This timeline was prepared in 1986 for University of Tennessee at Chattanooga class "Methodology and Bibliography" ENGL 500 taught by Dr. Thomas C. Ware. It was updated in 1989 after Heinlein's death, and updated again 9 September 2026 by adding a variety of awards Heinlein received and the "And Beyond" section along with the sources used for that information.
Pseudonyms: Anson MacDonald; Lyle Monroe (some with Elma Wentz); John Riverside; Caleb Saunders: Simon York (used for non-SF)
| 1907-1939 | THE PREWRITING YEARS | |
|---|---|---|
| 1907 | July 7 (July 17?) | born Butler, Mo. |
| 1924 | graduates Central H.S., Kansas City | |
| 1925-1929 | Univ. of Mo. and U.S. Naval Academy | |
| 1929-1934 | active duty, Navy, till forced to resign due to tuberculosis (Lt.,jg) | |
| ? | marries Leslyn McDonald while in Navy | |
| 1934 | studied graduate level math and physics till health failed - year in Colorado recuperating | |
| 1934-1939 | worked in silver mining in Colo., worked real estate, architecture and Calif. politics - ran for office unsucc. | |
| 1939-1942 | THE PERIOD OF INFLUENCE EARLY FICTION (DEPRESSION TO W.W.II) | |
| 1939 | August | "Life-Line," Astounding Science Fiction |
| 1939 | November | "Misfit," Astounding Science Fiction |
| 1940 | January | "Requiem," Astounding Science Fiction |
| 1940 | February/March | "If This Goes On--," Astounding Science Fiction |
| 1940 | May | "Let There Be Light," Super Science Stories (L. Monroe) |
| 1940 | June | "The Roads Must Roll," Astounding Science Fiction |
| 1940 | July | "Coventry," Astounding Science Fiction |
| 1940 | Summer | "Heil," Futuria Fantasia (L. Monroe) |
| 1940 | September | "Blowups Happen," Astounding Science Fiction |
| 1940 | September | "The Devil Makes the Law," Unknown Worlds (later became "Magic, Inc.") |
| 1940 | "Successful Operation" 1st pub. found: Expanded Universe, 1980 | |
| 1941 | Guest of Honor, 3rd World SF Conv., Denver | |
| 1941 | Future History series scheme in Astounding Science Fiction | |
| 1941 | "The Discovery of the Future," Guest of Honor speech, 3rd World SF Convention | |
| 1941 | January-March | "Sixth Column," Astounding Science Fiction (A. MacDonald) |
| 1941 | February | "And He Built a Crooked House," Astounding Science Fiction |
| 1941 | March | "Logic of Empire," Astounding Science Fiction |
| 1941 | April | "Beyond Doubt," Astonishing Stories (L. Monroe and Elma Wentz) |
| 1941 | April | "They," Unknown Worlds |
| 1941 | May | "Solution Unsatisfactory," Astounding Science Fiction (A. MacDonald) |
| 1941 | May | "Universe," Astounding Science Fiction |
| 1941 | July-September | "Methuselah's Children," Astounding Science Fiction |
| 1941 | July | "--We Also Walk Dogs," Astounding Science Fiction (A. MacDonald) |
| 1941 | September | "Elsewhere," Astounding Science Fiction (C. Saunders, later titled "Elsewhen") |
| 1941 | October | "By His Bootstraps," Astounding Science Fiction (A. MacDonald) |
| 1941 | October | "Common Sense," Astounding Science Fiction |
| 1941 | November | "Lost Legion," Super Science Stories (L. Monroe, later titled "Lost Legacy") |
| 1942 | February | "My Object All Sublime," Future (L. Monroe) |
| 1942 | March | "Goldfish Bowl," Astounding Science Fiction (A. MacDonald) |
| 1942 | March | "Pied Piper," Astonishing Stories (L. Monroe) |
| 1942 | April/May | "Beyond This Horizon," Astounding Science Fiction (A. MacDonald) |
| 1942 | August | "Waldo," Astounding Science Fiction (A. MacDonald) |
| 1942 | October | "The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathon Hoag," Unknown Worlds (J. Riverside) |
| 1943-1946 | No fiction published, WWII served as civilian engineer in Philadelphia, Pa. | |
| 1944 | Testing in Connection with the Development of Strong Plastics for Aircraft, Naval Air Materials Center, Non-Fiction | |
| 1947-1958 | THE PERIOD OF SUCCESS - NEW FRONTIERS | |
| 1947 | 1st SF author to make consistent sales to the Saturday Evening Post beginning 1947 | |
| 1947 | series of juvenile books for Scribner's - some consider juvenile SF his greatest contribution -series continued till 1958 | |
