timeline - When did the Harry Potter books take place?

I always wondered when the setting of the books was supposed to be. Is it set in the past? Present? Future?

I remember seeing somewhere that there was actual years/dates associated with events in the book.

Is there a visual timeline of all the Harry Potter events somewhere with years/months/days mentioned?

Answer

All dates in the HP world trace back to the Death Day party of Nearly Headless Nick in The Chamber of Secrets. It was stated that his it was his 500th Death Day. The cake reads:

Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington
died 31st October, 1492

So, it stands to reason that during the second year, Harry Potter was 12, and that it was the year 1992. All dates can be calculated from that moment in time.

It should also be noted that this isn't strictly adhered to, specifically, Dudley has Playstation before they came out, among other things.

Comments

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