1893 August 22, through 1894 September 1

• Tarzan is twenty years old when Tarzan Of The Apes comes to a close.

Date:  evening August 22, 1893 

Event:  The Porter party is at the train station on the way back to Baltimore. Tarzan receives the telegram proving that he is Lord Greystoke.

Source:  "That evening in the little waiting room at the station Tarzan caught Jane alone for a moment." ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes. "She, too was happy, for was she not returning to her beloved Maryland?" ERB-Tarzan Of The Apes

 

Menomonee Falls. Wi

• Most readers don't pick up on it, but The Return Of Tarzan actually starts chronology-wise on the same day.

Date:  August 22, 1893
Event:  Porter party in a railway station in northern Wisconsin on way home to Maryland.  Tarzan decides to drive his car to New York. William Cecil Clayton finds Tarzan's dropped cablegram.
Source:  Clayton ask Jane where Tarzan was. She replied, "at the last minute he determined to drive his machine back to New York. He is anxious to see more of America than is possible from a car window. He is returning to France, you know." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.

Prentice Depot, Wi.

• Most readers think The Return Of Tarzan begins with Tarzan sailing for France which I showed above was not the case. What we do learn about Tarzan's ocean voyage to France is that the jungle lord is age twenty-two when he met Countess Oga de Coude.

Date:  September 1, 1894  

Event:  Tarzan sailed from New York City.
Source:  The exact date that Tarzan sailed from New York to France is untold by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, so therefore it will never be known. Although we will never know the exact sailing date a sound logical figuring date can be deduced. We have already concluded in earlier writings that Tarzan was born September 1, 1872. Therefore, if the ape-man meets Countess Olga de Coude at age twenty-two the meeting had to occur on or after September 1, 1894.  
     One must keep in mind that the events of The Return Of Tarzan occur over a span of one year. At The Return Of Tarzan's end, the jungle lord is still twenty-two when he marries Jane. To have enough time for all the events in The Return Of Tarzan to occur the ape-man would have to leave New York City as soon as possible after his twenty-second birthday. 
     I revealed in Tarzine #62 Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, had a  habitual knack of inserting true life dates, names, and events into his fictional stories. Keeping in that spirit and following his habit I have also tried to follow that lead. For a working date, I have deduced Tarzan would have sailed from New York City on September 1, 1894, which is the ape-man's and Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author's birthday. Theoretically speaking, Tarzan, now twenty-two, met the Countess de Coude on September 3, 1894. Although this working date may not be the exact date it does agree with Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author's, descriptions and it provides us with a figuring point.

J.Allen St. John

• The very earliest Tarzan could have turned twenty-two and meet Countess Oga de Coude was September 1, 1894, his twenty-second birthday. I used this very earliest meeting date to allow time for Jack Clayton to be born under normal conditions. So the question is. If Tarzan was in Wisconsin on August 22, 1893, and he didn't set sail from New York for France until September 1, 1894, at age twenty-two, what did Tarzan do in America for one year and nine days? Edgar Rice Burroughs the author of the Tarzan series never tells us. Not even a clue. Therefore, anything concluded about this time gap would be speculation. One thing we know for sure, thanks to Jane Porter, is that Tarzan is planning to drive his car back to New York.

Date:  August 22, 1893

Event:  Porter party in a railway station in northern Wisconsin on way home to Maryland.  Tarzan decides to drive his car to New York. William Cecil Clayton finds Tarzan's dropped cablegram.

Source:  Clayton ask Jane where Tarzan was. She replied, "at the last minute he determined to drive his machine back to New York. He is anxious to see more of America than is possible from a car window. He is returning to France, you know." ERB-The Return Of Tarzan.

Templeton, Wi.

• Any description after Tarzan leaving Wisconsin in his car is speculation. Instead of leaving a one year and nine-day time blackout, however, let's have some fun by reconstructing a timeline of what could have happened.

Date: the evening of August 22, 1893.

Event:  Common logic would dictate that Tarzan would have remained in town for the night since it was already evening.  

Source:  Poor lighting and bad roads mean no driving autos at night. The jungle lord would have rented a room for the night and made arrangements for supper and a bath. He would have turned in early, resting for the auto adventure ahead.

Shlesisingerville, Wi

Date:  August 23, 1893, through middle September 1893

Event:  Tarzan left Green Bay on his way to New York.

