Timeline¶
The Corleone story, 1901–1997, plus the real-world production history alongside it.
Dates marked ≈ are inferred from context rather than stated on screen. The films rarely date themselves, and the novel and continuation novels sometimes disagree.
In-universe¶
The Sicilian origin¶
| Year | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1891 ≈ | Vito Andolini born, Corleone, Sicily | Part II |
| 1901 | Antonio Andolini murdered by Don Ciccio. Paolo Andolini killed. Signora Andolini killed protecting Vito. | Part II |
| 1901 | Vito, aged 9, reaches Ellis Island. A clerk records his surname as Corleone. Quarantined for smallpox. | Part II |
Building the family¶
| Year | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1917 ≈ | Vito working in the Abbandando grocery; married to Carmela; Sonny born | Part II |
| 1917–18 | Don Fanucci forces Vito out of his job. Vito falls in with Clemenza and Tessio. | Part II |
| 1919 ≈ | Fredo born | Part II |
| 1920 | Vito kills Don Fanucci during the Feast of San Rocco | Part II |
| 1920 ≈ | Michael born | Part II |
| 1920–25 | Genco Pura Olive Oil founded with Genco Abbandando and Clemenza. Vito becomes the neighborhood's patron. | Part II |
| 1925 | Vito returns to Sicily and kills Don Ciccio | Part II |
| 1927 ≈ | Connie born | inferred |
| 1930s | Vito consolidates power through Prohibition's end | The Family Corleone (1933–34) |
| 1933–34 | Sonny, aged 17, forces his way into the business. Tom Hagen groomed for consigliere. Luca Brasi recruited. | The Family Corleone |
| 1941 | December 7. Vito's birthday. Michael announces his Marine enlistment. The last time the family is intact. | Part II flashback |
The war¶
| Year | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1945 | August. Connie marries Carlo Rizzi. Vito hears petitions. Michael brings Kay. | The Godfather |
| 1945 | Genco Abbandando dies of cancer | novel; restored cuts |
| 1945 | The Woltz affair — the horse's head | The Godfather |
| 1945 | Sollozzo's narcotics proposal refused. Luca Brasi killed. Vito shot five times and survives. | The Godfather |
| 1945 | Michael kills Sollozzo and McCluskey; flees to Sicily. Paulie Gatto killed. | The Godfather |
| 1946–48 | Michael in exile in Sicily | The Godfather; The Sicilian dates its events to 1950 |
| 1948 | Michael marries Apollonia Vitelli. She is killed by a car bomb. | The Godfather |
| 1948 | Sonny killed at the Jones Beach Causeway toll plaza | The Godfather |
| 1948 | Vito convenes the Five Families and makes peace | The Godfather |
Michael's ascent¶
| Year | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 ≈ | Michael returns; marries Kay Adams | The Godfather |
| 1955 | Anthony Corleone born | inferred |
| 1955 | Vito Corleone dies in his garden | The Godfather |
| 1955 | The baptism. Barzini, Tattaglia, Cuneo, Stracci, and Moe Greene killed. Tessio executed. Carlo Rizzi garroted. | The Godfather |
| 1955 | Michael lies to Kay. The door closes. | The Godfather |
| 1955–58 | The family relocates to Nevada | Part II |
| 1955–62 | Winegardner's interquel — Nick Geraci, Francesca Corleone | The Godfather Returns |
| 1958 | Mary Corleone born | inferred |
The fall¶
| Year | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Anthony's First Communion, Lake Tahoe. Senator Geary's bribe. Pentangeli's grievance. Assassination attempt on Michael. | Part II |
| 1958 | December 31. Havana. Michael learns Fredo betrayed him. Batista abdicates; the revolution takes the city. | Part II |
| 1959 | Senate committee hearings. Pentangeli recants. Kay reveals the abortion; Michael strikes her and banishes her. | Part II |
| 1959 | Carmela Corleone dies. | Part II |
| 1959 | Hyman Roth killed at Miami airport; Rocco Lampone killed. Frank Pentangeli dies in protective custody. Fredo Corleone killed on Lake Tahoe. | Part II |
