Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire

A history of the Shepherd's Journal and the explorers in search of a vanished civilization

WWW = Official Movie Website
DVD = Collector's Edition DVD

Before 100,000 B.C.

A giant comet passes close to the earth. A piece breaks off and lands on a landmass inhabited by people known as Atlanteans. The crystal fragment quickly becomes their power source, inspiring technology and providing long life. Eventually it also becomes their deity, known as the "Heart of Atlantis." (DVD)

c 18086 B.C.

Kashekim Nedakh of Atlantis is born. (WWW)

c 6586 B.C.

Princess Kidagakash of Atlantis is born. (WWW)

The Atlanteans begin to abuse their power, building a powerful armada and dominating other civilizations. They wage war with other nations but a severe accident causes the majority of Atlantis to be destroyed. What survives is buried deep within the earth and the planet is flooded. (Film, DVD)

The Queen merges with the Heart of Atlantis. King Kashekim Nedakh is blinded. (Film)

The King orders all records of the crystal destroyed in order to avoid further catastrophe. The crystal is hidden beneath his throne room. (DVD)

???

Over a two year period, Aziz travels to Atlantis and writes detailed notes about his voyage. Most of these notes are written in Atlantean and thus indecipherable to the outside world. These notes would become known as the Scrolls of Aziz and later the Shepherd's Journal. (WWW, DVD)

640-559 B.C.

Solon is told the story of Atlantis by a priest he meets in Egypt. (WWW)

355 B.C.

Plato writes about Atlantis. (Historical record)

Second Century B.C.

Scholars bring the Scrolls of Aziz to Rome. They are later assailed by the armies of Maxentius. (WWW)

290

Rome is plundered by the armies of Maxentus and the scrolls taken. (WWW, DVD)

312

Maxentius is turned back at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge by Constantine. Constantine strengthens the weakening Roman Empire and moves the capital to Constantinople. He sets his best scholars to work on decoding the Scrolls of Aziz. (WWW)

???

The Scrolls of Aziz are stolen by a Turkish treasure hunter and brought to the coast of Iceland. The treasure hunter becomes ill and later dies. The Scrolls are left in the care of monks on the island of Lindisfarne. They cut and bind the pages, adding illuminations. (WWW, DVD)

c 500

Chichen Itza is established. (Historical record)

793

The island of Lindisfarne is plundered by Vikings and the Journal stolen. The expedition is later destroyed and the Journal is lost for 100 years. (WWW, DVD)

c 800

Significant additions are made to the structure of Chichen Itza by the Toltecs. (Historical record)

c 900

Thorfinn vows to return the Journal to its rightful home in Iceland. His followers become known as the Keepers of the Journal. (WWW, DVD)

997

A Viking expedition in search of Atlantis is destroyed by Leviathan. The Journal is lost at sea.
(Viking Prologue)

???

The Journal makes its way to the New World, possibly traveling with Viking colonists. Snorri Karlsefini mounts an expedition to find the city described in the Journal, but returns to Europe empty-handed. The Journal is left behind, possibly bartered away in return for safe passage home. (WWW, DVD)

???

The images in the book are used by the Mayans as the template for various works of notable architecture, including Chichen Itza. (WWW, DVD)

1050

Reports of a bound manuscript matching the description of the Journal surface. (WWW)

1200

The Journal is stolen by former Mayans and taken far south to Guiana. The Journal goes unread for the next 200 years and is believed to contain great evil. (WWW, DVD)

1452

Leonardo DaVinci is born. (Historical record)

1460's-1470's

Amerigo Vespucci meets and becomes friends with Leonardo DaVinci. (WWW, DVD)

1499

The Journal is given to Amerigo Vespucci by former Mayans. He tries to decipher it but cannot. (WWW, DVD)

1500

Vespucci gives the Journal to Leonardo DaVinci. DaVinci fully translates it and becomes inspired by the scientific accounts contained within. (WWW, DVD)

c 1502

The Journal is confiscated and returned to Spain by Cesare Borgia. The Journal is locked up within the castle of Ferdinand V and mostly forgotten about. (WWW, DVD)

1519

Leonardo DaVinci dies. (Historical record)

1556

Philip II of Spain becomes fascinated by the Journal. (WWW, DVD)

1562

El Escorial is built by King Philip II of Spain. It is meant to commemorate San Lorenzo and is inspired by the designs in the Journal. (WWW, DVD)

1569

The book is officially christened "The Shepherd's Journal" by Pope Sixtus V. (WWW, DVD)

???

