| 1828 | Henrik Johan Ibsen born on 20 March in Stockmannsgården in Skien. Parents: Marichen (née Altenburg) and Knud Ibsen, merchant. |
| 1835 | Father has to give up his business. The properties are auctioned off. The family moves to Venstøp, a farm in Gjerpen. |
| 1843 | Confirmed in Gjerpen church. Family moves to Snipetorp in Skien. Ibsen leaves home in November. Arrives in Grimstad on 29 November to be apprenticed to Jens Aarup Reimann, chemist. |
| 1846 | Has an illegitimate child by Else Sophie Jensdatter, one of Reimann’s servants. |
| 1847 | Lars Nielsen takes over ownership of the chemist’s, moving to larger premises. |
| 1849 | Ibsen writes Catiline. |
| 1850 | Goes to Christiania to study for the university entrance examination. Catiline is published under the pseudonym Brynjolf Bjarme. Edits the Students’ Union paper Samfundsbladet and the satirical weekly Andhrimner. First Ibsen staging in history: the one-act The Burial Mound is performed at Christiania Theater on 26 September. |
| 1851 | Moves to Bergen to begin directing productions at Det norske Theater. Study tour to Copenhagen and Dresden. |
| 1853 | First performance of St. John’s Night. |
| 1854 | First performance of The Burial Mound in a revised version. |
| 1855 | First performance of Lady Inger. |
| 1856 | First performance of The Feast at Solhaug. Becomes engaged to Suzannah Thoresen. |
| 1857 | First performance of Olaf Liljekrans. Is appointed artistic director of Kristiania Norske Theater. |
| 1858 | Marries Suzannah Thoresen on 18 June. First performance of The Vikings at Helgeland. |
| 1859 | Writes the poem «Paa Vidderne» («Life on the Upland») and the cycle of poems «I billedgalleriet» («At the Art Gallery»). His son Sigurd is born on 23 December. |
| 1860 | Writes «Svanhild» – a draft for Love’s Comedy. |
| 1861 | Writes the poem «Terje Vigen». |
| 1862 | Kristiania Norske Theater goes bankrupt. Ibsen goes on a study tour to the valley of Gudbrandsdalen and to the West Country to study folklore. Love’s Comedy is published (first performance at Christiania Theater on 24 November 1873). Is appointed consultant to Christiania Theater. |
| 1863 | The Pretenders is published. Writes the poem «En broder i nød» («A Brother in Need»). |
| 1864 | The Pretenders has its first performance at Christiania Theater. Leaves for Italy and lives in Rome for four years. |
| 1865 | Writes «The Epic Brand». Revises it with the title Brand. |
| 1866 | Brand is published and is a success. Ibsen is awarded one of the state stipends for artists. |
| 1867 | Publishes Love’s Comedy in a revised version. Writes and publishes Peer Gynt (first performance at Christiania Theater on 24 February 1876). |
| 1868 | Moves to Dresden, where the family lives for seven years. |
| 1869 | The League of Youth is published and given its first performance at Christiania Theater. Ibsen takes part in a meeting on Scandinavian spelling in Stockholm. Goes to Egypt and is present at the opening of the Suez Canal. |
| 1870 | Writes the poem «Ballongbrev til en svensk dame» («Balloon Letter to a Swedish Lady»). |
| 1871 | Publishes a collection of poems (Digte) for the first and last time. |
| 1872 | A large part of Emperor and Galilean is written. |
| 1873 | Completes and publishes Emperor and Galilean. Is a member of an international art jury at the world exhibition in Vienna. |
| 1874 | Visits Norway (Christiania). Goes on to Stockholm. Publishes Lady Inger in a new version. |
| 1875 | Publishes Catiline in a new version. Moves to Munich, where he lives for three years. Writes the poem «Et rimbrev» («A Rhyme-letter»). |
| 1877 | Pillars of Society written and first staged at Odense Teater. Awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Uppsala. |
| 1878 | Moves to Rome again and stays there for seven years except for several breaks. |
| 1879 | Writes and publishes A Doll’s House, which is first staged at Det Kongelige (Royal) Teater in Copenhagen. |
| 1881 | Ghosts written and published (staged at the Aurora Turner Hall in Chicago on 20 May 1882). |
| 1882 | An Enemy of the People written and published (first staging at Christiania Theater on 13 January 1883). |
| 1883 | Publishes The Feast at Solhoug in a new edition. |
| 1884 | Writes and publishes The Wild Duck (first staging at Den Nationale Scene in Bergen on 9 January 1885). |
| 1885 | Visits Norway (Christiania, Trondhjem, Molde and Bergen). Moves to Munich and stays there for six years. |
| 1886 | Writes and publishes Rosmersholm (first staging at Den Nationale Scene on 17 January 1887). |
| 1887 | Spends the summer in Northern Jutland (at Sæby). Goes on to Gothenburg, Stockholm and Copenhagen. |
| 1888 | Writes and publishes The Lady from the Sea (first performed at Hoftheater in Weimar and at Christiania Theater on the same day, 12 February 1889). |
| 1889 | Last summer in Gossensass. Gets to know Emilie Bardach. |
| 1890 | Writes and publishes Hedda Gabler (first performed at the Residenztheater in Munich on 31 January 1891). |
| 1891 | Returns to Norway and settles in Christiania. Meets Hildur Andersen. |
| 1892 | Writes and publishes The Master Builder (first performance at the Lessingtheater in Berlin on 19 January 1893). Sigurd Ibsen marries Bergliot Bjørnson. |
| 1894 | Writes and publishes Little Eyolf (first staged at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin on 12 January 1895). |
| 1895 | Moves into the apartment on the corner of Arbiensgate and Drammensveien in Christiania and stays there for the rest of his life. |
| 1896 | Writes and publishes John Gabriel Borkman (first performed simultaneously at Det svenske (Swedish) and Det finske (Finnish) Teater in Helsingfors on January 10th 1897). |
| 1898 | 70th birthday – large-scale celebrations in Christiania, Copenhagen and Stockholm. |
| 1899 | Writes and publishes When We Dead Awaken (first staged at the Hoftheater in Stuttgart on 26 January 1900). |
| 1900 | Suffers his first stroke. |
| 1906 | Dies on 23 May. |