This is the pre-movie timeline for Atlas Shrugged. Note that 4/7/1976 is the US bicentennial, so a little earlier would be a good date for some nationalist faction to emerge. In general 1975-1980 would be a good "year zero" for Iron Legion. It's safe to assume that at the same time Max Rokatansky is fighting leather daddies in Australia, guess they still have oil available down there.
| Year | Date | Event | Page |
| c. 1600 | | Sebastián D'Anconia leaves his fortune in Spain and flees to Argentina. | 89-90 |
| c. 1615 | | Sebastián D'Anconia sends for the girl he loved in Spain; she comes to him. | 90 |
| c. 1860 | | Nathaniel ("Nat") Taggart, ancestor of Dagny Taggart, founds the Taggart Transcontinental railroad. | 62 |
| c. 1880 | | Nat Taggart's son builds a bridge in Colorado. | 156 |
| c. 1900 | | Nat Taggart's grandson builds the Taggart Tunnel. | 581 |
| 1918 | | Paul Larkin is born. | 43 |
| c. 1919 | | Robert Stadler is born. | 176 |
| 1920 | | Richard Halley is born. | 69-70 |
| c. 1922 | | Dan Conway is born. | 78 |
| 1926 | | Hank Rearden is born. | 34 |
| 1928 | | Floyd Ferris is born. | 324 |
| 1930 | | Lee Hunsacker is born. | 298 |
| 1932 | | James Taggart is born. | 15 |
| 1933 | | Phillip Rearden is born. | 40 |
| 1935 | | Francisco d'Anconia is born. | 57 |
| 1935 | | John Galt is born. | 731 |
| 1935 | | Ragnar Danneskjöld is born. | 731 |
| 1937 | | Dagny Taggart is born. | 55, 91 |
| 1938 | | Ellis Wyatt is born. | 17 |
| 1939 | | Eddie Willers is born. | 11 |
| 1940 | | Hank Rearden takes a job working in iron mines in Minnesota. | 36 |
| 1942 | | Jeff Allen goes to work for the Twentieth Century Motor Company. | 616 |
| 1944 | | Richard Halley writes an opera called Phaëthon. It closes after one performance. | 69-70 |
| 1944 | | William Hastings goes to work for the Twentieth Century Motor Company. | 309 |
| 1945 | Winter | Francisco spends the winter in Madrid, at the home of the Duke of Alba. | 92 |
| c. 1946 | | Robert Stadler writes a treatise on cosmic rays. | 175 |
| 1946 | Summer | Dagny decides she will work at Taggart Transcontinental. | 54 |
| 1946 | Winter | Francisco spends the winter as a cabin boy on a cargo steamer carrying d'Anconia copper. | 92 |
| 1947 | Summer | Francisco works as a dispatcher's call boy for a Taggart Transcontinental division point. | 91-92 |
| 1947 | | Galt leaves home at the age of 12. | 731 |
| c. 1949 | | Robert Stadler is "recognized as the greatest physicist of his time." | 175 |
| 1949 | | Dagny tells Eddie that she will run Taggart Transcontinental when they grow up. | 55 |
| 1950 | Summer | While hopping trains to visit factories for fun, Francisco tells Dagny and Eddie that industrial trademarks are the "coats-of-arms of our day." | 95 |
| c. 1951 | | Robert Stadler is appointed head of the physics department at Patrick Henry University. | 175 |
| 1951 | | Francisco takes a job as a furnace boy in a copper foundry on the outskirts of Cleveland. | 109 |
| 1951 | Fall | Francisco, Galt, and Ragnar begin attending Patrick Henry University in Cleveland. | 97, 731 |
| 1952 | Fall | Jim Taggart is a senior in college. Galt, Francisco and Ragnar are sophomores. | 98 |
| 1953 | Summer | Dagny goes to work for Taggart Transcontinental, as a night station operator in Rockdale. | 55, 101 |
| 1953 | Summer | Jim Taggart goes to work for Taggart Transcontinental, in the Department of Public Relations. | 55 |
