Janet's Star Trek Voyager Site

CHRONOLOGY BEFORE U.S.S. VOYAGER
ARRIVES IN THE DELTA QUADRANT
with special reference to people and events in Star Trek: Voyager
(over 65 illustrations)
screenshots by Janet


DATE EVENTS NOTES/
SOURCES

 

c.15 billion years ago
Soon after the Big Bang, at least two members of the Q Continuum, travelling back from the future, take refuge in the first moments of the cosmos. One of them, the Q individual later known as Quinn, will in 2372 also briefly try to hide USS Voyager here to escape the Q Continuum.
 [#34 Death Wish]

 

4 billion years ago

one of the original race
[TNG: The Chase]		The first humanoid civilisation to evolve in our galaxy explored the cosmos and found themselves to be alone. They perpetuated themselves by seeding the oceans of many M-class planets with genetic material. Several humanoid species originated and evolved from these seeds, including humans, Vulcans, Klingons and Cardassians. This accounts for the many similarities these species possess in appearance and behaviour. A message was encoded in the genetic material by the first humanoid civilisation in order that their offspring should learn of their common origins once they developed to a high enough level of technology and co-operation.
[TNG: The Chase]

 

c.45,000 years ago
A group of extraterrestrials travelled for over two generations to Earth. They met humans who lived as nomadic hunters in the Siberian Peninsula region. They named these humans "Inheritors", and the humans named them in turn "Sky Spirits". The Inheritors later settled on the American continents. In later generations, some of the Inheritors found homes on distant worlds. This is the story related to Chakotay by one of the Sky People in 2372.
[#25 Tattoo]

 

10,000 years ago Ferengi society starts along the path to the extremist capitalism. Gint, the first Grand Nagus, codifies the Rules of Acquisition. Two Ferengi appear in [#47 False Profits]. Three Ferengi attempt to steal the Borg nanoprobes contained within Seven's body in [#152 Inside Man].

Gint, as envisioned by Quark		 [DS9: Bar Association] [DS9 Body Parts]

 

Between 10,000 and 6,000 years ago The Q Continuum starts on a new era of discovery throughout the universe. [#34 Death Wish]

 

5,000 years ago A group of extraterrestrials settle in the Mediterranean area of Earth. They possess powerful psychokinetic abilities and the ability to change their body size. They are worshipped by the ancient Greeks as gods and were the origin of many Greek myths. When humans outgrew the cultural need for them the "gods" withdrew to the planet Pollux IV. One, known as Apollo, later encountered the crew of USS Enterprise NCC-1701 in 2267. See also 2267.
 [TOS: Who Mourns for Adonais?]

 

3834 BC The nearly immortal being known as Flint is born in Mesopotamia on Earth. He assumes various names to avoid arousing contemporaries' suspicions when he does not die, including Merlin, Leonardo da Vinci and Johannes Brahms. Therefore, the Leonardo da Vinci whom Janeway admires and recreates as a holodeck character, is actually Flint. The holo-character appears in various 'Star Trek: Voyager' episodes including [#68 and #69 Scorpion] and [#79 Concerning Flight].
[TOS: Requiem for Methuselah]

 

c.625

clone of Kahless
[TNG: Rightful Heir]
(picture ?TOSTW)		Kahless the Unforgettable unites the Klingon world. Torres, a half-Klingon aboard Voyager, several times has to deal with her Klingon inheritance, in [#14 Faces], [#71 Day of Honor] and [#123 Barge of the Dead]. A frequent issue during the early years of her time in the Delta Quadrant is her trying to control her Klingon temper, e.g. in [#3 Parallax] she breaks the nose of Lt. Joe Carey, acting chief engineer, and she later takes meditation lessons from Tuvok to try and control her temper [#115 Juggernaut].
  

