1889 16th April
Birth of Charlie Chaplin
Birth of Charlie Chaplin
Cinema history · permanent subject timeline
Charlie Chaplin
Silent-era actor, director and producer whose screen character became globally recognised. This page combines historical context with 12 matching records drawn directly from the World History Database cinema archive.
Historical context
Charlie Chaplin: overview and significance
What happened?
Charlie Chaplin developed from British music hall into international film stardom, combining physical comedy with writing, directing and production control.
Why was it important?
Chaplin was one of the key figures in the development of feature-length screen comedy and independent star-driven filmmaking.
World History Database records
Charlie Chaplin timeline
The records below are selected from the 2,036-record Cinema History archive and rendered as static HTML in chronological order.
1889
1913
1913 16th December
Film
Chaplin reports to work at Keystone Studios to launch a legendary film career
1920
1920
1st Feature Length Film
Directs his 1st feature length film, "The Kid"
1920
The Kid
Directs his 1st feature length film, "The Kid"
1920
The Kid
Helps make, "The Kid"
1931
1931
City Lights
Directs, "City Lights", 1st film with sound
1936
1936
Modern Times
Directs, "Modern Times"
1940
1940
The Great Dictator
Directs, "The Great Dictator"
1952
1952
Limelight
Directs, "Limelight"
1957
1957
A King in New York
Directs, "A King in New York"
1967
1967
A Countess From Hong Kong
Directs, "A Countess From Hong Kong"
1977
1977 25th December
Death of Charlie Chaplin
Death of Charlie Chaplin
Editorial provenance
Sources and editorial review
Compiled and edited by World History Database.
Historical context is editorial material; the chronology is generated from World History Database cinema records.
Last reviewed: September 2026.
British Film Institute · Library of Congress · Academy Awards
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