One of my goals has always been to create a comprehensive Comedy Timeline. As it stand right now this will be the most basic version of that concept imaginable. Some of the below have links associated with them, they will lead you to a "This Day in Comedy in History" that I have written for previous posts.
A COMEDY TIMELINE
- 1894 - February 14th – Jack Benny is born
- 1896 – January 20th – George Burns is born
- 1903 – May 29th – Bob Hope is born
- 1906 – March 16th – Henny Youngman is born
- 1908 – July 12th – Milton Berle is born
- 1917 – July 17th – Phyllis Diller is born
- 1918 – February 3rd - Joey Bishop is born
- 1919 – February 5th – Red Buttons is born
- 1921 - November 22nd - Rodney Dangerfield is born
- 1922 – December 9th – Redd Foxx is born
- 1924 – August 31st – Buddy Hackett is born
- 1925 - October 13th - Lenny Bruce is born
- 1925 - October 23rd - Johnny Carson is born
- 1925 – November 11th – Jonathon Winters is born
- 1926 – February 3rd – Shelley Berman is born
- 1926 – May 8th – Don Rickles is born
- 1927 – May 11th – Mort Sahl is born
- 1927 – December 26th – Alan King is born
- 1929 – July 31st – Pat Cooper is born
- 1929 – September 5th – Bob Newhart is born
- 1931 – June 9th – Jackie Mason is born
- 1932 – October 12th – Dick Gregory is born
- 1933 – June 8th – Joan Rivers is born
- 1933 – December 8th – Flip Wilson is born
- 1935 – December 1st – Woody Allen is born
- 1936 – February 4th – David Brenner is born
- 1937 - May 12th – George Carlin born
- 1937 – July 12th – Bill Cosby is born
- 1940 – December 1st – Richard Pryor is born
- 1942 – February 8th – Robert Klein is born
- 1944 – August 4th – Richard Belzer is born
- 1945 – August 14th – Steve Martin is born
- 1946 – July 24th – Gallagher is born
- 1947 – April 12th – David Letterman is born
- 1947 – June 29th – Richard Lewis is born
- 1947 – July 22nd – Albert Brooks is born
- 1948 – March 14th – Billy Crystal is born
- 1948 – August 30th – Lewis Black is born
- 1949 – January 17th – Andy Kaufman is born
- 1949 – November 29th – Gary Shandling is born
- 1950 – April 28th – Jay Leno is born
- 1951 – May 21st – Al Franken is born
- 1951 – July 21st – Robin Williams is born
- 1952 – July 21st – George Wallace is born
- 1952 – August 18th – Elayne Boosler is born
- 1952 – November 3rd – Roseanne Bar is born
- 1953 – March 24th – Louie Anderson is born
- 1953 – June 13th – Tim Allen is born
- 1953 – October 15th – Larry Miller is born
- 1953 – November 3rd – Dennis Miller is born
- 1953 – December 8th – Sam Kinison is born
- 1954 – April 29th – Jerry Seinfeld is born
- 1954 – June 22nd – Freddie Prinze is born
- 1955 – January 19th – Paul Rodriguez is born
- 1955 – February 28th – Gilbert Gottfried is born
- 1955 – May 25th – Bobby Slayton is born
- 1955 – June 2nd – Dana Carvey is born
- 1955 – June 6th – Sandra Bernhard is born
- 1955 – June 30th – David Alan Grier is born
- 1955 – November 29th – Howie Mandel is born
- 1955 – December 6th – Steven Wright is born
- 1956 – January 20th - Bill Maher is born
- 1956 – May 17th – Bob Sagat is born
- 1956 - November 10th - Sinbad is born
- 1957 – March 30th – Paul Reiser is born
- 1957 – April 14th – Richard Jeni is born
- 1957 – August 18th – Denis Leary is born
- 1957 – September 29th – Andrew Dice Clay is born
- 1957 – October 5th –Bernie Mac is born
- 1957 – October 30th – Kevin Pollak is born
- 1957 – December 21st – Ray Romano is born
- 1958 – January 26th – Ellen DeGeneres is born
- 1958 – January 30th – Brett Butler is born
- 1958 - May 23rd - Drew Carey is born
- 1958 – September 6th – Jeff Foxworthy is born
- 1959 – June 6th – Colin Quinn is born
- 1959 – December 29th – Paula Poundstone is born
- 1960 – September 4th – Damon Wayans is born
- 1960 - October 10th - First television appearance ever for George Carlin as part of Burns & Carlin on the(Jack Paar) Tonight Show
- 1961 – April 3rd – Eddie Murphy is born
- 1961 – April 23rd – George Lopez is born
- 1961 – December 16th – Bill Hicks is born
- 1962 – January 17th – Jim Carrey is born
- 1962 – February 7th – Eddie Izzard is born
- 1962 – May 26th – Bobcat Goldwait is born
- 1962 – November 28th - Jon Stewart is born
- 1963 – March 6th – D.L. Hughley is born
- 1963 – October 17th – Norm MacDonald is born
- 1964 – March 7th – Wanda Sykes is born
- 1964 – April 4th – David Cross is born
- 1964 – April 24th – Cedric the Entertainer is born
- 1964 – September 28th – Janeane Garofalo is born
- 1965 – January 18th – Dave Attell is born
- 1965 – February 7th – Chris Rock is born
- 1965 – April 16th – Martin Lawrence is born
- 1965 – April 26th – Kevin James is born
- 1965 – December 10th – Greg Giraldo is born
- 1966 – August 3rd – Lenny Bruce dies
- 1966 – September 9th – Adam Sandlar is born
- 1967 – June 21st – Jim Breuer is born
- 1967 – September 12th – Louis C.K. is born
- 1968 – July 15th – Eddie Griffin is born
- 1970 – August 23rd - Jay Mohr is born
- 1972 – March 18th – Dane Cook is born
- 1972 - May 27th - George Carlin records his "Class Clown" at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
- 1973 – August 24th – Dave Chappelle is born
- 1974 – December 26th – Jack Benny dies
- 1977 – January 29th - Freddie Prinze dies
- 1984 – May 16th – Andy Kaufman dies
- 1988 - December 14th - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is released
- 1990 - April 15th - In Living Color Premiers
- 1991 - October 11th - Redd Foxx dies
- 1992 – April 10th – Sam Kinison dies
- 1994 – February 26th – Bill Hicks dies
- 1996 – March 9th – George Burns dies
- 1997 – May 1st – Braindroppings by George Carlin is released
- 1998 – February 24th – Henny Youngman dies
- 1998 – November 25th – Flip Wilson dies
- 2002 - March 12th - George Carlin on Comedy is released
- 2002 – March 27th – Milton Berle dies
- 2003 – June 30th – Buddy Hackett dies
- 2003 – July 27th – Bob Hope dies
- 2004 – May 9th – Alan King dies
- 2004 - October 5th – Rodney Dangerfield dies
- 2005 – January 23rd – Johnny Carson dies
- 2005 – December 10th – Richard Pryor dies
- 2006 – July 13th – Red Buttons dies
- 2007 – March 10th – Richard Jeni dies
- 2007 – October 17th – Joey Bishop dies
- 2008 – June 22nd – George Carlin dies
- 2008 – August 8th – Bernie Mac dies
- 2009 - June 5th - The Hangover is released
- 2009 - July31st - Funny People is released
- 2010 – September 29th – Greg Giraldo dies
- 2011 - May 26th - The Hangover Part II is released
- 2012 - June 29th - Ted is released
- 2012 - August 20th - Phyllis Diller dies