| 1963–64 | Winegardner's sequel — Tom Hagen killed; the Shea assassination | The Godfather's Revenge |
| before 1979 | Tom Hagen dies — unexplained in the films | Part III |
The end¶
| Year | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Michael invested with the Order of St. Sebastian. Vincent Mancini joins the family. The Immobiliare deal proposed. | Part III |
| 1979 | Joey Zasa's helicopter attack on the Commission in Atlantic City. Michael's diabetic stroke. Zasa killed by Vincent. | Part III |
| 1979 | Michael's confession to Cardinal Lamberto, who is elected Pope John Paul I and dies 33 days later. | Part III |
| 1980 | Michael abdicates; Vincent becomes Don. The opera night: Keinszig, Altobello, Lucchesi, and Gilday killed. | Part III |
| 1980 | Mary Corleone killed on the steps of the Teatro Massimo | Part III |
| 1997 | Michael Corleone dies alone in a Sicilian courtyard | Part III — removed in Coda |
Real-world¶
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1965 | Puzo publishes The Fortunate Pilgrim. It fails commercially. |
| 1967–68 | Puzo shops ~60 pages of The Godfather. Paramount options film rights for $12,500 against $80,000. |
| March 10, 1969 | The Godfather published by G. P. Putnam's Sons |
| 1969–70 | 67 weeks on the bestseller list; 9M+ copies in two years |
| April 14, 1970 | Puzo hired to adapt, $100,000 plus percentage |
| August 10, 1970 | Puzo delivers first draft, ~150 pages |
| September 28, 1970 | Coppola announced as director — $125,000 plus 6% of gross rentals |
| February 1971 | Ruddy reaches agreement with Joe Colombo and the Italian-American Civil Rights League |
| March 29, 1971 | Shooting script delivered (163 pages); principal photography begins |
| June 1971 | Colombo shot and permanently disabled at a League rally |
| June 22, 1971 | Sonny's tollbooth sequence shot at Mitchel Field, Long Island |
| August 6, 1971 | Principal photography ends |
| March 14, 1972 | World premiere, Loew's State Theatre, New York |
| March 24, 1972 | US wide release |
| March 27, 1973 | 45th Academy Awards — 3 wins. Brando declines Best Actor; Sacheen Littlefeather appears in his place. |
| October 1, 1973 | Part II begins shooting |
| June 19, 1974 | Part II wraps |
| December 12, 1974 | Part II premiere, Loew's Astor Plaza |
| November 16 & 18, 1974 | NBC broadcasts The Godfather — a record $10M rights fee |
| April 8, 1975 | 47th Academy Awards — Part II wins 6, the first sequel to win Best Picture |
| November 18, 1977 | The Godfather Saga broadcast on NBC |
| April 10, 1979 | Nino Rota dies |
| 1981 | The Godfather Epic VHS box set |
| 1988 | Coppola signs for Part III — $6M plus participation |
| July 18, 1989 | Rebecca Schaeffer murdered, hours before her scheduled audition for Mary |
| November 27, 1989 | Part III begins shooting |
| December 25, 1990 | Part III wide release — $6M on Christmas Day, a record held until Titanic |
| 1992 | The Godfather Trilogy: 1901–1980 released |
| July 2, 1999 | Mario Puzo dies, ending the Part IV project |
| October 9, 2001 | The Godfather DVD Collection |
| July 1, 2004 | Marlon Brando dies |
| March 21, 2006 | EA's The Godfather video game — Brando's last recorded performance |
| September 23, 2008 | The Coppola Restoration released |
| 2012 | The Family Corleone published; Paramount and the Puzo estate sue each other |
| 2013 | The litigation settles |
| May 18, 2014 | Gordon Willis dies |
| November 2016 | The Godfather Notebook published in facsimile |
| October 26, 2019 | Robert Evans dies |
| December 4, 2020 | The Godfather Coda released |
| March 22, 2022 | 50th anniversary 4K restorations; The Offer premieres April 28 |
| July 6, 2022 | James Caan dies |
| May 25, 2024 | Albert S. Ruddy dies |
| October 11, 2025 | Diane Keaton dies |
| February 15, 2026 | Robert Duvall dies |
See also¶
- Continuity — how the sources rank when they conflict
- Family Tree · Body Count
- Charts