30 moments

1. Birth in Concord

   1817-07-12 · Wheeler-Minot Farmhouse, Concord, Massachusetts, United States

   

   Thoreau was born David Henry Thoreau in Concord, Massachusetts. Birthplace coordinate is for the Wheeler-Minot Farmhouse.

2. Teaching term in Canton

   1835-01-01 · Canton, Massachusetts, United States

   

   During a leave from Harvard, Thoreau taught school and stayed in the household of Orestes Brownson in Canton. The source identifies Brownson's residence as Canton; exact house location is not established here.

3. Harvard senior year

   1837-01-12 · Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

   

   Thoreau was physically present at Harvard College during his final undergraduate year, using the college library while living in Cambridge. Coordinate is a representative point for Harvard College.

4. Concord and Merrimack river voyage

   1839-01-01 · Merrimack River, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, United States

   Thoreau and his brother John made the two-week river journey later transformed into A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. Coordinate is a representative point on the Merrimack River; the documented journey covered a route.

5. Residence with the Emerson family

   1841-04-01 · Ralph Waldo Emerson House, Concord, Massachusetts, United States

   Thoreau moved into Ralph Waldo Emerson's Concord household, where he worked as tutor, editorial assistant, repairman, and gardener. The source gives April 18, 1841; date is recorded to month precision because the card represents the beginning of a multiyear residence.

6. Walk to Mount Wachusett

   1842-07-20 · Mount Wachusett, Princeton, Massachusetts, United States

   On the second day of his excursion with Richard Fuller, Thoreau reached and explored the summit of Mount Wachusett. The journey began July 19, 1842; the source states they reached the summit the following day.

7. Arrival on Staten Island

   1843-05-07 · Staten Island, New York, United States

   

   Thoreau moved to William Emerson's household on Staten Island to tutor William Emerson's children and pursue literary contacts in New York City. Coordinate is a representative point for Staten Island; the source does not establish the precise house site.

8. Walden Pond residence begins

   1845-07-04 · Walden Pond, Concord, Massachusetts, United States

   

   Thoreau began his celebrated experiment in simple living at the house he built near Walden Pond. Coordinate represents the documented Walden Pond cabin area.

9. Night in Concord jail

   1846-07-01 · Concord Jail, Concord, Massachusetts, United States

   

   Thoreau was jailed overnight after refusing to pay his poll tax, an episode that became central to his argument for civil disobedience. The chronology dates the incarceration to July 23 or 24, 1846; exact day remains uncertain.

10. Mount Katahdin journey

    1846-08-01 · Mount Katahdin, Maine, United States

    Thoreau left Walden briefly for his first Maine excursion, a journey later represented in the "Ktaadn" section of The Maine Woods. The source supports month-level timing and Mount Katahdin as the journey destination.

11. Return to Emerson household

    1847-09-06 · Ralph Waldo Emerson House, Concord, Massachusetts, United States

    After leaving Walden Pond, Thoreau immediately returned to the Emerson home to assist Lidian Emerson while Ralph Waldo Emerson traveled in Europe.

12. Lecture on individual and government

    1848-01-01 · Concord Lyceum, Concord, Massachusetts, United States

    

    Thoreau presented his tax-resistance argument at the Concord Lyceum, a lecture later revised into "Civil Disobedience." The source supports January-February 1848 but not a single exact lecture date.

13. Belknap Street residence

    1848-07-01 · Belknap Street, Concord, Massachusetts, United States

    

    After his second residence with the Emerson family, Thoreau moved to a house on nearby Belknap Street in Concord. Coordinate is a representative point on Belknap Street.

14. First Cape Cod excursion

    1849-01-01 · Cape Cod, Massachusetts, United States

    Thoreau made the first of four documented visits to Cape Cod, travel that informed his later Cape Cod lectures and book. Source supports year precision and the broader Cape Cod region, not an exact itinerary.