Source:  Over the coming days, the ape-man made his way to Manitowoc, on to Sheboygan, on to Milwaukee then on to Chicago. The jungle lord's Chicago arrival date was middle September 1893. The weather in Wisconsin can be chilly in the morning and cool at night during this time of the year. Logic dictates Tarzan did not begin driving until the sun had things somewhat warm and stopped before dusk. Keep in mind the jungle lord is from Portuguese Angola in Africa and the coolness would definitely play a factor in his traveling plans. Tarzan's 1893 Peugeot Victoria was a steam motorcar.
Chat:  How do we know Tarzan drove a steam, or electric motorcar, instead of one of the new gasoline motorcars just hitting the marketplace? On September 21, 1894, in Springfield, Massachusetts the brothers Charles and Frank Duryea drive the first gasoline-powered motorcar in America on public roads. Since Tarzan and Robert Canler were driving in Wisconsin in August before this very famous historical event their cars were steam or electric.

1893 Peugeot Victoria

Date:  middle September 1893

Event:  In Chicago repairs and services were made to the ape-man's car. Tarzan meets Ed Burroughs for the first time.

Source:  Can you imagine the challenge when there were no such things as auto shops?  Perhaps a battery was in need. The jungle lord made his way to the American Battery Company on South Clinton Street. The company serviced the electric cars at the Exhibition.  While there M. Jean C. Tarzan through chance, met the owner's teenage son, Ed Burroughs, future author of the Tarzan series and more.

American Battery Company

Date:  September 16, 1893

Event:  M. Jean C. Tarzan and the teen, Ed Burroughs, met a second time at the World's Columbian Exhibition grounds.

Source:  Young Ed, and sometimes his brother, drove one of the nine-seater electric cars around the fairgrounds advertising their father's batteries. M. Jean C, Tarzan, and Ed could have very well had an adventure together on and around September 16, 1893. This is the date on Ed's World's Columbian Exposition ticket shown in Irwin Porge's Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Man Who Created Tarzan on page 77 in the soft edition. That adventure was Ed driving M. Jean C. Tarzan around the fairgrounds for a day, or more, on trail of a serial killer, Herman Mudgett, aka Dr. Henry H. Holmes who was murdering in Chicago during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition

1890 Morrison Sturgis Electric

Date:  September 22, 1893
Event:  Tarzan read in the news, on or near this date, about brothers Charles and Frank Duryea drive the first gasoline-powered motorcar in America, on public roads in Springfield, Massachuttes.
Source:  On September 21, 1894, Charles and Frank Duryea drive the first gasoline-powered motorcar in America on public roads in Springfield, Massachusetts.

1894 Paris-Rouen Race

Date:  October 10, 1893
Event:  The first number plates appear in Paris, France.
Source:  Based on true life events.

First Auto Tags Appear In France

Date:  October 30, 1893
Event:  The 1893 World's Fair, also known as, the World's Columbian Exposition closes.
Source:  Based on true life events.

1893 World's Columbian Exposition

Date:  January 4, 1894
Event:  France ratifies Duple Alliance with Russia. This new state alliance opened up the door for Russians Nicklos Rokoff and Alex Paulvitich to enter France from New York City.
Source:  Based on true life events.
Chat:  Nickolas Rokoff was the brother to Countess Olga de Coude. She, in turn, was married to Count Raoul de Coude twenty years her senior, who was a higher up in the French Defence Ministry.

1894 Duple Alliance

Date:  January 8, 1894
Event:  Columbus World's Fair in Chicago destroyed by fire. Tarzan's exact involvement in this incident is unclear at this writing. Most likely something linked to stalking the serial killer, Herman Mudgett, also know as Dr. Henry H. Holmes.
Source:  Based on true life events.

Fire Destroys Columbus World's Fair

Date:  January 27, 1894
Event:  Tarzan attends the first college basketball game. The University of Chicago beats Chicago YMCA 19-11. Most likely Tarzan's presence had to do with stalking serial killer, Herman Mudgett also known as Dr. Henry H. Holmes.
Source:  Based on true life events.

First College Basketball Game

Date:  February 12, 1894
Event:  Tarzan reads in the news shortly after the event occurs, about Anarchast Emile Henry tossing a bomb into Paris Cafe Terminus.
Source:  Anarchist Emile Henry tossed a bomb into Paris Cafe Terminus on February 12, 1894, killing one and wounding twenty.

Paris Cafe Terminus

Date:  May 22, 1894
Event:  Tarzan read in the news shortly after this event, about the execution by guillotine of twenty-two-year-old French Anarchist Emile Henry.
Source:  Twenty-two-year-old French Anarchist Emile Henry was executed by guillotine for bombing Paris Cafe Terminus on May 21, 1894.

Emile Henry Execution

Date:  July 23, 1894
Event:  Tarzan read in the news shortly after this event, about the world's first motoring competition from Paris to Rouen in France.
Source:  The Parisian magazine, Le Petit Journal organized what is considered to be the world's first motoring competition. The race was held July 22, 1894, and from Paris to Rouen, France.

1894 Le Petit Journal

Date:  middle September through April 30, 1894

Event:  Tarzan stalks a serial killer Herman Mudgett, aka Dr. Henry H. Holmes,

who was murdering in Chicago during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition

Source:  Based on true life police reports.

