Timeline of Major Events in Don Bosco's Life
| 1784 | Feb. 4 | Francis Bosco (father of John Bosco) is born in Castelnuovo d'Asti |
| 1788 | Apr. 1 | Margaret Occiena (mother of John Bosco) is born in Capriglio |
| 1812 | Jun. 6 | Francis Bosco and Margaret are married in Capriglio |
| 1815 | Aug. 16 | John Melchior Bosco is born in Becchi |
| Aug. 17 | John is Baptized by Fr. Joseph Sismondi in Castelnuovo | |
| 1817 | May 12 | Francis Bosco dies of Pneumonia |
| 1824 | John meets Fr. Joseph Lacqua, his first teacher | |
| 1825 | June | John has his first Prophetic Dream ("The Dream of Nine") in Becchi |
| 1826 | Mar. 26 | John receives his First Communion on Easter Sunday |
| 1827 | John leaves home to find work and lives with the Camporea family in Buttigliera | |
| 1828 | John lives with the Moglia family in Moncucco | |
| 1831 | Jan. | John attends school in Castelnuovo D'Asti |
| 1831 | Nov. | John attends the public school in Chieri, where he lives under the stairwell, works as a tutor and tailor to cover tuition and housing |
| 1833 | Aug. 4 | John is Confirmed by Bishop Anthony Gianotti of Sassari at St. Blaise Parish in Buttigliera |
| 1835 | Oct. 26 | John receives his clerical habit in Castelnuovo |
| John enters St. Philip's Seminary in Chieri to study Philosophy and Theology, and begins the "Joyful Company" with other young people | ||
| 1840 | Mar. 29 | John receives tonsure and minor orders |
| 1840 | Sep. 19 | John receives sub-deaconate |
| 1841 | Feb. 17 | John is ordained as a Deacon |
| 1841 | Jun. 5 | John becomes Don Bosco as he is ordained to the priesthood by the Most Reverend Luigi Franzoni, archbishop of Turin |
| 1841 | The wandering "Festive Oratory" is formed by Don Bosco and several collaborators | |
| 1841 | Nov. 3 | John enters the ecclesiastical college for three more years of Pastoral Theology |
| 1842 | Feb. | The Oratory is made up of 20 boys |
| 1842 | Nov. 3 | Mamma Margaret (John's mother) moves to the Oratory to help care for the boys |
| 1845 | Sep. | A boy named Michael Rua comes to the Oratory for the first time |
| 1845 | Oct. | Don Bosco publishes the Storia Eccesiastica for the use of the students |
| 1846 | April 12 | The Oratory moves to the rented shed of Mr. Franchesco Pinardi in Valdocco. The Oratory finds its permanent home! |
| 1846 | July | Don Bosco falls seriously ill |
| 1846 | Nov. | After remaining at home for quite some time while recovering from his serious illness, John returns to Turin with his mother who will help to care for the boys at the Oratory |
| 1847 | May | A young man comes to the Oratory lookin for a place to sleep, thus starting the boarding school at the Oratory |
| 1847 | Dec. | Don Bosco opens the second Oratory in Porta Nuove |
| 1848 | Mama Margaret begins the tradition of the "Good-Night" | |
| 1851 | Don Bosco signs the first contract with a local employer on behalf of the young workers. It is a step in the direction towards unions in defense of workers and workers' rights. | |
| 1853 | autumn | The first workshops are opened with Don Bosco at the first teacher |
| 1854 | Jan. 20 | The Salesian Society is officially recognized |
| 1854 | summer | The cholera epidemic hits Turin. Don Bosco's boys entrust themselves to Mary, Help of Christians, and go out, ministering to the sick, and none of them fall sick. |
| 1854 | Oct. 29 | A boy named Dominic Savio registers at the Oratory |
| 1855 | Mar. 25 | Michael Rua makes his vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, into Don Bosco's hands, becoming the first Salesian |
| 1856 | Nov. 25 | Mama Margaret dies at the Oratory in Valdocco |
| 1857 | Mar. 9 | Dominic Savio dies |
| 1858 | Don Bosco travels to Rome to present the institutions to Pope Pius IX | |
| 1859 | Dec. 18 | Don Bosco establishes the Salesian Society of St. Francis DeSales (Salesian Priests and Brothers) in Valdocco |
| 1860 | Jul. 29 | Micheal Rua is ordained a priest, becoming the first of Don Bosco's pupils to become a priest |
| 1863 | Don Bosco opens the first Salesian Institute ouside of Turin, in Mirabello | |
| 1864 | Mar. | Construction begins on the Sanctuary of Our Lady, Help of Christians in Valdocco |
| 1868 | The Basilica of Mary, Help of Christians, is completed. It is the "mother-church" of the Salesian Family. | |
| 1870 | The Association of Salesian Past Pupils is established | |
| 1871 | Dec. 7 | Don Bosco falls ill while visiting the Salesian Institute in Varazze |
| 1872 | Aug. 5 | Don Bosco founds the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (Salesian Sisters) with St. Mary Mazzarello in Mornese |
| 1875 | Nov. 11 | The first group of Salesian Missionaries depart for South America with Fr. Giovanni Cagliero, one of Don Bosco's past pupils, leading them |
| 1876 | May 9 | Don Bosco founds the Association of Salesian Cooperators, the lay branch of the Salesian Family |
| 1879 | The first Missionaries enter Patagonia, Argentina, and Chile | |
| 1880 | Pope Leo XIII requests Don Bosco to help finish the Sacred Heart Basilica in Rome | |
| 1884 | Dec. 7 | Fr. Giovanni Cagliero is ordained a Bishop. He is later named a Cardinal, the first from the Salesian Congregation. |
| 1887 | Apr. | Don Bosco travels to Rome for the consecration of the Sacred Heart Basilica. It is his last trip to Rome. |
| 1888 | Jan. 31 | Don Bosco dies in Valdocco |
| 1934 | Don Bosco is canonized by Pope Pius XI on Easter Sunday |
