TMA 19th C: A (Hopefully) Comprehensive Timeline
In my own research I've found that Jonny plays things very fast and loose with the 19th C timeline, which isn't really a surprise. But I've been trying to rig one together for possible fic purposes, and thought I'd share it here. I haven't come across one of these on here before, but if there is, please send me a link, I'd love to compare notes.
Beneath the cut as it gets a bit long as I attempt to rationalize things, and make sense of what we're given.
Our known TMA dates are:
1818 for the Institutes founding, Von Closen contacts Jonah in 1816 about the books he found in 1815, Bennett dies in 1824, Fanshawe cuts his ties in 1831 when Von Closen dies, and 1867 for Smirke's death.
From this we can get a general timeline, and it's fine, but I like history so have some headcanons mixed in with a historical timeline
1780 (October)
- Smirke is born, this is the historical date and puts him at 38 when the Institute is founded
1791
- Is when I headcanon Jonah to be born.
- I imagine he was something of a second son of landed gentry, able to get an excellent education but with little else to his name.
- I like him at 27 for the Institute's founding as it's the same age Jon became the Archivist (poeticism) and it fits best into my timeline.
1807
- Smirke gets his first appointment as an architect for the Royal Mint.
1809
- Jonah(18) goes to university, meets Barnabas, and gets into architecture.
- I will die on this hill, he was an architect before the Institute. How else could he adjust Millbank's plans without it being suspicious, or that he likely designed the Institutes London location himself.
- Leitner made reference to the necessity of those principles in holding artefacts of that sort.
1810
- Covent Garden Opera House's design is heavily criticised by one of Smirke's contemporaries. I think Sloane essentially called it gaudy and ugly, because Smirke put all the effort into making the facing really fancy at the sacrifice of the rest of the exterior. (Historical, I just found it really funny[also RIP Danny])
1812
- Bentham's Panopticon design for Millbank Prison is abandoned RIP(It's for the best, also historical)
1813
- Smirke becomes an architect of the Office of Works, which was the peak of the career (historical). I also pin this as the date Jonah(22) apprentices under Smirke and gets inducted into the occultist group.
- This gives Jonah five years to scrape together contacts, resources, and a reputation for his Institute. As funny as him sleeping around for funds is, I think working as an architect would be better for his reputation.
- This is also the year the Temple of Ramesses II was found in Abu Simbel, giving Barnabas a 5 year stretch to visit, I assume it was before the Institute was founded as he only goes once, and a flight of passion indicates an early trip.
1815
- Albrecht finds his cursed books
- Smirke is put in charge of Millbank (historical), so Jonah(24) should be working in London with Smirke in this period.
- Jonah futzes about with the prison plans, which indicates him throwing his lot in with Beholding from the get go (which is a bit boring in terms of moral decline, but whatever). I'm assuming less for ritual purposes, and more in the vein of 'Bentham''s Panopticon is so unethical that I just have to see it in action' like watching a hanging or something.
1816
- Albrecht tells Jonah about his books.
- We don't know when they were taken, only that it's within a 10~ year period following this date.
- Oh and Millbank opened, but hadn't finished construction.
1818
- Institute founded in Edinburgh, Scotland, home of anatomical studies and where Jonah(27) meets Jonathan Fanshawe. I headcanon that Jonah is just running the Institute out of his house at this point.
1821
- Millbank Prison has finished construction.
1824
- RIP Barnabas
- Jonah(33) is fully in the throws of the Beholding by this point.
- I assume Albrecht's been robbed around here, perhaps a little after, as this marks Jonah's most- ah let's call it his most consequential choice.
- Even if Millbank has already happened, Barnabas Bennett is the choice that impacted Jonah personally.
1828
- Burke and Hare murders in Edinburgh. Not relevant to the story at large, but it's historical and in the vicinity of the principle cast.
- I imagine Fanshawe is incredibly irritated that corpses are obnoxiously difficult to get a hold of.
1831
- Albrecht falls to whatever curse has maligned him, Fanshawe gets his autopsy!
- Due to the nature of the curse I'm disinclined to believe Jonah(40) stole the books prior to the Institute's founding as sixteen years is a long time to have a steady decline in health, especially back when blood letting was considered medicine. 7~ years is more likely, and puts more significance on the Barnabas incident.
- Oh, and Fanshawe cuts ties (King, we hardly knew ye).
1867
- Smirke dies in February (ahistorical, he dies in April in our timeline) after writing Jonah(76), begging him not to choose evil.
1868
- 1 year after Smirke dies Jonah enacts the Watcher's Crown at 77.
- 50 years after the founding of the Institute, because these are all nice numbers, and Jonah had to have his ritual 200 years after the founding, so it's in character.
- It fails, obviously.
- He purchases the ruins.
1871
- London location is operational
- I'm being generous with three years on a wreckage sight, but we can assume that it's functional if incomplete.
- Jonah is 80 here.
1872+
- Jonah Magnus
body hopsmysteriously disappears