Dr. Henry H. Homes

   

Date::   May 1, 1893, through October 30, 1893

Event:  Herman Mudgett, also known as Dr. Henry H Homes, a serial killer, lured victims, including a number of fairgoers to a three-story building, later dubbed as the "Murder Castle", where they were tortured, mutilated and killed

Source:  Based on true life police reports. America's first serial killer H. H. Holmes heinous crimes weren't discovered until after the fair ended October 30, 1894. Law enforcement believed that H. H. Holmes was responsible for dozens of deaths in Chicago, and may have killed as many as two hundred people around the nation.

1893 Murder Castle

Date:  Monday, April 30, 1894

Event:  After his visit to the World's Columbian Exposition, the jungle lord left Chicago and made his way to Toledo, on to Cleveland. From there most likely to Pittsburg, then Harrisburg, then Newark, then New York.

Source:  Remember, outside the towns and cities paved roads were rare. Early motorists had to face dust and sand in the summer, floods and axle-deep mud in the winter. There were very few milepost or signposts, and no filling stations. Logic dictates that the visiting ape-man would have stuck to the main avenues.

1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition

Date:  Thursday, June 21, 1894   
Event:  Tarzan arrived in New York City on the day Lizzy Halliday was convicted of murdering Margret and Sarah Jane McQuillan.

Source:  Based on true life police reports. Lizzy Halliday became the first woman ever to be sentenced to death by electrocution, via New York States new electric chair.

Lizzy Halliday

Date:  June 22, 1894

Event:  Upon arriving in New York City Tarzan would have taken in the sights.

Source:  One of those sights would have been the newly constructed Brooklin Bridge that opened in 1883. People from all over came to see it. The Brooklin Bridge towers were stupendous. Naturally, the ape-man must have had some kind of adventure on it before leaving New York. From New York chapter one of The Return Of Tarzan begins three days out into the sea and the jungle lord is now twenty-two and going by the name M. Jean C. Tarzan.

Brooklin Bridge

                                                                                                                             

Date:  June  24, 1894

Event:  Tarzan read in the news shortly after this event, about the assassination of French President, Marie Francois Sadi Carnot.

Source:  President of France, Marie Francois Sadi Carnot, is assassinated on June 24, 1894.

Marie Francois Sadi Carnot

Date:  July 4, 1894

Event:  July 4th celebration in New York City.
Source::  Based on a real-life event.

1894 NYC July 4th

Date:  August 15, 1894

Event:  Tarzan read in the news shortly after these events about the execution of Sante Geronimo Caserio, for the assassination of French President Marice Francois Sadi.

Source   Sante Geronimo Caserio is executed on August 15, 1894, for the assassination of French President Maric Francois Sadi.

Sante Geronimo Caserio

Date:  September 1, 1894  
Event:  Tarzan sailed from New York City.

Source:  The exact date that Tarzan sailed from New York to France is untold by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, so therefore it will never be known. Although we will never know the exact sailing date a sound logical figuring date can be deduced. We have already concluded in earlier writings that Tarzan was born September 1, 1872. Therefore, if the ape-man meets Countess Olga de Coude at age twenty-two the meeting had to occur after September 1, 1894.

     One must keep in mind that the events of The Return Of Tarzan occur over a span of one year. At The Return Of Tarzan's end, the jungle lord is still twenty-two when he marries Jane. To have enough time for all the events in The Return Of Tarzan to occur, plus the birth of Jack Clayton, (Korak) offstage, the ape-man would have to leave New York City as soon as possible after his twenty-second birthday.

J. Allen St. John

Date:  October 15, 1894
Event:  Captain Alfred Dreyfus arrested accused of espionage in France.
Source:  Based on true life events.
Chat:  Any connection to the secret papers Tarzan seized in Algiers from Captain Gernois?

Captain Alfred Dreyfus

Date:  November 17, 1894
Event:  America's first serial killer Herman Mudgett, also known as H. H. Holmes, heinous crimes weren't discovered until after the Chicago World's Fair ended October 30, 1883.
Source:  Herman Mudgett, aka, Dr. H.H. Holmes, was arrested on November 17, 1894, in Massachutes. Law enforcement believed that H. H. Holmes was responsible for dozens of deaths.

The Evening Star

Date:  late 1910 or early 1911

Event:  When John Carter's great-nephew's relayed Greystoke's story to Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, in 1910 or 1911 the Chicago native new the story was the truth.

Source:  Ed had met M. Jean C. Tarzan himself. To protect the Greystoke families true identity Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, and John Carter's great-nephew decided to move the dates forward sixteen years in their The All-Story publication of Tarzan Of The Apes which was published in October 1912.

Clinton Pletee

 

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.