| 1954 | | Dagny's mother gives her a formal debut ball. | 102 |
| 1954 | Summer | Dagny and Francisco consummate their relationship. | 106-107 |
| 1955 | | Upon graduating from college, Francisco buys the copper foundry at which he has been working. | 109 |
| 1955 | Fall | Francisco goes to Montana to work as an assistant superintendent at a d'Anconia mine. | 109 |
| 1956 | | Rearden buys an iron mine that is about to close. | 36 |
| 1956 | Spring | Francisco is put in charge of d'Anconia Copper's New York office. | 109 |
| 1958 | | Francisco's father dies; he inherits d'Anconia Copper. | 110 |
| 1959 | | Robert Stadler endorses the founding of the State Science Institute. John Galt discontinues his graduate studies with Stadler the same day. | 176, 734 |
| 1961 | | Rearden buys a steel plant. | 37 |
| 1962 | Spring | Jed Starnes dies; heirs take over Twentieth Century Motor Company. | 616, 313 |
| 1962 | Spring | Galt begins the strike. | 626 |
| 1962 | | Francisco goes on strike. | 110-114 |
| 1962 | | Hugh Akston retires from Patrick Henry University. | 138 |
| 1962 | | Dagny ends her friendship with Fransisco. | 61 |
| 1962 | | William Hastings quits the Twentieth Century Motor Company and takes a job with Acme Motors. | 309 |
| 1962 | | Galt goes to work as a track laborer for Taggart Transcontinental. | 999-1000 |
| 1963 | | Ellis Wyatt develops a way to retrieve oil from previously exhausted wells. | 17 |
| 1963 | | Richard Halley has a successful production of his opera, Phaëthon, then suddenly retires without explanation. | 71 |
| 1963 | | The Twentieth Century Motor Company goes out of business. | 269, 617, 625 |
| 1963 | | William Hastings retires from Acme Motors. | 309 |
| 1963 | December 10 | Hank Rearden marries Lillian. | 125 |
| 1965-66 | | Lee Hunsacker's Amalgamated Service, Inc. sues Midas Mulligan over denied loan to buy TCMC. | 302 |
| 1966 | Spring | Midas Mulligan shuts down his bank and disappears. | 301 |
| 1966 | | Jim and Dagny's father dies. Jim becomes president of Taggart Transcontinental. | 56 |
| 1966 | | The Taggart Transcontinental Board of Directors authorizes construction of the San Sebastián Line. | 57 |
| 1966 | | Two members of the Taggart Transcontinental Board of Directors resign, as does the Vice-President in Charge of Operation. | 59 |
| 1966 | | Taggart Transcontinental's chief engineer resigns. | 157 |
| 1966 | | Work begins at the San Sebastián Mines. | 89 |
| 1966 | | Orren Boyle starts Associated Steel using a government loan for most of the capital. | 51-52 |
| 1966 | Fall | Judge Narragansett retires. | 303 |
| 1967 | | William Hastings dies. | 308 |
| 1968 | | Eric Starnes commits suicide. | 305 |
| 1968 | | Dr. Hendricks retires. | 661 |
| 1968 | | Simon Pritchett becomes head of the philosophy department at Patrick Henry University. | 129 |
| 1969 | | Taggart Transcontinental orders Diesels from United Locomotive Works. | 66 |
| 1969 | | Dagny threatens to resign unless she is made Vice President in Charge of Operation for Taggart Transcontinental. The company's Board gives her the position. | 59-60 |
| 1969-70 | | Lee Hunsacker's Amalgamated Service, Inc. bankrupts the Twentieth Century Motor Company. In turn this bankrupts Eugene Lawson's Community National Bank in Madison, Wisconsin. Mayor Bascom of Rome, Wisconsin buys the remains of Twentieth Century, and sells them to Mark Yonts' People's Mortgage Company. | 281-282 |
