| 1907 |
Born, Edward John Mostyn Bowlby, fourth child and second son of Sir Anthony and Lady May Bowlby. Lived at Manchester Square, London. |
| 1914–25 |
Preparatory school and then Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. |
| 1925–28 |
Trinity College, Cambridge. |
| 1928–29 |
Teacher in progressive school for maladjusted children. |
| 1929 |
Started clinical medical studies at University College Hospital, London, and psychoanalytic training at the Institute of Psychoanalysis, London. Training analyst, Mrs Joan Riviere. |
| 1933 |
Medical qualification. Psychiatric training at Maudsley Hospital, London, under Aubrey Lewis. |
| 1937 |
Qualified as an analyst. Starts training in child analysis, supervisor, Melanie Klein. |
| 1938 |
Married Ursula Longstaff, with whom he had two sons and two daughters. |
| 1940 |
Publication: Personality and Mental Illness (with F. Durbin). |
| 1937–40 |
Psychiatrist, London Child Guidance Clinic. |
| 1940–45 |
Specialist Psychiatrist, Royal Army Medical Corps, mainly concerned with Officer Selection Boards. |
| 1946 |
Publication, ‘Forty-four juvenile thieves: their characters and home life’. |
| 1946–72 |
Consultant Child Psychiatrist and Deputy Director, Tavistock Clinic, London, and Director, Department for Children and Parents. |
| 1950–72 |
Consultant in Mental Health, World Health Organisation. |
| 1951 |
Publication of Maternal Care and Mental Health. |
| 1957–58 |
Fellow, Centre for Advanced Study in the Behavioural Sciences, Stanford, California. |
| 1956–61 |
Deputy President, British Psychoanalytical Society. |
| 1958–63 |
Consultant, US National Institute of Mental Health. |
| 1969 |
Publication of Attachment, first volume of the Attachment and Loss trilogy. |
| —— |
Visiting Professor in Psychiatry, Stanford University, California. |
| 1963–72 |
Member, External Scientific Staff, Medical Research Council. |
| 1972 |
Commander of the British Empire. |
| 1973 |
Publication of Separation, second volume of the Attachment and Loss trilogy. |
| 1973 |
Travelling Professor, Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. |
| 1977 |
Honorary Doctor of Science, University of Cambridge. |
| 1979 |
Publication of The Making and Breaking of Affectional Bonds. |
| 1980 |
Publication of Loss, third volume of the Attachment and Loss trilogy. |
| 1981 |
Freud Memorial Professor of Psychoanalysis, University College, London. |
| —— |
Foreign Honorary Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences. |
| 1987 |
Celebration of Bowlby's 80th birthday with a conference at the Tavistock Clinic, bringing together researchers and clinicians, entitled ‘The Effect of Relationships on Relationships’. |
| 1988 |
Publication of A Secure Base. |
| 1989 |
Fellow of the British Academy. |
| 1990 |
Publication of Charles Darwin, A New Biography. |
| —— |
Dies while in Skye, at his holiday home where much of his writing had been done. |