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Jim Jones was born in Crete, Indiana. He is an American cult leader who declared himself the messiah of the Peoples Temple and promised his people a paradise in the jungles of South America. -
In Indianapolis, Jim Jones establishes a church. Advocates for racial equality. -
Jim Jones decided to open The Peoples Temple in Indianapolis. He had no religious schooling and was not involved with any denomination at the time. His church was well-known for being racially mixed, which was unusual at the time. -
Jones and several church families relocate to Ukiah, fearful of a nuclear assault. Jones claims that the Bible is a forgery and that he is the authentic prophet of God. -
For some unfathomable reason, Jones happens to be chosen to be God, Jones asserts. Jones initially mentions evolutionary suicide when eight members defect. -
Jones leases over 3,800 acres in Guyana and begins construction on Jonestown. -
Jones reaches the peak of his authority in San Francisco, where he aids in the election of Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk. Moscone appoints Jones to lead the San Francisco Housing Authority. -
Jim Jones relocate to Guyana after being described as a violent, paranoid criminal in a news story on August 1. -
A Concerned Relatives group formed, and many lawsuits for the repatriation of Jonestown children are launched. Jones begins organizing night meetings, informing people that they are being pursued by unknown rivals. -
In a facility built for 300 people, about 1,100 people live. There is a shortage of food. Jones often divides children from their parents, as well as marriages. -
Rep. Leo Ryan, D-San Francisco, comes to Jonestown with a group of journalists from newspapers and television stations, as well as the family of Jones followers. -
Ryan leads a group of 16 defectors out the door. They arrive at the six-mile-long airstrip, but a small group of Temple members come and open fire, killing Ryan, three reporters, and a defector, as well as injuring numerous others. Jones summons everyone to the pavilion area and tells them there is no hope, that they should all commit revolutionary suicide to prevent having their children kidnapped and tortured by US forces. -
Michael Prokes commits suicide in front of a Bee reporter and photographer, as well as other members of the media, in a Modesto motel. In a Modesto motel room, Michael Prokes held a news conference. There were eight reporters in attendance. Prokes dismissed himself after giving a statement, walked into the bathroom, shut the door, turned on the tap to drown out the noises he was making, and shot himself in the head. -
The last of 248 unidentified dead from Jonestown, the majority of whom were children, were interred at Oakland's Evergreen Cemetery.