| 1858 |
Karl Ernst Ludwig Marx Planck (M.P.) born in Kiel, Denmark. |
| 1867 |
Planck family moves from Kiel to Munich, Bavaria. |
| 1870 |
M.P.’s older brother Hermann dies in the Franco-Prussian War. |
| 1871 |
Wilhelm I of Prussia proclaimed Emperor of newly formed Germany. |
| 1874 |
M.P. begins studies at the University of Munich. |
| 1879 |
M.P. defends dissertation and notes entropy as the arrow of time. |
| 1880 |
M.P. defends habilitation thesis. |
| 1885 |
M.P. appointed associate professor of theoretical physics, University of Kiel. |
| 1887 |
M.P. weds Marie Merck in Munich. |
| 1888 |
Karl Planck, first child of M.P. and Marie, is born. |
| 1889 |
M.P. accepts position at the University of Berlin. Twins Emma and Greta Planck are born. |
| 1893 |
Erwin Planck is born, as the last child of M.P. and Marie. |
| 1894 |
M.P. elected to Berlin Academy of Sciences turns attention to black-body radiation. |
| 1900 |
M.P.’s father Wilhelm dies in Munich. M.P. effectively launches quantum theory during brief presentation in Berlin. |
| 1903 |
Max Laue obtains PhD under thesis advisor M.P. |
| 1905 |
The Plancks move to house in Grunewald suburb of Berlin. M.P. elected president of Prussian Physical Society. “Miracle year” for Albert Einstein, with five groundbreaking publications. |
| 1906–1908 |
M.P. publishes relativistic dynamics, building on Einstein’s initial work. |
| 1907 |
Austrian student Lise Meitner comes to Berlin to attend M.P. lectures. |
| 1909 |
M.P. visits the United States and gives eight lectures at Columbia University. On his return, M.P.’s first wife Marie dies. At a conference in Salzburg, M.P. meets Albert Einstein for the first time. |
| 1911 |
M.P. marries Marga von Hoesslin. First meeting on quantum theory at the Solvay conference, in Brussels. M.P. provides clear statement of Third Law of Thermodynamics. Hermann Planck born to Max and Marga Planck. |
| 1911–1913 |
M.P. introduces a “zero point” energy of the vacuum in his second theory of thermal radiation. |
| 1912 |
M.P. appoints Lise Meitner as his new assistant. Karl Planck is admitted to a sanatorium in Kassel. |
| 1913 |
M.P. becomes rector for the University of Berlin and joins the Kaiser Wilhelm Society (KWG). Albert Einstein officially accepts academic post in Berlin. Grete Planck is admitted to a sanatorium. |
| 1914 |
World War I begins. M.P.’s mother Emma dies in Munich at age 93. M.P. signs “Manifesto of the 93 Intellectuals” defending Germany. Erwin Planck is taken prisoner by French forces. |
| 1916 |
Karl Planck dies in the battle of Verdun. |
| 1917 |
Grete Planck dies shortly after childbirth; her daughter Grete Marie survives. Erwin Planck is released from captivity in France and returns to Berlin. |
| 1918 |
Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates his throne, leading to end of World War I. |
| 1919 |
M.P. awarded 1918 Nobel Prize in Physics. Emma Planck dies in childbirth; her daughter Emmerle survives. |
| 1920 |
M.P. and colleagues launch Notgemeinschaft to fund German science. |
| 1923 |
Attempted Nazi coup fails in Munich. Erwin Planck marries Nelly Schoeller. |
| 1926 |
M.P. officially retires as a professor (duties continue for some time). |
| 1930 |
M.P. becomes president of the KWG. |
| 1933 |
Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor, and Erwin Planck resigns from government. M.P. has face-to-face meeting with Hitler. |
| 1937 |
M.P. steps down from presidency of the KWG. |
| 1938 |
M.P. is forced from presidency of the Prussian Academy of Science. |
| 1939 |
Germany invades Poland, officially starting World War II. |
| 1943 |
M.P. and Marga move to Rogätz due to ongoing bombing in Berlin. |
| 1944 |
Adolf Hitler survives assassination attempt. Erwin Planck is arrested in connection and found guilty of treason. |
| 1945 |
Erwin Planck is executed at Plötzensee Prison. M.P. and Marga are rescued by the American Alsos Mission. |
| 1947 |
Karl Ernst Ludwig Marx Planck dies at age 89 in Göttingen. |