25 moments

1. Family move to the East End

   1952-01-01 · East End, London, England, United Kingdom

   As an infant, Adams moved with his family from Cambridge to the East End of London. The source gives only a relative date, so the year of birth is used.

2. Birth in Cambridge

   1952-03-11 · Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

   Douglas Noël Adams was born in Cambridge.

3. Moved to Brentwood animal shelter

   1957-01-01 · Brentwood, Essex, England, United Kingdom

   After his parents' divorce, Adams moved with his mother and sister to his maternal grandparents' RSPCA animal shelter in Brentwood. The source dates the move only as occurring by age five; 1957 is a representative latest year based on his 1952 birth date.

4. Entered Brentwood School preparatory department

   1959-09-01 · Brentwood School, Brentwood, Essex, England, United Kingdom

   Adams began at the preparatory department of Brentwood School, where some of his earliest writing was published.

5. Became a Brentwood School boarder

   1964-09-01 · Brentwood School, Brentwood, Essex, England, United Kingdom

   Adams became a boarder at Brentwood School.

6. Entered St John's College

   1971-01-01 · St John's College, Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

   Adams entered St John's College, Cambridge, to study English and subsequently joined Footlights.

7. Innsbruck inspiration for Hitchhiker's title

   1971-01-01 · Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria

   Adams later identified Innsbruck as the place where he first conceived the title The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. A competing recollection places the idea on Santorini in summer 1973; the source notes Adams himself was unsure of the event's details.

8. Santorini recollection

   1973-01-01 · Santorini, South Aegean, Greece

   Several Cambridge friends recalled Adams saying that he spent a night on a rock on Santorini during the summer of 1973. This recollection conflicts with Adams's Innsbruck account of the same creative origin; it is included as a separately sourced presence claim.

9. Graduated from Cambridge

   1974-01-01 · University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

   Adams completed his English literature degree at Cambridge before beginning his professional writing career. The university coordinate is representative; Adams studied at St John's College.

10. Moved back to London

    1974-01-01 · London, England, United Kingdom

    After university, Adams returned to London to pursue television and radio writing. The source gives no more precise date than his post-university period.

11. Met Graham Chapman at Chox opening party

    1974-07-01 · West End, London, England, United Kingdom

    Adams met Graham Chapman at the West End opening-night party for Chox, beginning their writing partnership. The precise venue is not identified; coordinates represent the West End.

12. Lived with family in Stalbridge

    1976-01-01 · Stalbridge, Dorset, England, United Kingdom

    Following a stalled period in his career, Adams moved in with his family in Stalbridge, Dorset. The source specifies only that the move occurred by the end of 1976.

13. Performed at the Edinburgh Fringe

    1976-08-01 · Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

    Adams co-wrote and performed Unpleasantness at Brodie's Close at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The exact Fringe venue is not specified.

14. Lived in Los Angeles

    1983-01-01 · Los Angeles, California, United States

    Adams lived in Los Angeles with Jane Belson while working on an early screenplay for a Hitchhiker's Guide feature film.

15. Visited Infocom's Boston offices

    1984-01-01 · Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    

    Adams visited Infocom's Boston offices, where he first encountered an Apple Macintosh during work associated with interactive fiction. The source identifies Infocom's offices but not their street address; coordinates represent Boston.

16. Search for the aye-aye

    1985-01-01 · Madagascar

    Adams travelled to Madagascar to search for the aye-aye as part of a World Wide Fund for Nature and Observer project; there he met zoologist Mark Carwardine. The specific field location is not supplied; coordinates represent Antananarivo as a country-level reference point.

17. Royal Institution Christmas Lecture appearance

    1991-01-01 · Royal Institution, London, England, United Kingdom

    At Richard Dawkins's invitation, Adams participated in a Royal Institution Christmas Lecture and read from The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

18. Worked in New Mexico

    1993-10-01 · New Mexico, United States

    While working in New Mexico, Adams began posting to his own USENET newsgroup. The source does not identify a city; coordinates represent the state.

19. Climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for Save the Rhino

    1994-01-01 · Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

    Adams took part in a Save the Rhino fundraising climb of Mount Kilimanjaro and wore a rhino costume during part of it.

20. Played guitar with Pink Floyd at Earls Court

    1994-01-01 · Earls Court Exhibition Centre site, London, England, United Kingdom

    For his forty-second birthday, Adams was invited to play guitar live on stage with Pink Floyd at Earls Court. The source identifies the event as his forty-second-birthday present, placing it in 1994; the exhibition centre has since been demolished.

21. Microsoft Professional Developers Conference keynote

    1996-01-01 · San Francisco, California, United States

    

    Adams gave a keynote address at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference in San Francisco. The conference venue is not specified.

22. Moved to Montecito

    1999-01-01 · Montecito, California, United States

    Adams and his family moved to Montecito, California, as the Hitchhiker's Guide feature-film project approached production.

23. Embedded Systems Conference keynote

    2001-04-01 · San Francisco, California, United States

    

    Adams was a keynote speaker at the Embedded Systems Conference in San Francisco shortly before his death. The conference venue is not specified.

24. University of California, Santa Barbara talk

    2001-05-01 · University of California, Santa Barbara, California, United States

    

    Adams gave the talk Parrots, the Universe and Everything at the University of California, Santa Barbara, shortly before his death. The Wikipedia source identifies the month but not the day.

25. Death at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital

    2001-05-11 · Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara, California, United States

    After collapsing at a Santa Barbara gym following a workout, Adams died that morning at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.