| 1844 October 15 | Friedrich Nietzsche born at Röcken in the outskirts of Lützen, province of Saxony to Franziska Nietzsche, née Oehler, and Carl Ludwig Nietzsche, a pastor, who names his son after King Friedrich William IV of Prussia. |
| 1846 July 10 | Birth of Elisabeth Nietzsche. |
| 1848 February | Birth of Joseph Nietzsche. |
| 1849 July 30 | Nietzsche's father (age 36) dies of a brain tumor. |
| 1850 January 4 | Joseph Nietzsche dies. Franziska moves the family to Naumburg, close to relatives and friends. |
| 1858 October | Enrolls at Schulpforta, near Naumburg, an elite school with only 200 students. |
| 1864 September 4 | Graduation from Schulpforta. |
| 1864 October 16 | Enrolls as student of theology and philology at the University of Bonn. |
| 1865 October 17 | Continues his studies at the University of Leipzig, where he discovers the works of Schopenhauer in Rohm's second-hand bookshop. |
| 1866 | Begins friendship with Erwin Rohde. |
| 1868 November 8 | Meets Richard Wagner in Leipzig. |
| 1869 February | Appointed professor of classical philology at the University of Basel. |
| 1869 May 28 | Gives acceptance speech at the University of Basel on "Homer and Classical Philology." |
| 1869 | Begins writing The Birth of Tragedy. |
| 1870 March | Becomes tenured professor at University of Basel. |
| 1870 August | Serves as a volunteer medical orderly in the Franco-Prussian war. |
| 1870 October | Returns to Basel, and begins friendship with Franz Overbeck. |
| 1872 January 2 | Publication of The Birth of Tragedy. |
| 1872 Jan.-Mar. | Gives lectures on "The Future of Our Educational Institutions" (published posthumously). |
| 1872 May | Spends time with Wagner. |
| 1873 April | Writes the fragment "Philosophy in the Tragic Age of the Greeks." |
| 1873 May | Meets Paul Rée.
Writes the fragment "On Truth and Lie in an Extra-Moral Sense." |
| 1873 August 8 | Publication of the first Untimely Meditation: David Strauss, the Confessor and the Writer. |
| 1873 December | Finishes the second Untimely Meditation: On the Use and Abuse of History for Life. |
| 1874 February 22 | Publication of On the Use and Abuse of History for Life. |
| 1874 October 15 | Nietzsche's 30th birthday: publication of the third Untimely Meditation: Schopenhauer as Educator. |
| 1875-1876 | Writes the fourth Untimely Meditation: Richard Wagner in Bayreuth. |
| 1875 October | Begins friendship with Heinrich Köselitz, a/k/a Peter Gast. |
| 1876 May 19 | Requests leave of absence from University of Basel (granted June 2, 1876). |
| 1876 July-August | Nietzsche in Bayreuth for the last time. First Bayreuth Festival. Meets Louise Ott. |
| 1876 July 10 | Publication of the fourth Untimely Meditation: Richard Wagner in Bayreuth. |
| 1876 October 26 | Arrives in Naples. Last meeting with Wagner. |
| 1876-1878 | Writes the first part of Human, All Too Human. |
| 1876 December | Winter in Sorrento with Paul Rée, Malwida von Meysenbug and Nietzsche's student, Albert Brenner. |
| 1877 May 8 | Leaves Sorrento. |
| 1877 October 17 | Requests extension of leave of absence from University of Basel. |
| 1878 January 3 | Receives copy of Parsifal from Wagner. |
| 1878 January 10 | Sends manuscript of Human, All Too Human to his publisher. |
| 1878 February 11 | Requests extension of leave of absence from University of Basel. |
| 1878 May | Publication of Human, All Too Human (Nietzsche sends a copy to Wagner; their last correspondence). |
| 1878 May 17 | Death of Albert Brenner from tuberculosis. |
| 1879 March 20 | Publication of Mixed Opinions and Maxims. |
| 1879 May 2 | From Geneva, sends letter of resignation to the University of Basel. |
| 1879 June 14 | University accepts resignation, and grants six-year pension. |
| 1879 Summer | Writes The Wanderer and His Shadow. |
| 1879 October 18 | Sends manuscript of The Wanderer and His Shadow to his publisher. |
| 1879 December 18 | Publication of The Wanderer and His Shadow. |
| 1880 March | Travels to Venice with Heinrich Köselitz. |
| 1880 June | Leaves Venice. |
| 1880 July 5 | Arrives in Marienbad. |
| 1880 Autumn | Begins writing The Dawn. |
| 1880 November | Arrives in Genoa. Continues work on The Dawn. |
| 1881 January 25 | Sends manuscript of The Dawn to Köselitz. |
| 1881 May 1 | Leaves Genoa. |
| 1881 July 8 | Arrives in Sils-Maria. |
| 1881 July | Publication of The Dawn. |
| 1881 October 1 | Leaves Sils-Maria for Genoa. |
| 1881 November 27 | In Genoa, attends performance of Bizet's Carmen. |
| 1881 Winter | Begins writing The Gay Science. |
| 1882 February 4 | Paul Rée visits Nietzsche in Genoa. They travel to Monte Carlo. |
| 1882 March 13 | Paul Rée again travels to Monte Carlo. He loses his entire bankroll in one night. |
| 1882 March 15 | Paul Rée travels to Rome where he meets Lou von Salomé at the home of Malwida von Meysenbug. |
| 1882 April 1 | Nietzsche arrives in Sicily.
