Dates
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Dates: Harry Potter book canon provides us with very little reference to chronology. A few important dates have been mentioned, most specifically Harry Potter's birthday (July 31), the date of James and Lily Potter's death (October 31), and the start of the Hogwarts term (September 1). Other dates have been given in chats and at JKRowling.com.
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Years
There are very few references made to the period in which the Harry Potter books are set. We assume that they occur after 1945, based on the mention of this year on Albus Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog card:
- Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945 [...]
The best guide to a date we have so far occurs in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 8 (The Deathday Party). The cake to celebrate Nearly Headless Nick's 500th Deathday reads:
- Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington
- died 31st October, 1492
It would therefore seem obvious that Chamber of Secrets is set in 1992-1993, placing Harry Potter's birthday at July 31, 1980.
The dating is confirmed by J.K. Rowling's drawing of the Black Family Tree, which shows 1980 as Draco Malfoys year of birth, and the calendar of her official website, which displays June 5 as his birthday. Thus Draco Malfoy starts his first year at Hogwarts September 1, 1991.
The 'Official' Timeline
The DVD of the movie adaption of Chamber of Secrets offers an extra feature: an 'official' timeline prepared by Warner Brothers and reviewed by J.K. Rowling. This confirms the timeline suggested by Nearly Headless Nick's 500th Deathday Cake, but opinions vary on whether or not this should be considered canon.
Anachronisms
Unfortunately, this theorem causes several problems with off-hand mentions in the book.
Nicolas Flamel
The real Nicolas Flamel was (according to most reports) born in 1330. In Philosopher's Stone/Sorceror's Stone, it is mentioned that Nicholas Flamel turned 665 last year, placing PS/SS in 1996.
Playstations
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry mentions to Sirius that Dudley threw his Playstation out of the window that summer (July, 1994). However, Sony first released Playstations in December, 1994, and that was in Japan. It seems unlikely, although not impossible, that Dudley would have one several months before their general release anywhere.
Triwizard Tournament
If the year are correct, Harry's fourth year should have been 1994. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the day the Beaubaxtons and Durmstrangs arrive for the tournament is "Friday the 30th of October". (GoF, pg 235, US). However, according to OUR calenders, October 30, 1994 was a Sunday.
Prime Ministers
In the Chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (The Other Minister), Cornelius Fudge mentions makes a reference to the contemporary Prime Minister's predecessor:
- And I must say, you're taking it a lot better than your predecessor. He tried to throw me out of the window, thought I was a hoax planned by the opposition.
If this scene is set in 1996, then the contemporary Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is John Major. His predecessor was Margaret Thatcher, generally confirmed to be female.
