*On the success of Sullivan's investigations of Rapture's smuggling ring, and following Ryan's orders, Fontaine is ordered arrested and his criminal operation shut down. Fontaine resists, resulting in a major firefight at Fontaine's front business Fontaine Fisheries. A full assault is launched by Ryan Security, and Frank Fontaine fakes his own death in the mayhem that ensued.
;Undefined date
*A revolutionary named Atlas begins protesting and rallying supporters against Ryan's philosophy in running Rapture.
*Ryan is given false evidence that Charles Milton Porter swore loyalty to Fontaine and has him incarcerated in Persephone. Control of Rapture Central Computing, The Thinker and so Minerva's Den are handed over to his colleague Reed Wahl.
*Brigid Tenenbaum goes into hiding (eventually residing under the streets of Olympus Heights) and starts to rescue Little Sisters. Ryan Industries publicly dismisses her disappearance.
*Control of the Silver Fin Restaurant is handed over to Suchong by Ryan when the owner reports the Tear that had appeared there.
*Big Daddies are commissioned by Andrew Ryan to protect Little Sisters in Rapture during the mounting civil unrest.
*The bonding process for Protectors and Gatherers was still a work in progress. Whereas Dr. Yi Suchong had difficulties with adapting the Protector Bond for all Big Daddies and Little Sisters to accept it, Gilbert Alexander creates the Alpha Series to use the Pair Bond as a more permanent solution.
*Atlas and some of his closest followers are sent to Fontaine's by Ryan to prevent them from causing further trouble.
*Sofia Lamb takes control over Persephone from Sinclair.
*The Incinerate! and Telekinesis Plasmids are released to the public.
*Sally is declared dead by Sullivan.
;October 8
*Elizabeth first arrives in Rapture in search of Zachary Hale Comstock through a Tear opened in the Silver Fin Restaurant at Fontaine's Department Store.Upon entering Cupid's Arrow: "I was here as well… Right after I came through, I needed… I needed something to wear that was a little more Rapture-appropriate"Carol Lynn's Audio Diary: The Blue Dress
;October (Undefined date)
*Tears start appearing throughout Rapture. Suchong becomes aware of the phenomena and sends investigators to study them.
*Suchong becomes aware that Jeremiah Fink of Columbia has been stealing his research on Plasmids and had developed a drinkable formula by the introduction of an 'oxidizing agent'.Yi Suchong's Audio Diary: Observation #33
*Suchong recreates Fink's drinkable Plasmids and starts selling them through Ryan Industries.
*The Kashmir Restaurant hosts its yearly gala, with an unknown purpose.Herschel Weiss' Audio Diary: False Advertising
;December 2
*Some of Fontaine's former employees and the remainder of his army are sent to Fontaine's Department Store after it is converted into a prison and is separated from the city,Moses Lydecker's Audio Diary: Left Behind by the orders of the Rapture Central Council.The department stores gated entrance.
;December 23
*Sander Cohen brings down Sally to the department store.Sander Cohen's Audio Diary: Critics
;December 25
*The Manta Ray Lounge, where supplies were stored for the prisoners under Atlas' command, is overrun by Splicers.Johnny Demarco's Audio Diary: C'est La Vie
;December 31
*The events of Burial at Sea begin.
**Sander Cohen hosts The Business of Rapture is Business at his private club.
**Zachary Hale Comstock and Elizabeth are killed by a Bouncer in the Toy Department. However Elizabeth remained in existence because of her quantum-superposition and leaves Rapture for "Paris."
**Elizabeth returns to the Toy Department to save Sally from Atlas, and by returning, her quantum state collapses, losing her Tear manipulating abilities, trapping her in Rapture.
**Ryan Security is sent to Fontaine's Department Store for Operation Deep Dive: To find and eliminate Atlas and Elizabeth.
**Atlas and his followers escape Fontaine's Department Store.
*The Masquerade party is thrown; the Kashmir Restaurant is attacked during the 1958 New Year's Eve Riots, and the Rapture Civil War begins.
*Rizzo dies during the New Year's Eve Riots.BioShock: Rapture, Chapter 17
*The events of BioShock 2 Multiplayer begin.
*During the riots, the power to Ryan Amusements is cut off, trapping everyone inside, including Carlson Fiddle,Carlson Fiddle's Audio Diary: Escape Plan and Nina Carnegie with an entire third-grade class.Nina Carnegie's Audio Diaries: Volunteer, You, Me, and 1959 and Deterioration
*Subject Delta is forced to shoot himself by Sofia Lamb while under the influence of a Hypnotize Plasmid.
==1959==
*The Rapture Civil War takes place. Rapture goes from a working society to a warzone, as Ryan and Atlas fight for control. Both sides actively splice, and many citizens splicing for their own self-defense become unstable. The people who survive and keep their sanity stay barricaded in small holdouts within the city. During this time, Sofia Lamb builds up more followers, who escape from the bloodshed, in Persephone.
;January 14
*Yi Suchong is killed in his Free Clinic by a Bouncer while working on the Protection Bond.2K Confirmed Elizabeth's death date on Twitter, which is the same day Suchong died and Fin De Siècle Boutiques was bombed, as seen in Burial at Sea.
*A powerful bomb is detonated in Fin De Siècle Boutiques, destroying an entire level of the building.
*Elizabeth is murdered by Atlas after giving him the "Ace in the hole" and the events of Burial at Sea ends.
;January (Undefined date)
*Terrified citizens pull all of their money out of the banks causing an economic collapse.Grace Holloway's Audio Diary: Closing the Limbo Room
*Gil Alexander discovers that the Pair Bond is too unstable, and decommissions the bond and Alpha Series.