 

372 [DS9: Season 6: ?episode], picture from ?TOSTWA race of shape-shifters in the Gamma Quadrant, tired of being hunted and killed by non-shape-shifters, retreat to a planet in the Omarion nebula. They found a large interstellar empire eventually known as the Dominion. Known as the Founders and revered as gods, the shape-shifters control the Dominion through use of two species: one is the Vorta who are administrators, and the other is a male-only race specially bred by the Founders to be a powerful military force, called the Jem'Hadar. In the 2370s the Dominion and the Federation waged a war, called the Dominion War, which also involved among others the Klingons, Cardassians and Romulans. It is the clash between Cardassians, the Federation and others that will lead to the forming of the Maquis and Seska's presence on Chakotay's ship and then on USS Voyager. In [#82 Message in a Bottle] a brief mention is made of the Dominion War by EMH-Mark 2. Numerous episodes of DS9, especially [DS9: The Search]

 

1st-10th centuries AD Surak in [TOS: The Savage Curtain], picture from TOSTWSurak, later known as the father of Vulcan civilisation, brings peace to the warring inhabitants of the planet Vulcan. (He is shown in this screenshot from [TOS: The Savage Curtain].) Surak starts them along the path of always using logic and the suppression of all emotion. Tuvok is a Vulcan. He knew Spock, a half-Vulcan. A group of Vulcan dissidents leave the planet, wishing to retain their warrior traditions, and found a civilisation later known as the Romulan Star Empire. The Romulan Telek R'Mor features in [#7 Eye of the Needle] when, in 2371, USS Voyager contacts him at his location in the Alpha Quadrant via a tiny wormhole. In [#59 Unity] Chakotay meets medic Orum, a Romulan once assimilated by the Borg.  

 

1371 dying Nacene known as the Caretaker, in [#2 Caretaker, Part Two]A group of explorers, non-corporeal sporocystian lifeforms called the Nacene, visit the Ocampa homeworld. (The screenshot shows a dying Nacene known as the Caretaker, in 2371, seen in [#1 and #2 Caretaker].) Unaware that their technology would be incompatible with an M-class planet they accidentally cause an ecological catastrophe, leaving the world completely arid. Calling it a debt that can never be repaid, two of the explorers, one male and one female, remain nearby to care for the Ocampa. The caretakers establish an underground city for the Ocampa and set up a large array in space to provide power for the city. The caretakers provide for the Ocampans' every need, but as a result the Ocampans' powerful mental abilities began to atrophy. [#1 and #2 Caretaker]

 

1372 The Vulcan holiday called Rumarie ceases to be celebrated. It was an ancient pagan festival celebrated by feasting, orgies and other hedonistic activities. The Rumarie festival survived over a thousand years after the time of Surak when Vulcans began to pursue the path of pure logic. [#32 Meld]

 

1666

Sir Isaac Newton		A member of the Q Continuum who is later to be known as Quinn, takes a hand in Earth history when he jostles an apple tree under which Isaac Newton is resting. As a result the apple falls and Newton develops his theory of universal gravitation, but forgets to mention the man who jostled the tree. Newton's discovery ushers in a new era of scientific interest.
 [#34 Death Wish]

 

1864

Q later known as Quinn, and "Old Iron Boots"		During the American Civil War, Earth, Colonel Thaddius Riker, known as "Old Iron Boots", commanded the 102nd New York unit during General Sherman's march to Atlanta. Thaddius Riker was badly injured in that campaign but was rescued by an unidentified individual who turned out later to be Quinn, a member of the Q Continuum. Riker survived the American Civil War and raised a family, and among his descendants was one William T. Riker who became commander of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D.
 [#34 Death Wish]

 

18th century

the real, modern, Chez Sandrine among the seafront buildings, in an alternative reality [#22 Non Sequitur]		A small bar called Chez Sandrine opens in the seaport of Marseilles on France's south coast, Earth. The descendants of the bar's founder kept the place open into the 24th century.
In [#6 The Cloud], in 2371, Tom Paris says that Sandrine's family had owned the bar for over 600 years.