| 1970 | August | Taggart Transcontinental orders rail from Orren Boyle's Associated Steel. | 16 |
| 1970 | Fall | Mark Yonts of The People's Mortgage Company sells the remains of the Twentieth Century Motor Company to investors and also uses it as collateral on a loan. | 278 |
| 1970 | Fall | Dagny completes the San Sebastián Line. | 60 |
| 1971 | January 1 | The San Sebastián Line opens. | 60, 120 |
| 1971 | September 2 | The novel begins. | 11 |
| 1971 | September | Dick McNamara, a contractor for Taggart Transcontinental, retires. | 67 |
| 1971 | October | The National Alliance of Railroads passes the "Anti-Dog-Eat-Dog Rule." Dan Conway decides to retire. | 76, 78 |
| 1971 | December 9 | The US Coast Guard tries (but fails) to capture Ragnar Danneskjöld after he seizes a ship bound for the People's State of France. The newspapers do not print the news. | 147-148 |
| 1971 | December 10 | Hank and Lillian Rearden host a party for their wedding anniversary. | 41, 124 |
| 1972 | January | Cherryl Brooks arrives in New York via a Taggart Transcontinental train. | 249 |
| 1972 | Spring | The Utah Institute of Technology closes. | 340 |
| 1972 | July 22 | The John Galt Line opens. | 220 |
| 1972 | July 25 | The Phoenix-Durango Railroad closes. | 217, 220 |
| 1972 | September 2 | Hank and Dagny decide take a few weeks of vacation together, starting the following Monday. | 265 |
| 1972 | November | Wesley Mouch issues directives restricting manufacturing and transportation, and imposing a special tax on Colorado businesses. | 317, 333 |
| 1972 | November | Ellis Wyatt destroys his oil fields and vanishes. A nationwide oil shortage follows. | 319, 325 |
| 1973 | May | The State Science Institute publishes Why Do You Think You Think? by Floyd Ferris. | 321-323 |
| 1973 | September 2 | James Taggart marries Cherryl Brooks. | 364 |
| 1973 | September 3 | The stock of d'Anconia Copper crashes. | 403 |
| 1973 | September 3 | Lillian Rearden discovers her husband is having an affair. | 404 |
| 1973 | December | Ragnar Danneskjöld begins sinking ships loaded with d'Anconia copper. | 465 |
| 1974 | February 15 | The Taggart Transcontinental Board of Directors votes to close the Rio Norte Line (a.k.a. the John Galt Line). | 470, 480 |
| 1974 | March 31 | The Rio Norte/John Galt Line closes. | 480 |
| 1974 | May 1 | Directive #10-289 goes into effect. | 515 |
| 1974 | May 22 | Quentin Daniels sends his letter of resignation to Dagny Taggart. | 601-602 |
| 1974 | May 28 | The Taggart Tunnel is destroyed. | 568, 580 |
| 1974 | May 28 | Kip Chalmers is scheduled to speak at an evening rally in San Francisco. | 548-549 |
| 1974 | May 31 | Dagny's plane crashes in Galt's Gulch. | 650 |
| 1974 | June 29 | Dagny leaves Galt's Gulch. | 746, 756 |
| 1974 | June 29 | Project X is demonstrated. | 763-765 |
| 1974 | August 5 | Cherryl Taggart commits suicide. | 822, 843 |
| 1974 | September 2 | The People's State of Chile nationalizes d'Anconia Copper. | 804, 852 |
| 1974 | November 4 | Rearden goes on strike after his mills are attacked. | 923-927 |
| 1974 | November 22 | John Galt delivers his speech. | 936 |
| 1975 | Spring | The novel ends. | 1074 |
| 2166 | | Contracts guaranteeing property rights for the Taggart Transcontinental's San Sebastián Line and d'Anconia Copper's San Sebastián Mines will expire. |
