Historical Timeline Builder
Five ready timelines with nearly 150 dated events — from the Indus Valley to India’s first general election — plus your own timeline maker, a poster download and a put-in-order game.
The Indian freedom struggle is usually traced from the Revolt of 1857, through the founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885, Jallianwala Bagh in 1919, Non-Cooperation in 1920, the Dandi March in 1930 and Quit India in 1942, to independence on 15 August 1947. This page holds 149 dated events across five timelines.
Build your timeline
Saved automatically on this device.
Put these events in order
Oldest at the top. Drag a card, tap two cards to swap them, or use the arrows.
Your record
See history as a story in order
Timelines help you remember what happened first, what it led to, and how long the gaps were.
Pick a timeline
Choose the freedom struggle, the World Wars, ancient civilisations, the Mughals or the Constitution.
Filter & explore
Switch categories on or off, show only key events, search a name or year and tap an event for details.
Build your own
Choose “My Timeline” to add events with BCE or CE years, colours and stars — or edit a copy of any timeline.
Print or play
Download a poster image, print it for your notebook, or test yourself with the arrange game.
BCE and CE
CE (Common Era, same as AD) counts forward from year 1. BCE (Before Common Era, same as BC) counts backwards — so 500 BCE is older than 300 BCE. There is no year 0: 1 BCE is followed directly by 1 CE.
How long ago? How far apart?
CE to CE: later − earlier
BCE to CE: BCE + CE − 1
Example: Ashoka’s Kalinga War (261 BCE) to Aryabhata (499 CE) = 261 + 499 − 1 = 759 years.
Centuries made simple
The 1st century CE is years 1–100, so the 20th century is 1901–2000 and the 21st century began in 2001. Quick rule: drop the last two digits and add 1 — 1857 is in the 19th century.
Historical Timeline Builder — your questions
What are the most important dates in the Indian freedom struggle?
1857 Revolt; 1885 Indian National Congress founded; 1905 Partition of Bengal; 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre; 1920 Non-Cooperation Movement; 1930 Dandi March and Civil Disobedience; 1942 Quit India Movement; and 15 August 1947 independence. The freedom timeline on this page sets out 36 dated events in all, each with its background.
What is the difference between BCE and CE?
CE means Common Era and is the same as AD, counting forward from year 1. BCE means Before Common Era and is the same as BC, counting backwards, so 500 BCE is older than 300 BCE — the bigger the BCE number, the older the date. There is no year zero: 1 BCE is followed directly by 1 CE.
How do I work out how many years between a BCE and a CE date?
Add the two numbers and subtract one, because there is no year zero. From the Kalinga War in 261 BCE to Aryabhata in 499 CE is 261 + 499 − 1 = 759 years. When both dates are CE, simply subtract the earlier from the later.
Why does the 20th century mean the 1900s?
Because the 1st century CE covers the years 1 to 100, the 2nd covers 101 to 200, and so on — so the 20th century runs from 1901 to 2000 and the 21st began in 2001. A quick rule for any year: drop the last two digits and add one, so 1857 falls in the 19th century.
Can I make my own timeline for a school project?
Yes. Choose My Timeline, give it a title, then add each event with its year — marked CE or BCE, exact or approximate — an optional day and month, a description, a colour and a star for key events. Your work is saved on your own device and can be printed or downloaded as a poster image.
Which timelines are already included?
Five, with 149 dated events between them: the Indian Freedom Struggle with 36 events, the World Wars with 32, Ancient Civilisations with 34, the Mughal Empire with 26 and the Making of the Constitution with 21. Each is colour-coded by category, so you can show only battles, only laws or only leaders.
How should I answer a question that asks me to trace a movement?
List four to six key dated events in the correct order and add one line on why each mattered, linking each to the next — cause before effect. Examiners are looking for sequence and connection, not a long description of a single event. A timeline is the fastest way to revise exactly that.