| 1947 | January | "Back of the Moon," Elks Magazine Non-Fiction Article |
| 1947 | February 8 | "The Green Hills of Earth," Saturday Evening Post |
| 1947 | April 26 | "Space Jockey," Saturday Evening Post |
| 1947 | May | "Columbus Was a Dope," Startling Stories (L. Monroe) |
| 1947 | May | "They Do It with Mirrors," Popular Detective (L. Monroe) non SF-mys. |
| 1947 | August 30 | "Flight Into the Future," Collier's Non-Fiction Article with Caleb B. Laning |
| 1947 | July 26 | "It's Great to be Back," Saturday Evening Post |
| 1947 | October | "Jerry Is a Man," Thrilling World Stories (later titled "Jerry Was a Man" |
| 1947 | November | "Water Is for Washing," Argosy |
| 1947 | "How To Be a Survivor" | |
| 1947 | "The Last Days of the United States" | |
| 1947 | "On the Writing of Speculative Fiction," Of Worlds Beyond Non-Fiction essay | |
| 1947 | "Pie from the Sky" | |
| 1947 | Rocket Ship Galileo, Scribner's | |
| 1948 | marries Virginia Gerstenfeld | |
| 1948 | January 10 | "The Black Pits of Luna," Saturday Evening Post |
| 1948 | May | "Gentlemen, Be Seated!", Argosy |
| 1948 | May | "Ordeal in Space," Town and Country |
| 1948 | Beyond This Horizon, Fantasy Press | |
| 1948 | Space Cadet, Scribner's | |
| 1949 | January | "Our Fair City," Weird Tales |
| 1949 | April/May | "Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon," |
| 1949 | November/December | "Gulf," Astounding Science Fiction |
| 1949 | December | "Delilah and the Space-Rigger," Blue Book |
| 1949 | December 24 | "Baedeker of the Solar System," Saturday Review of Literature, Non-Fiction |
| 1949 | December | "The Long Watch," American Legion Mag. |
| 1949 | "A Bathroom of Her Own" | |
| 1949 | "On the Slopes of Vesuvius" | |
| 1949 | "Poor Daddy," Calling All Girls - non SF teen girl | |
| 1949 | Red Planet, Scribner's, Boy's Life | |
| 1949 | Sixth Column, Gnome Press | |
| 1950 | abandons Future History scheme | |
| 1950 | advisor to TV program Tom Corbett: Space Cadet | |
| 1950 | asst. screenplay, Destination Moon | |
| 1950 | July | "Shooting `Destination Moon'," Astounding Science Fiction Non-Fiction Article |
| 1950 | August | "Cliff and the Calories," Senior Prom - non SF, teen girl |
| 1950 | August-November | "Satellite Scout," Boy's Life (later titled Farmer in the Sky) |
| 1950 | September | "Destination Moon," Short Stories Mag. |
| 1950 | "The Man Who Sold the Moon," in book of the same title | |
| 1950 | The Man Who Sold the Moon, Shasta (also incl. preface by R.A.H.) | |
| 1950 | Waldo and Magic, Inc., Doubleday | |
| 1951ff | Little short fiction published - most notable, "All You Zombies," 1959 | |
| 1951 | August | "Review of Space Medicine," Denver Post |
| 1951 | September/October | "Planets in Combat," Blue Book (later titled, Between Planets) |
| 1951 | September-November | "The Puppet Masters," Galaxy |
| 1951 | Between Planets, Scribner's | |
| 1951 | The Green Hills of Earth, Shasta | |
| 1951 | The Puppet Masters, Doubleday | |
| 1951 | Tomorrow, the Stars, Doubleday (1952?) (anthology, ed. by R.A.H. with intro.) | |
| 1951 | Universe, Dell paperback | |
| 1952 | February | "Where To? Life in 2000 A.D.," Galaxy, Non-Fiction |
| 1952 | March | "The Year of the Jackpot," Galaxy |
| 1952 | September-December | "Tramp Space Ship," Boy's Life (later titled, The Rolling Stones) |
| 1952 | November | "Ray Guns and Rocket Ships," School Library Assoc. of Calif. Bul., Non-Fiction Art. |
| 1952 | The Rolling Stones, Scribner's | |
| 1953 | asst. screenplay, Project Moonbase | |
| 1953 | April | "Project Nightmare," Amazing Stories |
| 1953 | November | "Sky Lift," Imagination |
| 1953 | Assignment in Eternity, Fantasy Press | |
| 1953 | "Introduction," The Best From Startling Stories, Non-Fiction | |
| 1953 | Revolt in 2100, Shasta , also preface "Concerning Stories Never Written" | |
| 1953 | Starman Jones, Scribner's | |
| 1954 | May-July | "Star Lummox," Fantasy & Science Fiction (later titled, The Star Beast) |
| 1954 | The Star Beast, Scribner's | |
| 1955 | Tunnel in the Sky, Scribner's | |
| 1956 | February-April | "Double Star," Astounding Science Fiction |