The Medicis acquire the Journal and return it to Florence, adding it to the collection at the Uffizi. (WWW, DVD)

1701

Christopher Wren facilitates the loan of the Shepherd's Journal to Cambridge University. (WWW, DVD)

c 1776

George III of Britain gives the Journal to Louis XVI and Marie Antionette of France to curry their favor in the dispute between England and the American colonies. (WWW, DVD)

1788

Benjamin Franklin studies the Shepherd's Journal while in Versailles. (WWW, DVD)

1789-1793

Records of the Shepherd's Journal are lost during the French Revolution. (WWW, DVD)

1799

The Journal reappears in Egypt. Napoleon's troops recover the Journal and prepare to return it to France along with the Rosetta Stone. (WWW, DVD)

1801

Nelson and Abercomie take control of Napoleon's holdings in Egypt. The Journal is shipped to the U.K. and held at the British Museum. (WWW)

1842

Jebidiah Allardice "Cookie" Farnsworth is born in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Forsthye Ezekial Farnsworth and Marina Sweetwater. (WWW, DVD)

1844

Preston B. Whitmore is born. (WWW)

1853

Wilhelmina Bertha Cudot [Packard] is born in Whippany, New Jersey to Lionel and Claudette Cudot. (WWW, DVD)

1856

Fenton Q. Harcourt is born. (WWW)

1860

Lyle Tiberius Rourke is born in Beaumont, Texas to Lt. Col. Jackson and Rachel Lee Rourke. (WWW, DVD)

1861

Jebidiah Farnsworth joins the 7th Michigan Calvary Brigade under General McLellan. (DVD)

1862

The Journal is borrowed by Ignatious Donnelly and smuggled to Ireland. (WWW, DVD)

The Shepherd's Journal is returned to Iceland. (WWW, DVD)

1863

Jebidiah Farnsworth is tranferred to the 3rd Division, Calvary Corps, Army of the Potomac under General Pleasanton. (DVD)

1864

Lt. Col. Jackson Rourke is killed at the Battle of Spotsylvania during the Civil War. (DVD)

Jebidiah Farnsworth shoots Confederate General Pettigrew at Falling Waters. (DVD)

1866

Jebidiah Farnsworth follows Lt. Col. Custer to Fort Laramie, Wyoming as part of the 7th United States Calvary. (DVD)

1867

Jebidiah Farnsworth tours with Lt. Col. Custer during the Sioux and Cheyenne Expedition. (DVD)

1869

Wilhelmina Cudot [Packard] joins the Flora Dora Girls. (DVD)

1870

Wilhelmina Cudot [Packard] marries U.S. Calvary Officer Dennis Whitehead. (DVD)

February 1871

U.S. Calvary Officer Dennis Whitehead dies. (DVD)

May 1871

Wilhelmina Cudot [Packard] marries Pennsylvania State Representative Grover Truman. (DVD)

July 1871

Rep. Grover Truman is arrested for bigamy and his marriage to Wilhelmina Cudot [Packard] annuled. (DVD)

1872

Joshua Strongbear Sweet is born in Bigelowe, Kansas to Corporal Moses and Jerika Sweet. (WWW, DVD)

1875

Gaetan "Mole" Moliere is born in Paris, France to Christof and Gabrielle Moliere. (WWW, DVD)

July 1875

Lyle T. Rourke joins the U.S. Army. (DVD)

July-November 1875

Wilhelmina Cudot [Packard] works as a research assistant to Dr. Mahlon Loomis. She is also reputed to be his mistress. During this time she develops the Galvanometer and the concept of Hertzian Wave Application. (DVD)

