The Fallout Timeline

 

The Fallout world exists in an alternate timeline that completely diverged from the real-world timeline after World War II. From this split until the Great War in 2077, a stylized representation of 1950s American culture (with more advanced technology) dominated the Fallout world.

 

Sci-fi horror

 

The Fallout universe shares the same history up until WW2. The timeline is as follows:

Aug. 6, 1945
The attack on Hiroshima

Sept. 2, 1945
Japan surrenders, and the Fallout universe begins to diverge from ours

1969
The U.S. shrinks politically, from 50 states to 13
"As a hedge against communism, the U.S. consolidates political power into 13 commonwealths, each comprised of several former states."

2002
West Tek is founded
"Destined to become the single largest private contractor to the U.S. government, it's dual focus is on advanced weaponry and biomedical research."

2020
The Delta IX rocket is commissioned by the U.S.S.A.
"The Delta IX rocket is the last of the manned rockets to the Moon"

June 25, 2020
Robert House is born
"The founder of RobCo Industries, his birth is emblematic of the technological divergence in the Fallout universe — a conceit that gives the Fallout universe its distinctly retro-futuristic style. Curiously, analog technology such as vacuum tubes persisted well into Fallout’s 21st century and magnetic storage tape is still prevalent, leading to room-sized computers. Culturally, it's very much still the 1950s. TVs and radios seem frozen in time at the mid-60s, and radio plays remain popular for decades to come. Meanwhile, atomic power is put to use in pedestrian applications, eventually even powering the family car. Robert House excelled at all of these technologies, helping give birth to many of the universe’s robots including Mr. Handy and, yes … even the Pip-Boy."

2021
Hubris Comics begins publishing comic books
"One of their most popular being Grognak the Barbarian."

2037
Mister Handys first made available to consumers
"The Mister Handy series of robots are first brought to market as a general construction and maintenance unit by General Atomics International."

2038
Robert House enrolls at MIT, the forerunner of The Institute
"Records are hazy, but it's assumed Robert House enrolled at Massachusetts Institute of Technology when he was 18. After graduation, he founded RobCo industries. After the Great War of 2077, MIT went underground transforming itself into the secretive organization known as The Institute — which plays a significant role in Fallout 4."

2043
Mass Fusion is founded

2051
USA puts pressure on Mexico in an attempt to keep oil export high
"Seeking to protect business interests and their oil supply, the United States begins to exert increasing pressure on Mexico, citing the political instability and pollution stemming from Mexico as a threat to the United States. Various economic sanctions serve to destabilize Mexico, and the United States military enters Mexico to keep the oil refineries running and making sure oil and fuel continue to make their way north across the border at Mexico's expense."

March 5th, 2053
The United States closes its borders

April 2052
The Resource Wars begin
"Oil reserves begin to run dry world-wide. Smaller nations go bankrupt as the European Commonwealth declares war on the Middle East in response to rising oil prices."

July 26, 2052
The United Nations is disbanded

2053
New Plague appears
"The socially transmitted New Plague arises, killing tens of thousands. The United States closes its borders and the first-ever national quarantine is declared. The source of the plague is unknown, but rumors persist that it is a genetically engineered weapon."

Dec. 2053
Small-scale nuclear war
"An atomic weapon destroys Tel Aviv, Israel, leading to a nuclear exchange between parties in Europe and the Middle East the following January."

2054
Construction on the Vaults begins
"The U.S. Government commissions 122 nuclear-proof bunkers to house selected elements of the population in the event of all-out nuclear war."

2060
The petroleum era ends
"With the Middle East completely dry, vehicles around the world come to a halt, soon replaced by extraordinarily expensive electric and fusion-powered models. The war in the Middle East ends, and the European Commonwealth dissolves."

2060
European Commonwealth falls
"The European Commonwealth falls apart, reduced to hostile nation states, fighting over the remaining resources. The European Civil War begins."

2066
China invades Alaska
"Seeking the last remaining oil reserves in Alaska, an all-out war begins along the Anchorage Front Line. The conflict featured prominently in the Fallout 3 expansion called Operation Anchorage."

2067
Power armor is deployed in combat for the first time

2072
The U.S. begins the formal annexation of Canada

2073
The Enclave takes action
"Made up of individuals scattered throughout the U.S. government, The Enclave does not expect the vast majority of Americans to survive a nuclear holocaust. Instead, they make plans to move the President somewhere safe when war inevitably breaks out and ensure the continuity of government above all else. They take control of a vast oil field below the Pacific Ocean, which they fortify with armaments and technologies in the hope of using it as a base from which to repopulate the country after the radiation subsides."

2074
The U.S. invades China

Jan. 3, 2076
U.S. Army observers are sent to West Tek to monitor research
"Colonel Robert Spindel, Captain Roger Maxson, and their men arrive at West Tek's research facility in California to formally investigate their work on behalf of the U.S. government."

Jan. 10, 2077
Alaska is reclaimed by U.S. Forces

2077
Robert House puts himself in stasis.

Oct. 10, 2077
Unethical medical testing discovered at West Tek
"Capt. Maxson discovers that West Tek is using military prisoners to test the Forced Evolutionary Virus (F.E.V.), a potent biological agent that mutates its victims in bizarre ways. Maxson orders the West Tek scientists executed."

