How Old Is Tarzan?

How old is Tarzan? This is a question that no person could ever answer beyond a shadow of a doubt, except the author, and he chose not to. One must remember that Edgar Rice Burroughs is taking special pains to hide the Greystokes' identity, and at times he deliberately inserts false information to lead unwanted treasure hunters astray. On other occasions, he will provide a time-lapse as a stumbling block.

J. Allen St. John

For example, Burroughs states in Tarzan Of The Apes, chapter 1, that the Claytons set sail on a bright May morning in 1888. The author is very careful not to mention the specific day of the month, and there is no possible way to positively prove which day that was with the information provided.

Clinton Pettee

A second example can be found in Tarzan Of The Apes, chapter 3. The exact day the Mangani bull attacks Clayton, which is the ape-man's birth date, can not be positively proven because Burroughs skips some time without informing us how much. "One afternoon while Clayton was working upon an addition to their cabin he was interrupted by a group of fleeing monkeys." Although the specific day can not be proven as an unquestionable fact, a hypothesis can be formed.

Joe Kubert

A researcher must first collect the bits and pieces of data concerning the jungle lord's age that the author provided throughout the series and other places. Then each bit of collected information must be arranged together in proper succession, to see which statements back each other up and which do not.

Tarzan Series

A prime example of this is the age difference when the ape boy sees his first human as revealed in Tarzan Of The Apes and The Return Of Tarzan. In Tarzan Of The Apes, chapter 9, the Illinois writer informs us that the young jungle man is eighteen when he sees his first man. In The Return Of Tarzan just after Tarzan nearly killed Count de Coude the ape-man told the Countess that he was fifteen when he saw his first man. We now have two different provided dates. One was provided by ERB, the author, and the other told to us by the jungle lord,.Two different ages were revealed for the same event. Which one is correct, and which one is a false decoy?

N.C. Wyeth

To deduce which age is accurate a researcher must rummage through other snippets, and collect details that support one age or the other. Both findings then must be inserted into a chronology to see which one more closely matches the presented information provided in other passages. Through this slow process, one can sift through all the given data and surmise the accurate facts from the deception.

N.C. Wyeth

Although Burroughs was primarily an adventure romance writer, he liked to branch off into other categories, and mystery writing was one of them. Beware, or The Scientist Revolt as the later revision is called is a classic example of ERB's talented skills in the who-done-it type mystery. Working in a very like manner the author has provided hints and clues throughout the Tarzan series, and elsewhere, to suggest the ape-man's true birth date. A researcher must pay very close attention and be clever enough to find and recognize them.

The Scientist Revolt & Beware

One practical way for a chronologist to discover the year the ape-man was born is by combining the age of father and son at the outbreak of World War I (July 28,1914) and backtracking. Then test the findings to make sure the jungle lord is twenty when the lunar eclipse occurs in Jungle Tales Of Tarzan.

Herbert Morton Stoops

The principal element to obtaining the month and day of Tarzan's birth is primarily the beginning of Tarzan Of The Apes and the author's own family genealogy. It has always been a notorious habit of Burroughs to insert real-life names, places, and dates into his fiction stories. In my article, Beyond The Narrator, I pointed out a host of examples. Using these two methods I will attempt to prove that the king of the jungle was born in the year 1872.

Fred J. Arting

Before altering the Greystoke's sailing date, as provided by Burroughs, we must prove for an absolute fact that 1888 is not the true departing date. To do this we must gather evidence throughout the series that supports the year 1888, and evidence that disproves it. First, let us examine the favorable evidence.

Greystoke's Depart Dover

1. Burroughs distinctly states in Tarzan Of The Apes, chapter 1, that the Greystokes set sail on a bright May morning in 1888. 
2. The date on the letter Jane Porter wrote to Hazel Strong, Tarzan Of The Apes, chapter 18, is February 3, 1909. This would make Tarzan twenty when he saw his first whites as reported in two separate passages.
3. The 1908 auto descriptions Burroughs provided to us were definitely in favor of the 1888 chronology. Tarzan Of The Apes described Canler as having a purring six-cylinder (1905-1909) in Wisconsin. In The Return Of Tarzan, chapter 3, Olga de Coude is riding in a limousine. The word limousine, a newly-coined French word did not come into being until 1902. The Beast Of Tarzan, chapter 1, describes a motorized Taxi with running boards and doors. French cars were the first to come out with doors in 1905.
4. In The Return Of Tarzan, we have Countess de Coude saying, "I was but recalling with admiration those stupendous skyscrapers, as they call them, of New York." Encyclopedia Americana states New York at the beginning of the 20th century appeared horizontal, but it now began to acquire its famous vertical look.
5. In chapter 1 of The Beast Of Tarzan, Burroughs described the jungle lord's car as being a roadster. The term 'roadster' did not exist for 1894 autos. "As Tarzan leaped from the roadster that had met him at the station and ran up the steps to his London house he was met by a dry-eyed but almost frantic woman." ERB-The Beasts Of Tarzan.
6. When baby Jack Clayton is believed kidnapped in The Beasts Of Tarzan, the kidnapper's auto is described as being a closed taxicab with doors and running boards. There were no autos like this in 1894. "The baby's nurse had been wheeling him in the sunshine on the walk before the house when a closed taxicab drew up at the corner of the street. The woman had paid but passing attention to the vehicle, merely noting that it had discharged no passenger, but stood on the curb with motor running as though waiting on a fare from the residence before which it stopped." ERB-The Beasts Of Tarzan.

