This is a chronological timeline of events related to the history of the Independence Day franchise.
1936
- William Grey is born.
1938
- Albert Nimziki is born.
1947
- July 4: An alien spacecraft crash land in the outskirts of Roswell, New Mexico. The vessel and its occupants are taken by the U.S. military and transferred to Area 51.[1]
1953
- Thomas Whitmore is born.
1958
- Lucas Jacobs is born.
- Joshua T. Adams is born.
1963
- Elizabeth Lanford is born.
1969
- July 16: Apollo 11, the first mission to land astronauts on the Moon, is launched.
1972
- Brackish Okun is recruited by the U.S. military to study at Area 51.[2]
1986
- A mechanic named Russell Casse is allegedly abducted and experimented by aliens.
1989
- Dylan Dubrow is born.
- Jake Morrison is born.
1990
- Patricia Whitmore is born.
- August 2: Iraq invades Kuwait, eventually leading to the Gulf War. Future U.S. President, Thomas Whitmore, participates in the conflict.
1991
- February 28: The Gulf War ends as Iraq withdraw its military forces from Kuwait.
1992
- Rain Lao is born.
1993
- January 20th: Thomas Whitmore is sworn into office as the 42nd President of the United States.
1996
- July 2: The War of 1996 begins. A massive alien mothership entered Earth's orbit, deploying 36 "City Destroyers" to annihilate the world's largest cities. Within 48 hours, 108 cities were reduced to ashes.
- July 4: Earth's nations launch a globally coordinated counterattack which took out the alien mothership - halting their fourth wave of attacks and eliminating the extraterrestrial threat.
- July 5: A functioning extraterrestrial craft is discovered beneath the Atlantic Ocean. An investigation - headed by Captain Joshua T. Adams - is implemented by the U.S. military.[3]
- December 3: Captain Joshua Adams leads a globally united military effort that salvages the first fully functioning hover technology from a crashed City Destroyer in Egypt.
1997
- November 11: Reconstruction begins on Earth as the great cities, monuments, and landmarks of the world are slowly restored to their former glory. Although the alien threat is neutralized, a small pocket of alien resistance is isolated in the African Congo.
1998
- March 17: The near annihilation of humankind has given an unexpected (but welcome) effect, as centuries of old conflicts and political distrust are dissolved to create an unprecedented unity among the nations of the world. World leaders meet in Naples, Italy to symbolize this change.
- May 25: Following the newly established global peace alliance, the United Nations creates the Earth Space Defense program (ESD) to serve as an early warning system and united global defense unit. In conjunction with this announcement, the ESD launches a worldwide publicity and recruitment campaign.
1999
- January 8: The ESD applies recovered alien shield technology to an F-22 Raptor to understand how they can better integrate other alien technology into future full Hybrid Fighters. This light experiment will serve as the foundation for the dramatic innovations that the ESD delivers nearly a decade later.
2000
- June 22: Following the destruction of the alien mothership, Las Vegas was completely demolished by a crashing City Destroyer. Since then, thousands have visited the untouched ruins - serving as a dramatic reminder of the aliens' ruthless attack and a permanent memorial.
2001
- January 15th: After two terms in office, President Thomas Whitmore makes his final address to the nation, clearing the way for the newly elected President William Grey.[4]
- January 20th: William Grey is sworn into office as the 43rd President of the United States after defeating former Secretary of Defense Albert Nimziki in a landslide election.
- August 10: A large group of alien survivors continue to hold out in a remote part of the African Congo. The ESD repeatedly offers their support and assistance to the local government of the National Republic of Umbutu, but is met with aggressive refusal. It is estimated that it will take five more years to subdue the final alien holdouts - a decade after their initial attack.
2003
- October 23: Applying new data from recovered alien weaponry, U.S. Army scientists make dramatic advances in applying their findings to military applications. While there is initially some controversy around exploiting this technology, demonstrations of the new weapons' capabilities quickly alleviate fears.
2004
- The ESD Spring Expo is first held.[4]
2005
- January 20: Lucas Jacobs, the former War of 96' Army Lieutenant General, is sworn into office as the 44th President of the United States. Jacobs' strong international relationships and key involvement with growing the ESD program easily solidify his two terms in office.
- February 7: Rumors of a top secret alien prison below Area 51 start to gain traction with the general public - continuing to raise questions as to what happened to the captured aliens following the War of 1996. ESD officials offer no comment regarding the legitimacy of these rumors.
2007
- April 27: The 2007 ESD Spring Expo is held. Col. Steven Hiller dies while test piloting the ESD's first alien hybrid fighter. He is survived by his wife Jasmine and son Dylan. The tragic event spurred David Levinson to becoming Director of the ESD.[4]
2009
- February 21: Monitored from its command center in Beijing, China, the Earth Space Defense Moonbase opens as ESD Director David Levinson presided over the ribbon cutting ceremony. Designed with both offensive and defensive weapons capabilities, the Moonbase is the first of several planetary bases designed to monitor the solar system for potential alien threats.
2011
- June 4: As a Keynote speaker at the 2011 TEDx Conference, ESD Director David Levinson highlights some of the breakout consumer products that were inspired by alien technologies - including touchscreen smartphones, bladeless fans, drones and airport security scanners.
2013
- January 20: Elizabeth Lanford, the forward-thinking former Vice President, is sworn into office as the 45th President of the United States - becoming the first woman in history to command the oval office.
2014
- April: The tenth annual Xenology Conference is held in Lisbon, Portugal.[4]
- August 19: After years of research and development from ESD scientists around the world, the next generation of hybrid alien vehicles and weapon systems are introduced. One of the standouts is the H-8 Global Defender Hybrid Fighter, boasting unprecedented speed, maneuverability and offensive capabilities.
2016
- February 15: Kicking off the upcoming 20th Anniversary celebration of the War of 1996, President Lanford unveils a newly commissioned portrait of 42nd President Thomas Whitmore - honoring his valor and leadership to unite the world and lead humanity from its darkest day to a brighter future.
- July 4: Earth celebrates its 20th anniversary of the 1996 invasion. By this time, humanity has colonized Mars and Saturn's moon Rhea.
Media chronology
1996
2016