| 1956 | April | "As I See Tomorrow," Amazing Stories, Non-Fiction Article |
| 1956 | October-November | "The Door Into Summer," Fantasy & Science Fiction |
| 1956 | Double Star, Doubleday | |
| 1956 | Time for the Stars, Scribner's | |
| 1956 | Hugo Award: for Double Star | |
| 1957 | lectures on SF, Univ. of Chicago | |
| 1957 | August | "The Menace from Earth," Fantasy & Science Fiction |
| 1957 | September-December | "Citizen of the Galaxy," Astounding Science Fiction |
| 1957 | October | "The Elephant Circuit," Saturn (later titled, The Man Who Travelled in Elephants) |
| 1957 | Citizen of the Galaxy, Scribner's | |
| 1957 | The Door Into Summer, Doubleday | |
| 1958 | April 13 | "Who Are the Heirs of Patrick Henry," Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph NF advertisement |
| 1958 | May-July | "Tenderfoot in Space," Boy's Life |
| 1958 | August-October | "Have Space Suit--Will Travel," Fantasy & Science Fiction |
| 1958 | Have Space Suit--Will Travel, Scribner's | |
| 1958 | Methuselah's Children, Gnome Press | |
| 1958 | "The Third Millenium Opens" | |
| 1959 | THE PERIOD OF DECLINE | |
| 1959 | Hugo Award: for Starship Troopers | |
| 1959 | March | "All You Zombies--," Fantasy & Science Fiction |
| 1959 | October/November | "Starship Soldier," Fantasy & Science Fiction (later titled, Starship Troopers) |
| 1959 | The Menace from Earth, Gnome Press | |
| 1959 | "Science Fiction: It's Nature, Faults and Virtues," The Science Fiction Novel, Non-Fiction essay | |
| 1959 | The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathon Hoag, Gnome Press | |
| 1960-1969 | A VOICE OF THE '60'S | |
| 1960 | No fiction published | |
| 1960 | Hugo Award, Starship Troopers | |
| 1960 | October | "Pravda Means `Truth'," American Mercury Non-Fiction article |
| 1961 | Guest of Honor, 19th World SF Conv., Seattle | |
| 1961 | "The Future Revisited," Guest of Honor Speech, 19th World SF Conv. | |
| 1961 | Stranger in a Strange Land, Putnam | |
| 1962 | Hugo Award: for Stranger in a Strange Land | |
| 1962 | August | "Searchlight," Scientific American and other mags. (advertisement) |
| 1962 | November | "Ray Guns and Rocketships" |
| 1963 | May | "All Aboard the Gemini," Popular Mechanics Non-Fiction article |
| 1962 | "Inside INTOURIST" | |
| 1963 | January/March | "Podkayne of Mars," If |
| 1963 | July-September | "Glory Road," Fantasy & Science Fiction |
| 1963 | Glory Road, Putnam | |
| 1963 | Podkayne of Mars, Putnam | |
| 1964 | July-October | "Farnham's Freehold," If |
| 1964 | Farnham's Freehold, Putnam | |
| 1964 | "The Happy Road to Science Fiction," McClurg's Book News | |
| 1964 | Orphans of the Sky, Putnam | |
| 1965 | Three By Heinlein, Doubleday | |
| 1965-1966 | December-April | "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress," If |
| 1966 | "Free Men," first pub. in The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein | |
| 1966 | The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Putnam | |
| 1966 | The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein, Ace Books, paperback with introduction, "Pandora's Box" | |
| 1967 | Hugo Award: for The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress | |
| 1967 | The Past Through Tomorrow, Putnam | |
| 1970-1979 | THE PRIVATE WORLDS OF THE 1970'S | |
| 1971 | I Will Fear No Evil, Berkley | |
| 1973 | speech at U.S. Naval Academy | |
| 1973 | December | "No Bands Playing," Vertex |
| 1973 | "Science Fiction: The World of `What If--,'" The Book of Knowledge Non-Fiction | |
| 1973 | Time Enough for Love, Putnam | |
| 1974 | January | "Channel Markers," Analog, Non-Fiction text of 1973 U.S. Naval Acad. speech |
| 1975 | Grand Master Nebula Award | |
| 1975 | "Paul Dirac, Antimatter, and You," 1975 Compton Year Book, Non-Fiction | |
| 1975 | "The Pragmatics of Patriotism" | |
| 1976 | Guest of Honor, World SF Convention | |
| 1976 | "Are You a `Rare Blood'?" 1976 Compton Yearbook Non-Fiction | |
| 1977 | June | "The Making of `Destination Moon'," Starlog |
| 1978 | recovery - cartoid bypass | |
| 1978 | The Notebooks of Lazarus Long, Putnam | |