The Beasts Of Tarzan

A further description of the kidnapper's getaway car. "Just before she reached the vehicle, Carl leaped in beside his confederate, slamming the door behind him. At the same time, the chauffeur attempted to start the machine, but it was evident that something had gone wrong, as though the gears refused to mesh, and the delay caused by this, while he pushed the lever into reverse and backed the car a few inches before again attempting to go ahead, gave the nurse time to reach the side of the taxicab.

1894 London Horse-Drawn Taxi

Leaping to the running board, she had attempted to snatch the baby from the arms of the stranger, and here, screaming and fighting, she had clung to her position even after the taxicab had got underway; nor was it until the machine had passed the Greystoke residence at good speed that Carl, with a heavy blow to the face, had succeeded in knocking her to the pavement." ERB-The Beasts Of Tarzan.

1984 London Horse-Drawn Bus

Now let's take a look at the negative evidence.

Ronald William Kirby

In Tarzan Of The Apes, page 1, chapter 1, ERB admittingly states he is trying to protect the Claytons' identity. It is common since the author would not provide the Greystoke couple's true names, the ship's true name, or the true sailing date.

J. Allen St. John

1. We know that Tarzan was twenty when the total lunar eclipse occurred in Jungle Tales Of Tarzan because of two statements made by Burroughs. In chapter 10 it is stated, "On the floor lay the skeleton of a man - all that remained of the former Lord Greystoke - lay as it had fallen some twenty years, had saved his son's life." Again in chapter 10, it is stated, "He did not know that the dead father of Tarzan Of The Apes, reaching back out of the past across a span of twenty years had saved his son's life." From these two passages, we know the eclipse had to occur after very late August 1908, when the ape-man turns twenty, and before February 1909 when he sees his first whites. There was no lunar eclipse between those dates.
2. In Tarzan Of The Apes, after D'Arnot discovers the fingerprints in Greystoke's diary, he tells Tarzan about a new method of proving one's identity by using fingerprints. Fingerprinting was introduced as a method of identification around 1880, and the French were among the first to experiment with it. Around 1900 fingerprinting became generally accepted in police work. We know Monsure Jean C. Tarzan left Africa at age twenty, so his police fingerprinting had to occur after very late August 1908. If fingerprinting had been in general use for eight and one-half years, why did D'Arnot call it a new process? Why did a trained police officer have to wait for an expert to compare prints?
3. In The Return Of Tarzan, Monsure Jean C. Tarzan is twenty-two when he and Countess de Coude meet regularly. That would mean their friendship took place after very late August 1910. If Tarzan and Jane were yet unmarried by this date, how could they have a son old enough to fight in W.W. I in 1914?  Some chronologists have theorized Jack Clayton and Korak are actually two different persons. To do this, however, you drastically alter the series' storyline. The author with absolute clarity lets us know that the two are one and the same in The Son Of Tarzan, Tarzan The Untamed, Tarzan The Terrible, and Tarzan And The Golden Lion.
4. If Tarzan and Jane married in 1911, had a son a year later, and married at age seventeen, the year would be 1929. This would also be the year The Son Of Tarzan would come to a close since it covers those events. Yet according to ERB's own notebook, the author pinned Jack Clayton's adventures between January 21 through May 11, 1915. How could he record the past when it has not even happened yet?
5. In The Son Of Tarzan, chapter 4, it is stated, "Her Skopf - was baffled. He had never heard of Sherlock Holmes or he would have lost no time in invoking the aid of that celebrated sleuth, for here was a real mystery." Sherlock Holmes retired from practice in 1903. So, why would the author even mention the twenty-year retired sleuth if this event occurred around 1923?