1876

Vincenzo Santorini is born in Palermo, Italy to Humberto and Fabiola Santorini. (WWW, DVD)

Wilhelmina Packard serves as Alexander Graham Bell's personal assistant. (WWW)

1876-1890

Wilhelmina Cudot [Packard] marries no fewer than six husbands. (DVD)

1877

Lyle T. Rourke rises to the rank of Artillery Sergeant. (DVD)

Jebidiah "Cookie" Farnsworth works as a buffalo hunter. (DVD)

1878

Jebidiah Farnsworth leaves the army and moves to Houston, Texas. He rises to the position of Yard Boss for Whitmore Industries Stockyard and Feedlot. (DVD)

1881

Lyle T. Rourke fights at the Wounded Knee uprising and censured for use of excessive force and refusal to acknowledge the white flag of surrender. (DVD)

1882

Milo James Thatch is born in Fishkill, New York to Augustus and Lucille Thatch. (WWW, DVD)

Ignatious Donnelly publishes a book titled "Atlantis: The Antediluvian World" about the mysteries of Atlantis. (WWW, DVD)

Gaetan Moliere begins exploring the vast sewer networks beneath Paris. (DVD)

1882-1884

Jebidiah Farnsworth attends culinary school in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. He moves to New York and opens the Three Chestnut Restaurant. (DVD)

1884

Helga Sinclair is born in Frankfurt, Germany to Army Major Alexander Sinclair and Frieda Jane Bowie. (WWW, DVD)

1884-1887

The Sinclair Family lives in Frankfurt, Germany. (DVD)

1885

Augustus and Rose Thatch are killed in a railway accident. (DVD)

1886

Lyle T. Rourke graduates second in class from West Point Academy. (DVD)

Gaetan Moliere develops specialized goggles and headgear for exploring caves. (DVD)

Jebidiah Farnsworth sells his restaurant at a loss and takes a position as Chef for the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. He is fired after an altercation with a customer, resulting in the customer being shot in the leg. (DVD)

June 1887

Lyle T. Rourke is married, but his wife leaves after four months. (DVD)

1887-1889

The Sinclair Family lives in Mannheim. (DVD)

1888

Wilhelmina Cudot [Packard] works as a research assistant and eventually full partner to Dr. Nathan Stubblefield, developing the vibrating telephone. (DVD)

1888-1901

Lyle T. Rourke does a tour of duty with the Rough Riders. He is wounded seven times in battle, receives commendations for saving the life of a superior officer and for the leadership of 'C' Company under fire, and is censured for summary execution of prisoners. (DVD)

1889-1892

The Sinclair Family lives in Stuttgart. (DVD)

1890

Thaddeus and Milo Thatch go on a hiking trip. Milo finds an Indian arrowhead in a stream. (Film)

1891

The Chinese laundry next door to the flower shop owned by Humberto and Fabiola Santorini is destroyed in an unexplained explosion. The flower shop is forced to relocate. Vincenzo Santorini becomes obsessed with explosives. (DVD, Film)

Wilhelmina Cudot [Packard] marries Dr. Nathan Stubblefield. (DVD)

1892

The Sinclair Family lives at Torii Station. (DVD)

Gaetan Moliere enters the Sorbonne, but leaves soon to pursue a position as a special technical advisor with a local mining company. (DVD)

1892-1893

The Sinclair Family lives in Vicenza. (DVD)

1893

Milo Thatch graduates from Buford Beaumont High School. (DVD)

Wilhelmina Cudot [Packard] divorces Dr. Nathan Stubblefield. (DVD)

Wilhelmina Cudot [Packard] marries and divorces Chichester Bell. (DVD)

Vincenzo Santorini mixes his own formula for TNT. (DVD)

1893-1894

The Sinclair Family lives at Camp Zama. (DVD)

1894-1897

The Sinclair Family lives in Yongsan. (DVD)

1895

Milo Thatch accepts (and declines) admission to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton Universities for advanced academic studies. (DVD)

Joshua Sweet recieves a doctorate in Internal Medicine from Howard University. (DVD)

