Timeline
| Date | Episode | Events |
|---|---|---|
| 1607 June 1 | 2 | Johann van der Zee is born on June 1, 1607, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.E-2 |
| 1620 | 5 | Johann comes to the New World at age 14.E-5 |
| 1642 | 1, 3 | Johann is stabbed through the heart saving the life of a native girl. She and the women shaman of her LenapeE-3 village (located at present day Times Square)E-1 save his life, and in so doing make him immortal. He will not die or age until after he finds "the one", his soul mate.E-1 |
| c. 1760s | 3 | John teaches history at Columbia University during the period in which it is called King's College.E-3 |
| c. 1776–1781 | 4 | John serves with Whitcomb's Rangers during the Revolutionary War.E-4 |
| 1812 | 4 | The Ursulines arrive in New York from Cork.E-4 |
| 1813 | 4 | John is a coachman in the Bronx for Andrew Durst who forcibly deflowers his female servants; including Fanny, who had been preserving her virginity for John. John kills Durst in a duel and, because the latter was a of a higher social class, the protagonist abandons his identity for a time.E-4 |
| c. 1850 | 1, 7 | John takes the first of around 160 pictures—each dated with the year taken—covering the development of what is later called Times Square.E-7 E-1 |
| 1862 Sept. 17 | 3 | John is a Union Army surgeon at the Battle of Antietam during the American Civil War. He is assisted by Walt Whitman, who gives John a first edition of Leaves of Grass.E-3 |
| 1865 April | 5 | John helps chase down John Wilkes Booth.E-5 |
| late 19th century | 5 | John has a relationship with Emily Dickinson.E-5 |
| c. 1880s or 1903 | 1 | As J. G. Benwaar, John is a well known furniture maker.E-1 E-1 |
| c. 1891 | 2 | John marries, and has a daughter named "Em" (short for Maggie).E-2 |
| 1893 | 6 | John takes on the alias "Dutch" Amsterdam, a painter, and marries again, this time to Samantha.E-6 |
| 1894 | 6 | Roosevelt "Rosie" Amsterdam, son of Dutch and Samantha, is born.E-6 |
| 1900 | 6 | During the wars between the Hip Sing Tong and the Four Brothers, a Mr. Chen was a police informant.E-6 |
| c. 1900 | 5 | Stanford White designed the Dillane mansion, "the biggest private house on Park Avenue".E-5 |
| c. 1900 | 1 | John knows the actress Sarah Bernhardt at the "turn of the 20th century."E-1 |
| 1912 / 1913 | 6 | Dutch and his family are living in Greenwich Village. His wife and son leave Dutch after he has an affair with one of his models, Alice Crayborn.E-6 E-6 |
| 1913 | 2 | Lily Rae Brown is born.E-2 |
| c. 1917 | 5, 8 | John fights in France during World War I.E-5 He is wounded and undergoes contrology therapy during his recovery and rehabilitation.E-8 |
| 1920s | 1 | The Penmar is a speakeasy during prohibition, and John is a regular.E-1 |
| 1927 | 8 | “Johnny on the Spot” is running scams near Hell Gate as a grifter, his thieving is destroying a new relationship with actress Olivia Behrendt (formerly Paula Dorn from Grand Rapids, Michigan).E-8 |
| 1930s | 1 | John, using the name Charlie, is dating a painter named Julianne. She paints his image into a mural named The Lover's Sacrifice in the Presidential Suite at the Davenshire Hotel.E-1 |
| 1941 | 2 | As John York, Esq. ("born" January 6, 1904, in New York City), he is practicing law, and having a secret relationship with Lily Rae Brown. John's secretary is his daughter Em. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is one of his favorite books, and his dog is named "Twenty nine." Under pressure from her father, Lily later breaks off the affair. York joins the army and is assigned to the "Big Red One".E-2 |
| 1942 | 2 | John and Lily have a son they name Omar, and they get married.E-2 |
| 1944 June | 1 | During the Invasion of Normandy John temporarily loses his hearing when a shell explodes "too close for comfort."E-1 |
| 1945 | 2 | Lily Rae York dies.E-2 |
| After 1947 | 6 | John serves in the CIA for 10 years.E-6 |
| c. 1950s | 5, 6 | During the Cold War John blackmails his superior in a government agency.E-5E-6 |
| 1957 | 1 | Thelonious Monk buys one of John's desks, after a show with Coltrane.E-1 |
| 1964 February | 5 | John, working as a night club comedian, drinks enough to kill a normal human and ends up in a mental institution. After leaving, he enters Alcoholics Anonymous, and when his AA sponsor Frank dies unexpectedly of a heart attack (93 days after Ruby shoots Oswald), John confesses his secrets to Omar instead.E-5 |
| 1965 | 1 | John has his last drink, beginning 15,495 days of sobriety as of the pilot episode.E-1 |
| 1967 July 17 | 1 | Coltrane dies, still mad at John.E-1 |
| 2002 February | 4, 5, 7 | John takes on the John Amsterdam alias.E-4E-5 He joins the NYPD because of the September 11, 2001 attacks and achieves the rank of Detective in the shortest time in NYPD history.E-7 |
As of the pilot, John has had 609 girlfriends, a few wives, and 63 children. His current dog is Thirty-six.E-1/
E-5 John a detailed family tree of all his wives and known descendants.E-6 His military service includes "the Army three times, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard...not the Air Force--don't like heights."E-3
John's descendents shown or mentioned in the series include:
- John's daughter, Maggie (born c. 1891), known as "Em". In 1941 she is working as John's secretary.E-2
- John's son, Roosevelt "Rosie" Amsterdam (born 1894).E-6
- Rosie's son, Theo Spoor. The retired boss of one of New York's mob families.E-6 The Spoor family owns Dutch's Painting of Alice, which they keep at the Spoor Brewery.E-6
- Theo's grandson, Nicholas Spoor. The current boss of the mob family, and an FBI informant.E-6
- Theo's grandson, Piers Spoor. Murdered by Nicholas to hide the FBI details.E-6
- Theo's grandson, Alex Spoor. Murdered by Nicholas to hide the FBI details.E-6
- Rosie's son, Theo Spoor. The retired boss of one of New York's mob families.E-6 The Spoor family owns Dutch's Painting of Alice, which they keep at the Spoor Brewery.E-6
- John's son, Omar York (born 1942).E-1
- Omar's daughter, Hallie.E-2
- Hallie's young son, Corey.E-2
- Omar's daughter, Hallie.E-2
Read more about this topic: New Amsterdam (TV Series)