 

1932 Analytical psychiatrist Karl Jung, Earth, develops his active imagination technique to help explore the human psyche. There are parallels between this technique and the Native American use of an animal guide who helps a person focus their thoughts. Chakotay explains this to Janeway in and soon afterwards helps her go on a vision quest where she meets her own animal guide.

Jung, picture The Oxford Interactive Dictionary		 [#6 The Cloud]

 

1937
Famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan disappear along with their aircraft somewhere above Earth's Pacific Ocean. Their disappearance remains an unsolved mystery, until the two are discovered alive and well in a stasis chamber by USS Voyager's crew on stardate 48975.1, along with several other people from that time period. Voyager's crew learns that 300 humans were abducted from Earth by extraterrestrials in 1937 by a species called the Briori who brought them to the Delta Quadrant as slaves. Later the human slaves revolted, killed the Briori and destroyed the Briori ship, and made a new home on the planet.
 [#20 The 37's]

 

1947 Earth is accidentally visited for a short time by three Ferengi, namely Quark, his brother Rom and Rom's son Nog. Their visit gave rise to what contemporary history calls The Roswell Incident. This was mankind's first encounter with the Ferengi, although official first contact will come later (see 2364). [DS9: Little Green Men]

 

1967

Henry Starling		On Earth, in the High Sierras, Henry Starling is camping when he sees a Federation timeship of the 29th century crashland after an encounter with USS Voyager in 2373. He steals the craft, called Aeon, from its pilot, Captain Braxton. By secretly exploiting Aeon's advanced technology, Starling gradually builds up a world-leading computer empire and becomes a wealthy and powerful man. See also 1996.
 [#50 and #51 Future's End]

 

1969

Maury Ginsberg		On 15 August a large music festival is held at Woodstock, New York, Earth. The sound system fails immediately before the concert begins but Maury Ginsberg realises the fault is a loose cable. Ginsberg was only present at the concert because Quinn, a member of the Q Continuum, gave him a lift when his van broke down. Without Quinn, there would have been no Woodstock concert.
 [#34 Death Wish]

 

1992-96 Khan in [TOS: Space Seed]Khan Noonien Singh (pictured), the product of genetic engineering and eugenics experiments, seizes dictatorial control over one quarter of Earth. The Eugenics Wars erupt when eugenically bred "super"-humans seize power over 40 nations and fall to fighting amongst themselves. Khan is overthrown and flees Earth in the spaceship Botany Bay, in which, along with 96 fellow "super"-humans, he travels in stasis. The discovery of SS Botany Bay is depicted in [TOS: Space Seed] and Khan's quest for vengeance is seen in [Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]. [TOS: Space Seed]

 

1996

Henry Starling


Captain Braxton

USS Voyager arrives in Los Angeles, Earth. An away team locates Captain Braxton and the 29th century timeship Aeon which Henry Starling stole (see 1967). Starling intends to make another trip to the 29th century to obtain more technology to exploit for his own commercial gain, but such an attempt would destroy a large area of space and Voyager manages to stop him. Voyager is then led back to its rightful place in time, in 2373, by a "restored" Captain Braxton.

Braxton's experiences become a matter of record at the Federation in the 29th century, although Braxton says he did not experience the timeline whereby he crashlanded on Earth in 1967. His experiences eventually embitter Braxton so that he will try to destroy USS Voyager, depicted in [#118 Relativity].

