Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03

Anton Chekhov Biography and Timeline

Follow Anton Chekhov through 16 dated historical records for Russia.

Anton Chekhov, historical timeline

A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.

16Distinct records
1 of 1Page
1879–1904Years on this page

1879

Education

Moscow · Arts / Drama

To support his family and pay his tuition fees, he daily writes short, humorous sketches and vignettes of contemporary Russian life, many under pseudonyms such as "Antosha Chekhonte" and "Man without a Spleen". Gains admission to the medical school at Moscow University

1882

Oskolki

Arts / Drama

Writes for Oskolki (Fragments), owned by Nikolai Leikin, one of the leading publishers of the time

1884

Education

Arts / Drama

Chekhov qualifies as a physician, which he considered his principal profession though he made little money from it and treats the poor for free

1886

Novoye Vremya

Arts / Drama

Invited to write for the Novoye Vremya (New Times), owned and edited by the millionaire magnate Alexei Suvorin, who paid per line a rate double Leikins, Suvorin was to become a lifelong friend

1887

Drama

Arts / Drama

A theatre manager called Korsh commissions Chekhov to write a play, the result being Ivanov, written in a fortnight

Pushkin Prize

Arts / Drama

Writes a story collection At Dusk (V Sumerkakh) winning Chekhov the coveted Pushkin Prize "for the best literary production distinguished by high artistic worth"

1889

Drama

Arts / Drama

The death of Chekhovs brother Nikolai from tuberculosis in 1889 influenced A Dreary Story, finished that September, about a man who confronts the end of a life which he realises has been without purpose

1894

Drama

Arts / Drama

Chekhov begins writing his play The Seagull

1896

Drama

Petersburg · Arts / Drama

The first night of The Seagull at the Alexandrinsky Theatre in Petersburg was a fiasco, booed by the audience, and stung Chekhov into renouncing the theatre

Drama

Moscow · Arts / Drama

The Art Theatre commissions more plays from Chekhov & stages Uncle Vanya

1897

Health of Anton Chekhov

Moscow · Science / Medicine

Chekhov suffers a major haemorrhage of the lungs while on a visit to Moscow and, with great difficulty, is persuaded to enter a clinic, where the doctors diagnosed tuberculosis on the upper part of his lungs and ordered a change

1898

Drama

Moscow · Arts / Drama

The play so impressed the playwright Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko that he convinced Konstantin Stanislavsky to direct it for the innovative Moscow Art Theatre

1899

Uncle Vanya Moscow Premiere

Arts / Theatre

Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya was staged by the Moscow Art Theatre, portraying frustrated hopes and quiet emotional strain.

1901

Three Sisters

Arts / Literature

Publication of "Three Sisters"

Three Sisters Moscow Premiere

Arts / Theatre

Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre, tracing the longing of siblings trapped in provincial life.

1904

Death of Anton Chekhov

Crimea · Arts / Drama

Death of Anton Chekhov

Records, sources and methodology

These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.