December 16, 1775: Born at Steventon rectory.
1787: Jane starts to write short stories around this time.
1795: Jane read her family a story titled: Elinor and Marianne—who are the main characters of Sense and Sensibility.
December 1795: Jane meets Tom Lefroy. He is the neighbor's nephew and thus a friend of the family. She describes in her letters to Cassandra that she falls in love with him, and they spend a lot of time together.
January 1796: Tom Lefroy is taken away from Steventon and the thought of a marriage between them is dismissed by their families since neither has any money.
August 1796: Jane starts writing her story First Impressions which would later become her most famous story, Pride and Prejudice.
November 1797: Jane's father attempts to have one of Jane's works published. This would have been her first publication. However, it was rejected by the publisher Thomas Cadell, who was based in London. Jane and Cassandra also go to visit their brother James and his wife at Bath around this time.
1798: Jane completes revisions for Elinor and Marianne where she altered the story to the more traditional third person perspective.
1798: Jane begins writing Northanger Abbey; however, its original name was Susan and then Catherine before it became the title we know today.
May 1799: Jane and her mother go to Bath.
1800: Jane completes Susan (Northanger Abbey).
December 1800: Jane's father retires from the ministry and moves the family from Steventon towards Bath.
1800-1802 and then from 1803-1805: Austen takes a break from writing (described in other sources as a decade-long break for some reason) amidst moving around and her father's death.
1801: George Austen (Jane's father) officially moves the family to Bath. At this time though, only Jane, Cassandra, her mother, and father were affected. The other siblings (all men) were no longer living under their father's roof.
December 1802: Jane is proposed to by Harris Bigg-Wither, who is a childhood family friend, educated, and set to inherit a large family estate. At first, Jane accepts his proposal for practical reasons. However, the next day she takes back her acceptance believing that marrying him would be a mistake. Around this time, she also works on revising Susan (Northanger Abbey).
1803: Jane's brother Henry submits Susan for her to publisher Benjamin Crosby of Crosby & Company in London. He buys the rights for ten pounds. Crosby promises to publish it, but he falls through and it never does.
1804: Jane starts writing a novel she titles The Watsons, but she never finished it.
1804: Jane and family spend the summer months in Lyme Regis. This is where her novel Persuasion will be based.
December 16, 1804: The Austen's family friend, Madam Lefroy, is killed in a freak horse riding accident. This also happens to be Jane's 29th birthday.
January 21, 1805: Jane's father dies of an illness. This catches the family by surprise, and Jane stops work on The Watsons. Jane's five brothers agree to help support the mother and sisters, but they now have to rent their living quarters.
March 1805: Jane, her mother, and her sister move to 25 Gay Street.
1805: Jane completes Lady Susan.
February 1806: Jane and Cassandra visit Manydown Park.
October 1806: Jane, her mother, and her sister, as well as their friend and widow Martha Lloyd, move to Southampton to live with Jane's newly married brother Frank.
April 1809: Jane writes to the publisher Benjamin Crosby that purchased Susan upset that he hadn't yet published it. She wants him to publish it or return it to her possession. She writes under the pseudonym Mrs. Ashley Dennis (M.A.D.). She even offers to give him an updated version of the manuscript for it to push him into publishing. However, Crosby tells her that he didn't tell her when he would publish it by, and if she wants it, she can buy the copyright back. But with no way to pay for it, she cannot buy it back.
July 1809: Jane, her mother, and Cassandra move to Chawton House for a more quiet and settled life.
August 1809: Jane starts working on Elinor and Marianne, now called Sense and Sensibility, once more.
1810: Sense & Sensibility is taken on by Thomas Egerton for publishing.
February 1811: Jane works on Mansfield Park.
March 1811: Jane goes to visit Henry his wife Eliza (her cousin) in London.
October 1811: Sense & Sensibility is published, and Jane's brother Henry plays the role of her literary agent. The novel is well received by the public and has favorable reviews.
1811: Jane conducts revisions on First Impressions.
1812: Jane finishes revision on First Impressions and then the copyright is sold to Thomas Egerton for publication for 110 pounds.
January 1813: Pride and Prejudice is published by Thomas Egerton with Jane's brother Henry acting as her literary agent again. With the help of extensive advertising, the novel becomes an instant success.
April 22, 1813: Jane goes to London to see a dying Eliza. Eliza dies three days later but Jane stays with Henry until May 11.
June 1813: It is believed that Mansfield Park is completed around this time.
October 1813: The second edition of Pride & Prejudice is printed.
October 2, 1813: The first editions of Sense & Sensibility sell out completely which leads to the second edition being printed.
1813: Egerton accepts Mansfield Park for publication.
January 1814: Jane starts writing Emma.
May 9, 1814: Mansfield Park is published by Egerton but it is surprisingly ignored by professional reviews but is still favored amongst the general public.
1814: Jane's niece, Fanny Knight, writes to her asking for relationship advice. Jane tells her to never marry if affection is not there.
October 1814: First editions of Mansfield Park sell out making it the most profitable work of Austen's career so far.
March 1815: Jane finishes writing Emma.
August 1815: Jane starts working on Persuasion.
1815: Henry and Jane go to London to negotiate with famed publisher John Murray for the publication of Emma.
November 1815: Jane is invited to Carolton House by the librarian of Prince Regent, James Stanier Clarke. The Prince makes a mention that Jane should mention him in the dedication of her next work. This is ironic because she harbors a private disgust for his moral character, but with no other choice, she reluctantly agrees.
December 1815: Emma is published by John Murray, the book is well loved by the public and sales thrive. This is the novel dedicated to the Prince.
1816: John Murray publishes the second edition of Mansfield Park. However, it does not go as well as they hoped, unfortunately canceling out all profits made from Emma that same year.
January 1816: Henry purchases the copyright to Susan back from Benjamin Crosby. The title is then changed to Catherine.
1816: Jane becomes ill but ignores it to continue working on The Elliots.
May 1816: Cassandra takes Jane to Cheltenham for medical care. When they return, Jane continues her work on The Elliots.
July 1816: Jane completes the first draft of The Elliots. The title is later changed to Persuasion.
1816: Jane's health continues to decline to the point that her family begins to worry.
August 1816: Jane revises the last two chapters of The Elliots and completes the novel.
January 1817: Jane begins writing The Brothers, which would later be published with the title, Sanditon.
March 1817: After completing twelve chapters of The Brothers Jane's health forces her to stop writing. She has trouble walking and doing anything without resulting in an extreme loss of energy.
April 1817: Jane writes even though she is confined to her bed because of her illness.
April 27, 1817: Jane writes a short will.
July 18, 1817: Jane passes away in Winchester.
July 24, 1817: Jane is buried at Winchester Cathedral at her brother Henry's direction.
December 1817: Both Northanger Abbey and Persuasion are published by John Murray at the direction of Henry and Cassandra. Henry writes a biographical note for this piece that credits Jane Austen as the author for the very first time. Sales start off strong but gradually wind down.
1820: The remaining unsold copies of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion are destroyed by John Murray.
1832: Richard Bentley purchases all remaining copyrights to Jane Austen's works.
December 1832: Bentley publishes all Jane Austen's remaining works in a collection of an illustrated five-volume series known as the Standard Novels.
1833: Jane Austen's novels would never go out of print again.
1870: Jane's nephew, James Austen, publishes a series of memoirs entitled "A Memoir of the Life of Jane Austen" in order to bring her life and works to a greater audience. This solidifies her place in literary history.
