| 1881 | Born 15 October at 1 Vale Place, Epsom Road, Guildford, Surrey, England. Parents Henry Ernest Wodehouse and Eleanor Wodehouse (née Deane). Named after his godfather Pelham Grenville von Donop. (Young Wodehouse spent nearly two years in Hong Kong as an infant with his parents.) |
| Two elder brothers, Philip Peveril and Ernest Armine (known by his second name) and (later) one younger brother, Richard Lancelot. | |
1886 | Attended a Dame School 1 in Croydon, Surrey. Spent summers with grandmother at Powick, Worcs. |
| 1889 | Attended Elizabeth College, St. Peter Port school in Guernsey. |
| 1891 | Attended Malvern House, Kearnsey near Dover, Kent, a preparatory school for the navy. |
| 1894 - 1900 | Attended Dulwich College in SW London. Wrote articles for the school magazine The Alleynian and joint editor 1899-90. Played cricket as a fast bowler, rugby as a forward and boxed. Finished as a school prefect and in the Classical Sixth. (1895-6 stayed with parents at 62 Croxted Rd, Dulwich, but boarded in school for much of time.) |
| Unable to go on to Oxford as his father had already sent his brother Armine and, due to the effects of the exchange rates on his pension from Hong Kong, could not afford the extra fees. | |
| 1900 | First commercial article Some Aspects of Game Captaincy published in the Public School Magazine. |
| Worked as a clerk at the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank, 31 Lombard Street in London until September 1902, writing articles and stories in his spare time. | |
| Took lodgings in Markham Square, a bedsit off the King's Road, Chelsea. | |
| 1901 | First publication of a short story The Prize Poem in July. |
| 1902 | Took job as assistant editor of the By the Way column of the Globe in September. |
| First school book The Pothunters published. | |
| Moved to 23 Walpole Street, Chelsea, a larger bedsit. | |
| Also spent time at Emsworth House school where he helped out with school plays. | |
| 1904 | Rented a cottage called Threepwood in Emsworth. |
| First song lyric Put me in my little cell used in Sergeant Brue. | |
| Became editor of the By the Way column. | |
| First visit to the USA. | |
| Publication of only children's book William Tell Told Again. | |
| 1905 | First of many stories published in the Strand magazine (to 1940). |
| 1906 | Employed as resident lyrist (lyricist) by Seymour Hicks. |
| First adult novel Love Among the Chickens published, featuring Ukridge. | |
| 1909 | Resigned from the Globe. |
| Lived part time in Greenwich Village, New York, to 1914. | |
| First book published in the US. | |
| Last school book Mike published, featuring Psmith. | |
| 1911 | First play put on in New York - A Gentleman of Leisure. |
| 1913 | First play put on in London - Brother Alfred. |
| 1914 | 30 September, married Ethel Rowley (née Newton), an English widow with a daughter, Leonora, by her previous marriage. |
| Moved to Bellport, Long Island (until February 1918). | |
| Outbreak of WW1. Registered for war service - rejected due to poor eyesight. | |
| Started work for Vanity Fair magazine, including as drama critic (to 1919). | |
| 1915 | First appearance of Lord Emsworth in Something Fresh (also the first of many books first published in the USA in the Saturday Evening Post). |
| Met Guy Bolton, collaboration discussed. | |
| First appearance of Jeeves and Wooster in Extricating Young Gussie. | |
| 1916 | First musical by Bolton, Wodehouse and Kern put on in New York (Miss Springtime). |
| 1918 | Moved to Arrandale Avenue, Great Neck, LI, to be nearer work. |
| 1923 | Last appearance of Psmith (in Leave it to Psmith). |
| 1926 | First Mr Mulliner story published. |
| First performance of adapted play The Play's the Thing, much revived since. | |
| 1927 | Moved to 17 Norfolk Street (now Dunraven Street). |
| 1929 | Father died. |
| New York stock market crash. PG lost some money but Ethel had kept some safe. | |
| 1930 | First spell in Hollywood as writer. |
| 1931 | Co-founded of the Hollywood Cricket Club. |
| 1932 | Leonora married Peter Cazelet. PG resident in Auribeau, near Cannes. Learned French at Berlitz school. |
| 1934 | Moved to Le Touquet, France. |
| 1936 | Second spell in Hollywood. Wrote Laughing Gas set there. |
| 1938 | The Code of the Woosters published. |
| 1939 | Outbreak of WW2. |
| 1940 | Tried to leave Le Touquet. Interned by Germans in Lille, Liege, Huy and Tost. |
| 1941 | Released from internment on account of age (60). |
| Radio broadcasts from Germany to USA. | |
| Mother died. | |
| 1943 | Moved to Paris. |
| 1944 | Leonora died unexpectedly. |
| 1947 | Moved to New York. |
| 1948 | Joy in the Morning published. |
| 1949 | Tax dispute with US resolved. |
| The Mating Season published. | |
| 1952 | Bought house in Remsenburg, Long Island. |
| 1953 | Published Bring on the Girls with Guy Bolton. |
| 1954 | Last play performed (excluding revivals). |
| 1955 | Became US citizen. |
| 1957 | Published autobiography Over Seventy. |
| 1960 - 1969 | Published nine novels and one collection of stories. |
| 1970 | Last new short story Another Christmas Carol published. |
| 1974 | Last complete novel Aunt's Aren't Gentlemen published. |
| 1975 | 1 January, awarded honorary knighthood (K.B.E.) |
| 14 February, died, aged 93 - still writing. |
1. A Dame school was a privately run infants school or child care facility usually in a private home, in the days before public education. The quality of education they provided, if any, varied greatly. The one PG attended was run by a Miss Roper.