Writes Idylls From Messina. |
| 1882 April 24 | Nietzsche arrives in Rome. |
| 1882 April 25 | Nietzsche meets Lou Salomé. |
| 1882 June 15 | Finishes The Gay Science. |
| 1882 June | Publishes Idylls From Messina. |
| 1882 September | Nietzsche in Leipzig. |
| 1882 Sept. 10 | Publication of The Gay Science. |
| 1882 October 1 | Paul Rée and Lou Salomé arrive in Leipzig for a one-month visit; Nietzsche's friendship with Rée and Salomé deteriorates. |
| 1882 November 5 | Rée and Salomé travel to Paris. Nietzsche makes plans to join them; he never sees them again. |
| 1882 Winter | Nietzsche stays in Rapallo. |
| 1883 February | Begins to write Thus Spoke Zarathustra. |
| 1883 February 13 | Richard Wagner dies in Venice. |
| 1883 February 14 | From Genoa, Nietzsche sends manuscript of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Part I to his publisher. |
| 1883 May 3 | Nietzsche travels to Rome for a five-week visit. |
| 1883 June 14 | Leaves Rome. |
| 1883 June 18 | Nietzsche arrives in Sils-Maria where he writes Part II of Thus Spoke Zarathustra. |
| 1883 August | Publication of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Part I. |
| 1883 August late | Receives proofs of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Part II. |
| 1883 Sept. 5 | Leaves Sils-Maria for Naumburg. |
| 1883 Sept. 7 | Arrives in Naumburg for a five-week visit. Elisabeth engaged to Bernhard Förster, a leader of the German anti-Semitic movement. |
| 1883 November 23 | Nietzsche arrives in Nice. |
| 1883 Winter | Meets Dr. Josef Paneth, a Viennese zoologist, from whom Sigmund Freud first learned of Nietzsche. |
| 1884 January 18 | Completes Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Part III (partially written in Eze). |
| 1884 April 10 | Publication of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Part III. |
| 1884 April 21 | Leaves Nice for a seven-week visit in Venice. |
| 1884 June 15 | Arrives in Basel. |
| 1884 July | Meets Meta von Salis in Zurich. |
| 1884 August 26 | Heinrich von Stein visits Nietzsche in Sils-Maria. |
| 1884 November 2 | Arrives in Menton; begins to write Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Part IV. |
| 1884 December 1 | Leaves for Nice; continues to write Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Part IV |
| 1885 April 9 | Leaves Nice for Venice. |
| 1885 April 10 | Arrives in Venice. |
| 1885 May | Publication of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Part IV (privately printed for select friends). |
| 1885 May 22 | Elisabeth Nietzsche marries Bernhard Förster. |
| 1885 June 7 | Arrives in Sils-Maria; begins to write Beyond Good and Evil. |
| 1885 June | Sues his publisher, Ernst Schmeitzner, to gain control of his works. |
| 1885 November | Wins lawsuit against Schmeitzner. Uses part of the proceeds to buy a marble slab for his father's grave. Arrives in Nice. |
| 1886 Spring late | Last meeting with Erwin Rohde in Leipzig. |
| 1886 June | Arrives in Sils-Maria. |
| 1886 August 4 | Publication of Beyond Good and Evil. |
| 1886 August | Sends "Attempt at a Self-Criticism" to his publisher for the new edition of The Birth of Tragedy. |
| 1886 October | Arrives in Ruta Ligure. Finishes prefaces for the second edition of Human, All Too Human. Begins writing preface for second edition of The Dawn and preface and Book Five for The Gay Science. Leaves Ruta Ligure for Nice. |
| 1886 November 14 | While in Nice, finishes new prefaces for The Dawn and The Gay Science. |
| 1887 October 20 | Publication of "Hymn to Life, for Mixed Chorus and Orchestra" (Heinrich Köselitz's orchestration). |
| 1887 November 11 | Last letter to Erwin Rohde. |
| 1887 November 16 | Publication of On the Genealogy of Morals. |
| 1888 April | Arrives in Turin. |
| 1888 Spring | Georg Brandes lectures on Nietzsche at the University of Copenhagen. |
| 1888 Summer | Writes The Case of Wagner and Dionysus Dithyrambs. |
| 1888 August | Writes Twilight of the Idols (published January 24, 1889). |
| 1888 September | Writes The Antichrist (published November 1894). |
| 1888 Autumn | Writes Ecce Homo (published posthumously April 1908). |
| 1888 December | Writes Nietzsche contra Wagner: Out of the Files of a Psychologist (published February 1889). |
| 1889 January | Mental breakdown in Turin. |
| 1889-1897 | Under the care of his mother in Jena and Naumburg. |
| 1897 Easter | Death of Nietzsche's mother. Elisabeth moves him to Weimar. |
| 1900 August 25 | Nietzsche dies in Weimar. |