15. Departure for Quebec

    1850-09-25 · Concord, Massachusetts, United States

    

    Thoreau began his only journey outside the United States, travelling with Ellery Channing toward Quebec.

16. Return journey from Montreal

    1850-10-04 · Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    

    Thoreau was in Montreal at the conclusion of his Canadian journey and departed on his return route to Massachusetts.

17. Chesuncook Lake expedition

    1853-09-01 · Chesuncook Lake, Maine, United States

    During his second Maine journey, Thoreau travelled with George Thatcher and guide Joe Aitteon to the Chesuncook Lake area. The specific Chesuncook Lake travel falls during the September 1853 expedition; available evidence here does not provide a single arrival date.

18. Second Maine journey departs Boston

    1853-09-13 · Boston Harbor, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    

    Thoreau embarked from Boston by steamer for Bangor on his second Maine expedition, which included Chesuncook Lake. Coordinate is a representative point for Boston Harbor.

19. Philadelphia and New York journey

    1854-01-01 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

    

    Thoreau travelled southwest to Philadelphia and New York City during the year Walden was published. This card represents the Philadelphia portion of a documented 1854 journey; the source supplies year precision only.

20. Eagleswood arrival and surveying

    1856-10-25 · Eagleswood Community, Perth Amboy, New Jersey, United States

    

    Thoreau arrived at the Eagleswood Community near Perth Amboy to survey an estate and deliver lectures. Coordinate is an approximate representative point for the historic Eagleswood Community site.

21. Third Maine Woods excursion

    1857-07-20 · Maine Woods, Maine, United States

    Thoreau set out on his third major Maine Woods expedition, later recorded in "The Allegash and East Branch." Coordinate is a representative point for the broader Maine Woods route.

22. White Mountains journey

    1858-01-01 · White Mountains, New Hampshire, United States

    

    Thoreau travelled in the White Mountains of New Hampshire during his later period of intensive natural-history observation. The source confirms a 1858 White Mountains visit but does not specify a precise date or route.

23. Life Misspent lecture

    1859-10-09 · Music Hall, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    

    Thoreau delivered his lecture "Life Misspent" before Theodore Parker's society at Boston's Music Hall. Historic Music Hall coordinate is approximate.

24. John Brown address in Concord

    1859-10-30 · First Parish Meetinghouse, Concord, Massachusetts, United States

    

    Following John Brown's raid, Thoreau publicly delivered "The Character and Actions of Capt. John Brown" in Concord.

25. Niagara Falls visit

    1861-05-15 · Goat Island, Niagara Falls, New York, United States

    

    On a health journey with Horace Mann Jr., Thoreau reached Niagara Falls and explored Goat Island.

26. Detroit stop

    1861-05-20 · Detroit, Michigan, United States

    

    Thoreau passed through Detroit on the westward leg of his health journey toward Minnesota.

27. Chicago visit

    1861-05-21 · Chicago, Illinois, United States

    

    Thoreau arrived in Chicago and recorded observations on its landscape, streets, lakefront, and vegetation.

28. Mississippi River passage at Prairie du Chien

    1861-05-24 · Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, United States

    

    Travelling upriver toward Minnesota, Thoreau recorded landscape observations at Prairie du Chien. The source places the journal entry at Prairie du Chien during the upriver voyage.

29. Arrival at St. Anthony

    1861-05-26 · St. Anthony, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

    

    Thoreau reached St. Anthony, now part of Minneapolis, during the Minnesota journey undertaken in hope of improving his health. Historic St. Anthony is now within Minneapolis; coordinate is a representative point for St. Anthony Falls.

30. Death in Concord

    1862-05-06 · Thoreau-Alcott House, Concord, Massachusetts, United States

    

    Thoreau died of tuberculosis at his mother's home on Main Street in Concord. The main biographical source identifies Concord as his place of death; the Walden Woods chronology specifies his mother's Main Street home.