*Maintenance Big Daddies are chosen to be programmed as new protectors.
*The last recording by Nina Carnegie is made, still trapped in Ryan Amusements with the children.
*The Vita-Chamber project is fast-tracked and the devices are installed throughout the city.
;Undefined Date
*The Hypnotize Big Daddy Plasmid is released to the public.
*The Limbo Room is forced to close, making Grace Holloway unemployed.
*The Atlantic Express is bought by Austin Bathysphere Co.
*Siren Alley becomes the city's red light district when its residents suffer from the economic collapse.
*Apollo Square is turned into a containment camp for the growing number of citizens against Ryan.
*Ryan puts all Bathyspheres into genetic lock-down, with only authorized personnel (and close genetic matches to them) able to use them.
==Undefined Date (1959-1960)==
The following events take place during the Civil War in Rapture, however, it is unknown exactly which year of the war they occurred in as the exact date of Jack's arrival in 1960 is never given.
*After a number of lock-downs, Arcadia closes permanently due to incidents caused by the Saturnine cultists.
*Sullivan murders Anna Culpepper, on Andrew Ryan's orders.
*Sullivan, in remorse for his deeds, commits suicide at Neptune's Bounty.
*Andrew Ryan discovers Fontaine's involvement with Jasmine Jolene.
*Jasmine Jolene is murdered by Andrew Ryan.
*Fort Frolic is closed to the public by Sander Cohen.
*Minerva's Den is sealed off from the rest of Rapture by Reed Wahl.
*Dionysus Park is flooded in what is deemed by the newspapers as a 'cult-related' incident.
*Elite models of the Rosie and Bouncer are created to help fight the greater threat to Gatherers.
*A new model of protector, the Lancer, is created but is never released due to Minerva's Den's being sealed off.
*Samuel & Mariska Lutz commit suicide.
*Diane McClintock is killed by Atlas after discovering his true identity.
*Bill McDonagh is executed after a failed attempt to assassinate Andrew Ryan.
*Anya Andersdotter is executed after a failed attempt to assassinate Andrew Ryan.
*A large fire breaks out in a football stadium, cancelling the game between The Stingers and The Sea Bulls.
*All publications cease distribution due to Security Order 217.
==1960==
;Undefined Date
*Transatlantic Apollo Air Flight DF-0301 (Jack's flight) run by Apollo Air vanishes with six crew persons and eighty-nine passengers; international search efforts fail. U.S. and NATO vessels are sent out to sweep the area.
*The events of BioShock 2 Multiplayer ends.
*The events of BioShock occur.
**Dr. Steinman and Peach Wilkins are killed by Jack.
**Julie Langford is killed by Ryan for sharing information about the Lazarus Vector.
**Andrew Ryan forces Jack to kill him after revealing his identity.
**Atlas reveals himself as being Frank Fontaine after gaining control of Rapture.
**Fontaine is killed by Jack who is then offered control over the city.
*Persistent rumors claim that a nuclear submarine sank while searching for Flight DF-0301.
*Elizabeth brings Booker DeWitt and Songbird to Rapture.
==1961==
==1963==
;November
*An Icelandic sea vessel spots a volcanic island forming, later named "Surtsey".Page 62 of The Frozen Triangle
==1966==
==1967==
;Undefined Date
*Sofia Lamb restarts the Gatherer Program to gain ADAM for her plans. Since the Little Sisters left in Rapture have all become too old to gather effectively, young girls are kidnapped from the surface to become new Gatherers.
==1968==
;Undefined Date
*Brigid Tenenbaum returns to Rapture to investigate the disappearance of young girls who lived near the sea.
*Mark Meltzer enters Rapture.
*The events of BioShock 2 and Minerva's Den occur.
**A large window in Demeter's Banquet Hall is shattered by a Big Sister, flooding the restaurant and part of the Adonis Luxury Resort.
**Siren Alley is flooded when Sofia Lamb overloads the pumps in Pumping Station 5.
**Dionysus Park is drained of seawater by Subject Delta after 10 years of being flooded.
**Persephone is sunk down into an ocean trench by Lamb's followers, dragging the Fontaine Futuristics Headquarters with it.
**A 'Lifeboat', containing Subject Delta, Eleanor and Sofia Lamb, rises to the surface.
**Tenenbaum returns with Charles Milton Porter to the surface with a copy of The Thinker's codes in order to synthesize a cure to splicing.
**Porter is reverted back to normal by Tenenbaum and visits his wife's grave for a final goodbye.
==1980s==
*The American channel PHE broadcast a two-part episode of the TV documentary Fact From Myth narrated by Miles Bloom, which covers some of the mysteries surrounding Rapture, presented as a "modern-day Atlantis."
==See Also==
*Rapture Storyline
*There's Something in the Sea
*Columbia Timeline
==Behind the Scenes==
*It must be noted that there is conflicting information on the timeline for some events between BioShock, BioShock 2 and the Burial at Sea DLC for BioShock Infinite. These conflicts are in regards to the use of Little Sisters to harvest ADAM from corpses, the first use of Big Daddies as Protectors for the Little Sisters. 
==References==
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Category:History
Category:BioShock
Category:BioShock 2
Category:BioShock 2 Multiplayer
Category:There's Something in the Sea
Category:Minerva's Den (DLC)
Category:BioShock: Rapture (Novel)
Category:Burial at Sea - Episode 1 DLC
Category:Burial at Sea - Episode 2 DLC