J. Allen St. John

When you look at the evidence for an 1888 chronology, you basically see Burroughs' descriptions intending to modernize the Greystoke's sailing date by sixteen years in an effort to protect their true identities. ERB makes no secret about trying to protect the Claytons'  identity. Therefore, he has changed the names of the main characters and inserted fictitious ones. Although the author mentions nothing about changing dates it is plainly evident he did so, because of the conflicting statements about the ape boy's age when he sees his first man in Tarzan Of The Apes and The Return Of Tarzan. 

N.C. Wyeth

If you will notice, a chronologist could easily move the Greystoke's sailing date back sixteen years to 1872. Change Jane's letter date (1909) by sixteen years to 1892. Let Chanler drive a four-cylinder instead of a six-cylinder. The taxi cab in The Beasts Of Tarzan would become a horse-drawn carriage instead of a motorized one. The Countess de Coude wouldn't have used the words skyscraper and limousine. With these slight modernization changes, Burroughs' main storyline would not be any different than originally told. All these modernized descriptions could have deliberately been added by the author to make the story appear to occur much later than it actually did, and their changing does nothing to disturb the main plot.

The Beasts Of Tarzan

On the other hand, if one was to accept that the jungle lord was born in 1888 you would have to do away with 'Tarzan Rescues The Moon' in Jungle Tales Of Tarzan. There would also have to be a contradictory theory to explain that Jack Clayton and Korak were not the same person. The whole book of The Son Of Tarzan would have to be eliminated or rewritten. To do any of these things you would be drastically changing the story as presented by ERB. After viewing the collected evidence the author has provided, it should be quite obvious that 1888 is not the year the Greystokes set sail from Dover, England.

Carlos Arguello

To discover the actual year of the jungle lord's birth we must do a little backtracking. We know that Tarzan The Untamed begins in early August 1914, so the events of The Son Of Tarzan had to occur before this date. Tarzan's grandson, John Clayton IV (Dackie/Jackie) is mentioned in The Eternal Lover in the spring of 1913. Korak and Meriem most likely were married in early 1912. They both were early seventeen so we can now trace them back to 1895. We know Monsure Jean C. Tarzan was seeing the Countess de Coude at the early age of twenty-two, and allowing time for his spy mission in North Africa, he most likely married Jane on the backside of twenty-two. Allowing one year for Korak's conception and birth we can trace back to the year 1872, and the most probable date for Tarzan's birth.

P.J. Monahan

To test the 1872 chronology a researcher must now combine the year with the total lunar eclipse in Jungle Tales Of Tarzan. We know the ape-man was twenty when the lunar eclipse occurs, because of the two passages in chapter 10 of Jungle Tales Of Tarzan. If 1872 is the correct year of the jungle king's birth the lunar eclipse should occur after he turns twenty in the year 1892, and at least two months before the date on Jane's letter February 3, 1893. (1893 revised date). There was indeed a total lunar eclipse visible over Africa during this time, and it occurred on November 4, 1892. This lunar eclipse passes the test of the date on Jane's letter.

Robert Abbett

In Tarzan Of The Apes, chapter 1, we learn that the Claytons set sail from Dover, England on a bright May morning in 1888. We have already proven within a reasonable doubt that the misleading year 1888 was recorded to protect the Claytons' true identity. In reality, the Greystokes set sail in May 1872.

Tarzan Of The Apes

OK. Here comes personalization. When one is producing an ape-man calendar of events a chronologist needs to add dating that is not shared. For example, the exact May sailing date of the Greystokes' is not revealed. Since the author did not provide that date, to continue the chronology, one must be produced that is willingly accepted by fans. No matter what method a chronologist uses to provide a missing date, some readers are still going to be unhappy. For me choosing random dates, because they work on a calendar, is not acceptable. So, what method of choosing unprovided dates would Burroughs fans accept?

Claytons Sail From Dover, May 14, 1872

ERB, like his mother Mary Evaline Burroughs, was very much into his family genealogy. Urged on by her sons in 1914, Mary wrote a family memoir about her life. Once the genealogical manuscript was written her three sons worked together in preparing the family history for printers. Mary's handwritten memoir is still in the possession of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. in Tarzana, CA. Mary's manuscript was titled, Memoirs Of A War Bride, and It was published in Chicago, IL. on the date of June 23, 1914.

Mary Evaline (Ziegler) Burroughs

As exposed in my article, Edgar Rice Burroughs: Master Trickster, the future author loved inserting real-life family, and personal dates, into his fiction stories. Many of ERB's fictional book characters are named after real-life family and friends. Following Burrough's mostly unnoticed habit, I have chosen to use Mary's family genealogy as a consistent pattern of providing have to have missing dates that are left unprovided. 