Oct. 20, 2077
Maxson and his men desert from the U.S. Army

Oct. 23, 2077
The Great War, and the beginning of the prelude to Fallout 4
"Over a period of two hours the world burns. While no one knows who struck first, nearly every nuclear power launches their warheads. The land itself becomes plastic from impacts so powerful they cause the Earth’s fault lines to shift, creating mountain ranges and oceans where there were none before. It’s at this moment that the story of Fallout 4 begins."

Oct. 23, 2077
Las Vegas saved
"Mr. House saves Las Vegas and most of the surrounding area from complete destruction with his defenses at the Lucky 38, stopping 68 of the 77 ICMBs launched at Las Vegas (59 through forced deactivation and 9 destroyed with laser cannons mounted on top of the Lucky 38). The resulting "light show" can be seen as far as Mexico City. Nine of the warheads evade destruction, a fault of Mr. House being forced to use an inferior operating system without the Platinum Chip, but only damaging minor parts of the Mojave Desert, with the most damaging detonation being near Nellis Air Force Base."

Oct. 23, 2077
The Enclave escapes
"The Enclave retreats to the privately owned Poseidon Oil rig, situated atop the secret reserves in the Pacific Ocean, with the President of the United States. Under his authority they will continue to be a force in the Fallout universe, eternally engaged in a crusade to rid the wasteland of inferior species and return the U.S. to its former glory by whatever means necessary. Due to their close pre-war ties with nearly every major element of the military industrial complex, they continue to develop advanced technology, including powerful weapons and power armor, well into the 23rd century."

Oct. 23, 2077
Ghouls are created at Vault 12

Nov. 2077
The Exodus, and the creation of the Brotherhood of Steel
"Capt. Maxson and a small band of survivors at the West Tek facility survive the Great War largely unscathed. Soon, they travel for weeks through the desert, eventually arriving at a government fallout shelter called Lost Hills. That journey came to be known as the Exodus. There, Maxson founds the Brotherhood of Steel, a quasi-religious group of highly militaristic warriors."

2083
Necropolis is founded
"The ghouls from Vault 12 that didn't go insane found a city in the wasteland called Necropolis. It's a major location in the original Fallout. Many populations of ghouls around the country do the same. Some ghouls live for hundreds of years and carry with them pre-war knowledge."

2078
Little Lampligh comes into being
"The city of kids, Little Lamplight is officially founded. By unanimous vote Jason Grant is named as the city's first mayor."

June 23, 2102
The Master comes to power and creates the super mutants
"Richard Moreau (aka Richard Grey), a resident of Vault 8 exiled for murder, leads a team of scientists into the now-abandoned West Tek research facility. One of the only survivors of the expedition, he is slowly simmered in F.E.V. for months, turned into a blob-like creature that expands by absorbing other creatures whole. No longer truly human, it begins to call itself "the Master" and over the course of years experiments on any humans it can find. These experiments lead directly to the creation of super mutants — hulking, greenish monsters immune to disease and radiation. Virtually immortal, they are also completely sterile."

2161
The original Fallout begins
"The Fallout series began on the West Coast at Vault 13, one of the last of the 122 vaults to be constructed and one of the few which was actually sealed before The Great War. The Overseer, Jacoren, sends the player character — referred to as The Vault Dweller — into the wasteland to find a replacement water chip to repair a faulty purification system.

2162
Fallout ends
"The Vault Dweller defeats the Master, and saves Vault 13 by returning with a water chip. In a cruel twist, after a year-and-a-half away from home, the Overseer banishes The Vault Dweller to the wasteland, where they found the village of Arroyo."

2208
The Vault Dweller leaves Arroyo, never to be seen again

2241
Fallout 2 begins
"Nearly 70 years after it was founded by The Vault Dweller, the village of Arroyo experiences a terrible drought. Players take the role of The Chosen One, sent out from their village to retrieve the Garden of Eden Creation Kit or G.E.C.K. With it they hope to create a lush, green oasis in the wasteland. Players travel to Vault 13, which has since been destroyed by The Enclave, a secretive organization with ties to the former U.S. government that predates The Great War. The game ends with The Chosen One saving refugees from both Arroyo and Vault 13 from The Enclave."

2254
The Brotherhood of Steel journeys East
"Searching for their lost brethren (who became stranded during the semi-apocryphal events that led up to Fallout Tactics), a Brotherhood unit makes its way across the country to Washington, D.C., only to find it overrun with super mutants."

2258
Fallout 3 begins
"More than 180 years after The Great War, the first Bethesda-developed title in the Fallout series begins inside Vault 101. The player character is named The Lone Wanderer."

2263
Jesse David Reeves is born

2265
Robert Joseph MacCready is born

Aug. 17, 2277
The Lone Wanderer leaves Vault 101
"That journey leads players to search the wastes around Washington D.C. to find The Lone Wanderer's father, James. Along the way they activate Robert House’s secret project, a massive robot called Liberty Prime, and reactivate The Purity Project — a water purification system that brings clean water to Washington from within the ruins of the Jefferson Memorial."

Oct. 19, 2281
Fallout: New Vegas begins

Oct. 23, 2287
The Lone Survivor leaves Vault 111, and Fallout 4 begins

 

There is little to no magic system in the Fallout universe, as it resembles the real world closely. However, there have been references and sightings to supernatural elements in several of the games and lore.

 

The technology varies from much more advanced than today, to lacking color TV. Much of it, however, is in the style of the 1950's.

 

Exactly the same as the laws of physics on our earth today