1896

Audrey Rocio Ramirez is born in Dearborn, Michigan to Manuel and Ana Ramirez. (WWW)

Milo Thatch begins a tenure at Oxford University, earning a double doctorate in Linguistic Theory and Dead Languages. (DVD)

Joshua Sweet recieves a doctorate in Botany from the University of Maryland. (DVD)

1897

Joshua Sweet becomes a Doctor of Herbology in London. (DVD)

Joshua Sweet becomes the first colored professor to lecture at Harvard Medical School. (DVD)

Vincenzo Santorini is known as an accomplished amateur chemist who specializes in explosive compounds. (DVD)

1897-1901

The Sinclair Family lives at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. (DVD)

1898

Lyle T. Rourke rises to the rank of Captain while fighting in the Spanish-American War. (DVD)

Joshua Sweet joins the military and begins a tour with the 1st United States Infantry (Rough Riders). (DVD)

1898-1901

Wilhelmina Cudot [Packard] travels and works with Guglielmo Marconi. (DVD)

1899

Vincenzo Santorini is established as an expert in his field. (DVD)

1900

Vincenzo Santorini works Freelance Munitions and Ordinance placement for Milano Mining. (DVD)

Audrey Ramirez rebuilds a '96 Quadracycle Runabout. (DVD)

1901

Lyle T. Rourke retires from the Army. (DVD)

Joshua Sweet finishes his tour with the Rough Riders. During this time he acted as a battlefield surgeon and personal physician to Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. (DVD)

Helga Sinclair is introduced to Lyle T. Rourke. She begins tactics and firearms training under him at the behest of her father. (DVD)

Audrey Ramirez begins working in her father's Automobile Repair Shop as a mechanic's assistant. (DVD)

1902

Wilhelmina Cudot [Packard] develops the Sodion Non-Regenerative Detector. (DVD)

1902-1904

Wilhelmina Cudot [Packard] works as a research fellow for Victor Talking Machine. (DVD)

May 1903

Lyle T. Rourke begins a freelance career with the British Museum. (DVD)

August 1903

Helga Sinclair tours with Lyle T. Rourke to continue her training. (DVD)

1903

Lyle T. Rourke leads an expedition to the Valley of Kings in Egypt. (DVD)

Vincenzo Santorini works as an Arson Specialist in Rome. (DVD)

Audrey Ramirez is promoted to full apprentice in her father's machine shop. (DVD)

Wilhelmina Cudot [Packard] develops the Bornite Moveable Cup Perkion Detector. (DVD)

1903-1904

Milo Thatch works as a Museum Linguist/Translator and Cartographic Restoration Expert in Washington D.C. (DVD)

Vincenzo Santorini works as a special consultant to Italia Bridge and Tunnel. (DVD)

1904

Vincenzo Santorini works as a Demolitions Expert for Sicily Construction. (DVD)

1904-1907

Helga Sinclair studies Aikido in the Phillippines under Moreihei Usehsiba, attaining the rank of Yudansha-Yodan. (DVD)

Wilhelmina Cudot [Packard] works for Atwater-Kent, helping to develop the Radak Type R-4 Regenerative Circuit and holding the sole patent for the Orthosonic Circuit. (DVD)

January 1905

Milo Thatch is briefly involved with a girl named Lisa McGrath. (DVD)

1905

Lyle T. Rourke leads a return expedition to Egypt. (DVD)

Joshua Sweet travels to India to study Ayurvedic Medicine at the Amrita Institute. (DVD)

The Ramirez Family moves to Detroit. (DVD)

Audrey Ramirez begins work at Henry Ford Automotive as a Journeyman Mechanic. (DVD)

Vincenzo Santorini works as a Explosives Technician for Bentivegna Family Concrete and Olive Oil Importers. (DVD)

Several delivery trucks belonging to Enrico Bentivegna's rivals are destroyed in an explosion. (DVD)

Luca Addario approaches Vincenzo Santorini about a career change. (DVD)

1906

Vincenzo Santorini works as Technical Support and Advisor to Addario Meat Packing. (DVD)

Enrico Bentivegna and four employees are killed in an explosion that consumes their two automobiles. Blame is placed on Vincenzo Santorini and he is sent to Delphi Prison for a sentence of 47 years.