| 1978 | Seiun Award, I Will Fear No Evil | |
| 1980-1989 | APOCALYPSE NOW - THE 1980'S | |
| 1980 | Forry Award, lifetime achievement, Los Angeles Science Fiction Fantasy Society | |
| 1980 | March | "Spinoff," Omni Non-Fiction |
| 1980 | Expanded Universe: More Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein, Ace ppbk. | |
| 1980 | "The Happy Days Ahead" | |
| 1980 | "Larger Than Life" | |
| 1980 | The Number of the Beast, Fawcett | |
| 1982 | Friday, Holt | |
| 1983 | Prometheus Award, Hall of Fame, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress | |
| 1984 | Job: A Comedy of Justice, Ballantine | |
| 1985 | Locus Award, Job: AComedy of Justice | |
| 1985 | The Cat Who Walks Through Walls: A Comedy of Manners, Putnam | |
| 1987 | To Sail beyond the Sunset, Ace/Putnam | |
| 1987 | Prometheus Award, Hall of Fame, Stranger in a Strange Land | |
| 1988 | May | Heinlein dies |
| 1988 | October | Receives posthumously, The Distinguished Public Service Medal |
| 1989 | Grumbles from the Grave, ed. Virginia Heinlein, published posthumously, Ballantine | |
| 1990-Present | AND BEYOND | |
| 1990 | Locus Award, Grumbles from the Grave | |
| 1992 | April | Tramp Royale, Non-Fiction, published posthumously, Ace Books |
| 1993 | June | Requiem: and Tributes to the Grand Master, new and collected works, ed. by Yoji Kondo, Tor Books |
| 1996 | Prometheus Award, Hall of Fame, Red Planet | |
| 1997 | Prometheus Award, Hall of Fame, Metheuselah's Children | |
| 1998 | 1949 Short story "The Long Watch" published in Thor's Hammer | |
| 1998 | Posthumous Inductee to Science Fiction Hall of Fame | |
| 1998 | Prometheus Award, Hall of Fame, Time Enough for Love | |
| 2001 | Retro Hugo Award, “The Man Who Sold the Moon” (The Man Who Sold the Moon) | |
| 2001 | Retro Hugo Award, Farmer in the Sky | |
| 2002 | The Fantasies of Robert A Heinlein, Tor Books | |
| 2003 | Prometheus Award, Hall of Fame, "Requiem" (Astounding Stories, 1940) | |
| 2003 | For Us, the Living: A Comedy of Customs, written 1938, published posthumously | |
| 2005 | For Us, the Living: A Comedy of Customs, nominated for Locus Award for SF novel | |
| 2006 | Variable Star, written by Spider Robinson based on 1955 Heinlein outline | |
| 2008 | Project Moonbase and Others, screenplay for Project Moonbase, 12 finished teleplays and two story outlines for project television show, The World Beyond | |
| 2016 | Retro Hugo Award, "If This Goes On . . . " (Astounding Science Fiction, February 1940) | |
| 2016 | Retro Hugo Award, "The Roads Must Roll" (Astounding Science Fiction, June 1940) | |
| 2017 | Prometheus Award, Hall of Fame, "Coventry" | |
| 2018 | Retro Hugo Award, Beuyond This Horizon | |
| 2018 | Retro Hugo Award, "Waldo" (Astounding Science Fiction, August 1942) | |
| 2020 | The Pursuit of the Pankera, Alternate version of The Number of the Beast | |
| 2022 | Prometheus Award, Hall of Fame, Citizen of the Galaxy | |
| 2023 | Prometheus Award, Hall of Fame, "Free Men" (The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein) | |
Sources
Day, Donald B. Index to the Science Fiction Magazines 1926-1950. Rev. ed. Boston: G.K. Hall and Co., 1952.
Franklin, H. Bruce. Robert A. Heinlein: America as Science Fiction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1980.
Kelly, Mark R. "Robert Heinlein." Science Fiction Awards Database <https://www.sfadb.com/Robert_A_Heinlein>.
Magill, Frank N., ed. Critical Survey of Short Fiction. Vol. 4. 7 vols. Englewood Cliffs: Salem Press, 1981.
Panshin, Alexei. Heinlein in Dimension: A Critical Analysis. Chicago: Advent, 1968.
"Robert A. Heinlein Bibliography." Wikipedia. 8 Aug. 2026. 6 Sep. 2026. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein_bibliography>
"Robert A. Heinlein Books in Order." FictionDB. <https://www.fictiondb.com/author/robert-a-heinlein~34105.htm>
Tuck, Donald H. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy Through 1968. 3 vols. Chicago: Advent, 1974.
Tymn, Marshall B., et. al., eds. Index to Stories in Thematic Anthologies of Science Fiction. Boston: G.K. Hall and Co., 1978.
