1826 John Wisden (JW) is born in Brighton.
1850 JW takes ten wickets in an innings for North v South at Lord's. All are bowled - still a unique feat in first-class cricket. He also sets up in business, selling cricket gear in Leamington.
1852 JW and Jemmy Dean form the United All-England Eleven.
1855 JW opens his "cricket and cigar" shop at 2 New Coventry Street, London. 1859 JW plays in the USA and Canada on the first overseas tour by an English team.
1863 JW retires from the game.
1864 JW publishes his first Cricketer's Almanack. The editor for the first 16 editions
is W. H. Knight.
1870 The title is changed to John Wisden's Cricketers' Almanack (the second apostrophe moved in 1869).
1872 Wisden's shop moves to 21 Cranbourn Street, London; it remains open until 1928.
1880 The first of seven editions edited by George West.
1884 JW dies in his flat above the Cranbourn Street shop. The business is bought from his estate by Henry Luff.
1887 The first of four editions edited by Charles Pardon, and the first to have its content compiled by the Cricket Reporting Agency.
1889 Wisden selects its first Cricketers of the Year ("Six Great Bowlers").
1891 The first of 35 editions edited by Sydney Pardon.
1896 The first hardback edition. JW & Co open their second London shop - in Great Newport Street.
1901 Sydney Pardon starts "Notes by the Editor".
1910 Henry Luff dies. His son, Ernest, takes over the business.
1911 JW & Co receive a royal warrant to certify their "appointment as Athletic
Outfitters to the King" (George V).
1914 JW & Co are incorporated as a limited company with their shares divided among several investors.
1920 JW & Co merge with Duke & Son, a sports manufacturer specialising in cricket balls.
1923 JW & Co publish their first Rugby Football Almanack. It lasts three editions.
1924 The Almanack exceeds 1,000 pages for first time.
1926 The first of eight editions edited by Stewart Caine.
1934 The first of two edited by Sydney Southerton.
1936 The first of four edited by Wilfrid Brookes.
1938 J. Whitaker & Sons Ltd ("Whitaker's") become Wisden's publisher and
immediately conduct a thorough overhaul. Changes include dropping "John" from the title, the introduction of yellow linen covers for the limp version (technically, it was not a paperback), and adding Eric Ravilious's wood engraving of top-hatted cricketers to the front cover.
1939 Because of failings in the equipment business, JW & Co go into receivership.
1940 The first of four editions edited by Haddon Whitaker. The Notes in all four are written by Raymond Robertson-Glasgow. Whitaker's offices are destroyed in the
Blitz.
1943 JW & Co are bought out of receivership by the Co-operative Wholesale
Society.
1944 Wisden's factory in Mortlake is destroyed by a bomb. Although still published
by Whitaker's, Wisden is moved to the Sporting Handbooks imprint, in which
JW & Co have a half share. The first of eight editions edited by Hubert Preston.
1952 The first of 29 edited by Hubert Preston's son, Norman.
1957 Whitaker's buy JW & Co's half share in Sporting Handbooks, who continue to publish Wisden under licence.
1965 The CRA merge with the Press Association. The hardback version has a dust jacket for the first time.
1968 Norman Preston retires from PA, thus ending the PA/CRA editorial arrangement with the Almanack, which had been responsible for 82 editions. Preston continues to edit Wisden on a freelance contract.
1970 Grays of Cambridge Ltd purchase JW & Co (including their stake in Tonbridge Sports Industries) from the Co-operative Wholesale Society.
1979 Queen Anne Press (a division of Macdonald and Jane's Publishers which, in 1982, came under Robert Maxwell's control) succeed Sporting Handbooks as Wisden's licensed publishers. The magazine Wisden Cricket Monthly is launched, published under licence from JW & Co.
1981 The first of six editions edited by John Woodcock.
1984 The centenary of John Wisden's death is commemorated with the unveiling of a
new headstone for his grave in London's Brompton Cemetery.
1985 McCorquodale plc purchase JW & Co from Grays and re-establish JW & Co as
Wisden's own publisher.
1986 Grays of Cambridge buy back 50% of JW & Co to become joint owners with
McCorquodale (who are later acquired by Bowater plc).
1987 The first of eight editions edited by Graeme Wright.
1988 Colour photographs are included for the first time.
1993 The first of 12 editions edited by Matthew Engel. Paul Getty purchases JW & Co from Grays and Bowater. The combined total of pages in all editions exceeds100,000.
1995 A limited-edition leatherbound version is introduced.
1998 An Australian Wisden Almanack is launched, lasting eight editions.
1999 The (British) Almanack exceeds 1,500 pages for first time.
2000 Wisden names Five Cricketers of the Century: Don Bradman, Garry Sobers, Jack
Hobbs, Shane Warne and Viv Richards.
2001 Wright returns as editor, while Engel takes a sabbatical. Wisden Online is
launched.
2003 The only edition edited by Tim de Lisle features Wisden's first cover photograph
and names its first Book of the Year. JW & Co buy The Cricketer magazine (which is merged with Wisden Cricket Monthly to form The Wisden Cricketer) and the website Cricinfo (into which Wisden Online is integrated). Paul Getty dies. His son, Mark, takes control of JW & Co.
2004 Engel returns as editor. Wisden introduces a new annual accolade: the Leading Cricketer in the World.
2006 A large-format version is introduced. Across all formats, Wisden sells over 50,000 copies.
2007 Cricinfo is sold to ESPN; The Wisden Cricketer to BSkyB.
2008 The first of four editions edited by Scyld Berry. The Wisden Schools Cricketer of the Year award is introduced. Bloomsbury Publishing plc purchase JW & Co
from Mark Getty.
2009 Claire Taylor is the first woman to be named a Cricketer of the Year.
2011 The Shorter Wisden ebook is introduced.
2012 The first edition edited by Lawrence Booth. The 2013 - and first - edition of
Wisden India Almanack is launched in late December.
2013 The 150th edition is published.
Compiled by Christopher Lane