 [#50 and #51 Future's End]

 

2020-24 Benjamin Sisko, masquerading as Gabriel Bell, intervenes to save hostages, in [DS9: Past Tense]Sanctuary Districts are created throughout North America to house homeless and jobless people, but they are virtually imprisoned with few rights. The Districts are dismantled on 2 September 2024 following the Bell Riots in which Captain Benjamin Sisko (pictured), masquerading as Gabriel Bell, saves the lives of hostages seized by Sanctuary inmates. History records that Bell sacrificed his life while doing this, and it is the knowledge of his sacrifice that provides the impetus for the dismantling of the Sanctuary Districts. [DS9: Past Tense]

 

2025 Violence is used to reunite Ireland. [TNG: The High Ground]

 

2030
Zefram Cochrane, inventor of the warp drive, is born.
 [TOS: Metamorphosis]

 

2032
On 19 October, while orbiting Mars Lt. John Kelly and his command module Ares IV loses contact with Earth forever as he and his command module are swallowed up by a spatial anomaly and all contact with him is lost. In 2376 an away team from USS Voyager will discover that the spatial anomaly was a graviton ellipse and will retrieve his logs of the last days of his life which he spent inside it.
 [#128 One Small Step]

 

2047 The use of hovercars becomes popular on Earth. [#20 The 37's]

 

2036 The Hermosa Earthquake causes the whole Los Angeles region to sink 200 metres under water and become one of the largest coral reefs in the world. [#50 Future's End, Part One]

 

2053 Earth suffers World War III. Millions die and Earth almost reverts to a stone age. [TOS: A Piece of the Action] [TOS: The Savage Curtain] [TNG: A Matter of Time] [Star Trek: First Contact]

 

2063


after launch as part of a missile, the Phoenix sheds for the second stage of flight


flight of the Phoenix
Zefram Cochrane makes first contact with a Vulcan after making the first warp flight in his ship, the Phoenix. [Star Trek: First Contact]

For a note/behind-the-scenes note about the name of the Vulcan ship see PERSONAL LOG entry for [#169 Homestead].

The Phoenix's cockpit drawing below: picture size 63Kb.

 First contact is made between humans and Vulcans, which leads to a new era for mankind and eventually to the founding of the United Federation of Planets. On 4th April 2063 Zefram Cochrane flies his ship, the Phoenix, built by himself and engineer Lily Sloane, at faster-than-light speed using a warp engine he has invented, and the resulting warp signature is detected by a Vulcan ship which happens to be passing nearby and first contact is made the following day. In an alternative timeline the Borg managed to prevent first contact and assimilate Earth in this time period, but the actions of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E repair the timeline by destroying the Borg and helping Cochrane repair the Phoenix. Members of the Enterprise crew are present at the moment of first contact. For his achievements, both then and in subsequent years, Cochrane became a hero to everyone in the Federation. The ultimate fate of Cochrane, who disappeared in 2117, is depicted in [TOS: Metamorphosis]. One of USS Voyager's shuttlecraft is called Cochrane after him [#31 Threshold]. The events of first contact are referred to in [#76 Year of Hell, Part One]. In Janeway's childhood First Contact Day meant a day off from school. In late 2377 Neelix, assisted by Naomi Wildman, holds a lavish celebration aboard USS Voyager at which members of the crew gather in the messhall. Various of Zefram's Cochrane's favourites are in evidence - food, and loud music courtesy of Paris' jukebox. [#169 Homestead].
picture size 63Kb
More on the Phoenix: The Phoenix was built by Cochrane and Sloane from an old Titan V nuclear missile, modified with a small crew cabin and twin warp nacelles. Its historic flight matched its name as the ship symbolically rose from the ashes of World War III, ushering in a new era for humankind. The flight of the Phoenix was directly responsible for Earth's first contact with extra-terrestrials (Vulcans), leading to Earth's recovery from the post-atomic horror. The Phoenix later was placed on display at the Smithsonian Institution, and was the subject of a course taught at the Starfleet Academy, [Star Trek VIII: First Contact]. The ship was named for the immortal bird from Egyptian mythology that periodically was consumed in fire, then arose from the ashes reborn.		 [Star Trek: First Contact]

 

Chronology Space exploration and Star Trek including 22nd-24th century dates against Star Trek films and series. Part of FEDERATION & STARFLEET: Starfleet Uniforms.

Thanks to JavaScript Kit for the countdown-to-a-specific-day script.

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