1906-1908

Lyle T. Rourke leads an expedition to Bolivia and Peru under Professor Thaddeus Thatch to retrieve the Idol of the Sun. (DVD)

1907

Helga Sinclair marries U.S. Army First Lieutenant Christopher Jenkins. (DVD)

Audrey Ramirez is given her first supervisory position. (DVD)

Wilhelmina Cudot marries Curtis Packard. (DVD)

1907-1912

Wilhelmina Packard works at Magnavox, developing the AC-3-C Battery. (DVD)

1908

Joshua Sweet travels to the Ivory Coast to study Tropical Medicine at the Prins Leopold Academy. (DVD)

Lt. Christopher Jenkins is presumed dead. (DVD)

1909

Lyle T. Rourke leads an expedition for the Smithsonian Institution to Antarctica. He is credited with both the discovery and destruction of the lost city of Shub Nigruth. (DVD)

Vincenzo Santorini receives a Master's Degree in Engineering and Demolitions from the Delphi Prison Corresponence Reform Program. (DVD)

Audrey Ramirez is instrumental in labor negotiations with fledgling Automobile Workers unions. (DVD)

Audrey Ramirez develops a prototype Assembly Line Production method. (DVD)

1909-1910

Milo Thatch participates in an Academic Exchange Program, working in Paris at the Bibliotech National and the Prado Museum in Madrid. (DVD)

1910

Vincenzo Santorini receives a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry from the Delphi Prison Corresponence Reform Program. (DVD)

Audrey Ramirez develops a gear-driven centrifugal pump cooling system. (DVD)

Audrey Ramirez assists in the development of beveled drive gears. (DVD)

April 1911

Helga Sinclair is approached by Whitmore Industries. (DVD)

1911

Helga Sinclair teaches rifle and shotgun at Quantico, Virginia. (DVD)

Vincenzo Santorini is released from prison. (DVD)

The Shepherd's Journal is retrieved by an expedition funded by Preston Whitmore and led by Lyle T. Rourke under Thaddeus Thatch. The crew includes Helga Sinclair, Dr. Joshua Sweet, Vincenzo Santorini, Manuel Ramirez, Wilhelmina Packard, Gaetan Moliere, and Jebidiah Farnsworth. The Journal is brought to Washington D.C. for study. (WWW, DVD)

December 5, 1911

Helga Sinclair becomes Preston Whitmore's bodyguard and chauffeur. (DVD)

1912

Audrey Ramirez assists in the development of the Ford Reduction-Gear Steering System (non-reversible). (DVD)

Curtis Packard dies. (DVD)

1913

Joshua Sweet travels to Tulsa, Oklahoma to study Large Animal Veterinary Medicine at Baxter Academy. (DVD)

Vincenzo Santorini works as a Mining Technical Overseer and a Hardrock Blasting Technician for Whitmore Industries. (DVD)

1914

Events of Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

Milo Thatch quits his job at the museum and is hired by Preston Whitmore.

A new expedition to Atlantis is launched, commanded by Lyle T. Rourke under Milo Thatch and funded by Preston Whitmore. The crew includes Helga Sinclair, Dr. Joshua Sweet, Vincenzo Santorini, Audrey Ramirez, Wilhelmina Packard, Gaetan Moliere, and Jebidiah Farnsworth.

The group travels to Atlantis using the Shepherd's Journal as a guide, losing over half the crew in the journey. Milo Thatch befriends Princess Kidagakash [Kida]. Commander Rourke discovers the whereabouts of the Heart of Atlantis and attempts to steal it. He kills King Nedakh.

Rourke is opposed by a mixed force consisting of members of the crew and Atlantean citizens led by Milo Thatch. Both Lyle Rourke and Helga Sinclair are killed in the fray. Atlantis is almost destroyed under a wave of lava which is halted by the power of the crystal. The surviving crew returns to the surface, keeping knowledge of their discovery confidental. Milo Thatch chooses to stay in Atlantis with Kida.