Memoirs Of A War Bride

Using the Chicago author's own personal dating method let's see if we can find an important May event in the Memoirs Of A War Bride. When we run a check we discover ERB's brother, Frank, was born May 14, 1872. Also, May 14th is the day the author completed his third story Tarzan Of The Apes.

Memoirs Of A War Bride

There is no possible way to prove for an absolute fact which May date is the Greystokes sailing day. Since a working date has to be implemented no matter what, this chronology is going to use May 14th. When May 14,1872, is inserted into a chronology based on information provided by Burroughs' the date passes every test applied. Since we need a sailing date regardless, I will use it until someone supplies a more researched one.

Clayton's Sail From Dover

1. A month later, on June 14, 1872, the Greystokes arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone. There the newlyweds chartered the barkentine Fuwalda.
2. Two days out of that North African port, on June 16, 1872, Captain Billings shot Black Michael in the leg.
3. Two days after the wounding of Black Michael, on June 18, 1872, while taking a walk Clayton saw four sailors carrying the limp form of one of their comrades. The first mate stood nearby watching them with a belaying pin in his hand.
4. On the fifth day out of Freetown, June 19, 1872, at mid-afternoon, the Greystokes were warned of an upcoming mutiny.
5. On the morning of the sixth day, June 20, 1872, the mutiny occurred and all the ship's officers were killed.
6. Five days later, on June 25, 1872, the  Fuwalda sighted land at three o'clock in the afternoon and was anchored in a natural landlocked harbor by nightfall.
7. The following morning, June 26, 1872, the Greystokes and their belongings were put ashore.
8. On the morning of the thirteenth day, June 27, 1872, Clayton began work on a one-room cabin which took the better part of a month to build, excluding a door and furnishings.
9. By the end of the second month, August 27, 1872, the door had been hung, the furniture built, and the Greystokes were moved in and well settled. ERB then states the Englishman likes working hard for it kept his mind off their predicament. From this statement, it is logical to assume that once the cabin was completed and furnished, Clayton immediately began working on the second edition.

Fuwalda Arrives In Portugese Angola

When the Mangani bull attacks John and Alice, Burroughs states Clayton was cutting a particularly perfect tree for his building operations. From this passage, we can assume Clayton is still in the early building stages of a second room. If it had been the latter, the Englishman would have been finishing up roof construction, or coating the outer walls and roof with mud. In fact, the second edition was so early in its beginning stages that Clayton was merely cutting logs, and no actual construction had yet begun.

Joe Kubert

When the ten-year-old ape boy investigated the lair by the sea in 1882, nowhere in the descriptions does it hint at a partially erected second room? The Greystoke cabin is described as having only one room. When the Porter party arrived twenty years later in 1892 there was no hint of a partially erected second room. Again the cabin is described as having only one room.

Burne Hogarth

Since Clayton was still cutting logs and not actually building, the Mangani attack must have occurred within days after the first edition was completely finished around August 27, 1872. The Chicago author does not supply us with that exact date. More than one date could actually successfully fit into the chronology, but as I mentioned earlier, I prefer to avoid picking random dates. Going back to the practice of using the Burroughs family genealogy to discover an untold date, let's see if anything important happens at the end of August or the first of September. ERB was born September 1, 1875, in Chicago, IL. It is all too transparent that the ape-man and Burroughs were born on the same day.

Mark Wheatley

Just like using May 14th, the author's brother Frank's birthday, as a working date for the Greystokes sailing date, there is no possible way to prove as an absolute fact that September 1st, ERB's birthday, is Tarzan's birth date also. Trying to prove these two dates is like proving there is a God. All one can do is collect the circumstantial evidence that is available, present it, and let each individual make up their own mind. All I can tell you is, that both unrecorded dates in Tarzan Of The Apes provided by the Burroughs family genealogy work like a dream in an 1872 chronology.

Barclay Shaw

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James Michael Moody is a lifelong fan and collector of Edger Rice Burroughs. Over the past forty-five years, Moody has contributed over two hundred articles to various ERB-related fanzines. He also manages an unauthorized Tarzan blog titled Greystoke Chronologist: James Michael Moody. There, the researcher chronologies the Tarzan books starting in May 1872 (known as the pushback theory) instead of the more accepted date, May 1888.

James Michael Moody also authorizes the action-packed Sci-Fi fantasy adventure Unium series. Pioneers On Unium, published December 31, 2019, Exiled On Unium, published August 25, 2022, and Swordsman On Unium, published on July 15, 2024.