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Anton Chekhov was born
He was born in Taganrog, Russia, to Pavel Chekhov and Yevgeniya Chekhov, and he was the third of six children. Considered by some to be the father of the short story, Anton Chekhov created a paradigmatic form for writing fiction. By mimicking reality, he produced a representational art through his stories. The revelations in Chekhov's fictional characters transport the reader into all too familiar lives. -
Abolition of Serfdom in Russia
The Chekhov family, along with a third of Russia's people, were finally granted personal freedom, property rights, and civic rights. The abolition of serfdom in Russia in 1861 was a crucial point in the country’s history and marked the first stage in its democratic transformation. The abolition of serfdom would be seen as perhaps the most significant date in Russia’s history. -
Father was bankrupt and moved to Moscow
When Pavel's business failed, he took his family to Moscow Chekhov stayed. -
Chekhov visits his family in Moscow
He finds them living in poverty -
Chekhov joined his parents in Moscow
Soon after, he took his father's place as head of the household -
Enrolled at medical school at Moscow University
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Graduated as a doctor
Chekhov was a physician by profession. He said once, "Medicine is my lawful wife and literature my mistress; when I get tired of one, I spend the night with the other." -
Hospital at Chikino
He went to work in the hospital at Chikino, but by December of that year he begun to cough up blood, this was the first symptom of tuberculosis. -
Became a Writer for the popular St. Petersburg newspaper 'Novoye Vremya'
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Chekhov published his first work
Chekhov published his first work in a leading literary review, Severny vestink. -
Chekhov helped relieve the disastrous famine of 1891-92 in Russia
Chekhov helped both as a doctor and a medical administrator. -
Milichovo
He spent 5 years there, where he was happy in spite of his illness. He wrote some of his best stories there like Ward No. 6, The Seagull and Uncle Vanya. -
The Seagull, Chekhov revolutionized the idea of what a play could be by creating drama among people in the words they spoke, and not in the acts they committed on stage.
Slice-of-life drama set in the Russian countryside at the end of the 19th century. The cast of characters is dissatisfied with their lives. Some desire love, success. Some desire artistic genius. Though no one ever seems to attain happiness. The theme of The Seagull was Mediocrity and Lost Potential. At the end of The Seagull, Nina pays a short visit to Konstantin. He wants her to stay and be with him, but she doesn't. This results in Konstantin ending his own life. -
Purchased land in Yalta
This was done after his father's death, and he had a villa built. -
Konstantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre
Founded in 1898 by Russian by Stanislavsky and playwright and director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. The fifth production, it staged Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, a play that had failed in its first production. With its revival of The Seagull, the Art Theatre not only achieved its first major success but also began a long artistic association with one of Russia’s most celebrated playwrights: in Chekhov’s artistic realism, the Art Theatre discovered a writer suited to its aesthetic sensibilities. -
Chekhov married Olga Knipper
Olga Knipper was an actress who starred in his plays at the Moscow Art Theater. -
Olga Knipper suffers a miscarriage
Chekhov had no children -
The Cherry Orchard
He managed to complete his last play before he died. It was first preformed on his birthday in 1904. The Cherry Orchard deals heavily with the theme of social mobility. Ranevskaya's family estate, including the cherry orchard, is auctioned off during the play to pay off familial debt. Without serfs, she cannot afford the expenses of the estate. Ranevskaya is an example of downward social mobility. The central theme of The Cherry Orchard is that of social change. -
Died of Tuberculosis
He died in Bodenheimer, Germany at the age of 44. He lived a shor but successful life with seven full-length plays and won many awards like Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Revival, Audie Award for Short Stories or Collections and Pushkin Prize. He was influential because Chekhov captured life in the Russia of his time by using a deceptively simple technique devoid of obtrusive literary devices. He is regarded as the outstanding representative of late 19th-century Russian realism. -
Chekhov's work is preformed in English for the first time
The Seagull is preformed at the Glasgow Repertory Theatre