1920s
1926 - Leslie McFarlane answers a newspaper ad for writers, put out by Edward Stratemeyer. Stratemeyer starts him with books in the Dave Fearless series
Early 1927 - Edward Stratemeyer sends Leslie McFarlane the outline for a new book series—one that followed two detective brothers as they solved various mysteries. McFarlane drafts The Tower Treasure based on the outline and sends it back to Stratemeyer
A few weeks later, 1927 - Stratemeyer pays McFarlane for the first Hardy Boys manuscript and sends him outlines for the next two Hardy Boys books
June 1, 1927: - The Tower Treasure published
June 1, 1927: - The House on the Cliff published
June 1, 1927: - The Secret of the Old Mill published
1930s
May 10, 1930 - Edward Stratemeyer passes away; ownership of the Stratemeyer Syndicate passes to his daughter, Harriet Adams
1940s
March 1, 1945 - The Short-Wave Mystery, the final Hardy Boys book Leslie McFarlane is credited for writing, is published
1950s
October 2, 1956 - The first episode of the 19-episode series The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure (based on The Tower Treasure) is broadcast on The Mickey Mouse Club
September 13, 1957 - The first episode of the 15-episode series The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Ghost Farm is broadcast on the Mickey Mouse Club
1959 - Revised editions of The Tower Treasure and The House on the Cliff are released
1960s
1961 - Revised edition of The Hidden Harbour Mystery released
1962 - Revised editions of The Secret of the Old Mill, The Missing Chums, and While The Clock Ticked released
1963 - Revised edition of Hunting for Hidden Gold released
1964 - Revised editions of The Shore Road Mystery, The Secret of the Caves, and The Disappearing Floor released
1965 - Revised editions of The Great Airport Mystery, Footprints Under the Window, and A Figure in Hiding released
1966 - Revised editions of The Mystery of Cabin Island, The Secret Warning, The Short-Wave Mystery, The Secret of Skull Mountain, and The Ghost at Skeleton Rock released
1967 - Revised editions of What Happened at Midnight and The Mark on the Door released
1968 - Revised editions of The Sinister Signpost, The Secret of the Lost Tunnel, and The Wailing Siren Mystery released
September 6, 1969 - The first episode of a 34-episode animated Hardy Boys series (The Hardy Boys) is released, featuring Frank and Joe as part of a rock-and-roll band that also solves mysteries.
1969 - Revised editions of The Twisted Claw, The Secret Panel, The Secret of Wildcat Swamp, and The Crisscross Shadow released
1970s
1970 - Revised editions of The Mystery of the Flying Express, The Clue of the Broken Blade, The Melted Coins, The Phantom Freighter, and The Sign of the Crooked Arrow released
1971 - Revised editions of The Flickering Torch Mystery, The Yellow Feather Mystery, and The Hooded Hawk Mystery released
1972 - Revised editions of The Clue in the Embers and The Secret of Pirates’ Hill released
1973 - Revised edition of The Mystery at Devil’s Paw released marking the end of the revisions to the original Hardy Boys series
May 1, 1976 - Leslie McFarlane’s autobiography, The Ghost of the Hardy Boys is published
January 30, 1977 - The first episode of the first season of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries is released. The first season sees separate episodes for Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.
September 11, 1977 - The first episode of the second season of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries is released. The first episode is a two-part episode which sees Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys work together on a mystery. By the end of the second season, Nancy Drew is dropped from the series entirely.
September 6, 1977 - Leslie McFarlane passes away
June 1, 1978 - The Sting of the Scorpion published, marking the end of the “original” Hardy Boys series
October 1, 1978 - The first episode of the third season of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (now titled The Hardy Boys, since Nancy Drew had been dropped) is released. The third season was cancelled after ten episodes.
October 1, 1979 - Night of the Werewolf published, marking the start of the “Wanderer Editions” Hardy Boys series
1979 - Grosset & Dunlap files a lawsuit against the Stratemeyer Syndicate. After a disagreement regarding royalties, the Stratemeyer Syndicate, under the direction of Harriet Adams, had decided to publish with Simon & Schuster. Grosset & Dunlap argued that this was against their pre-existing contract.
1980s
1980 - An oral court ruling (followed by a written ruling in 1981) determined that the Stratemeyer Syndicate had the right to publish new Hardy Boys books with Simon & Schuster, but the rights to the stories published up to the time of the lawsuit belonged to Grosset & Dunlap.
March 27, 1982 - Harriet Adams passes away
January 1, 1985 - The Skyfire Puzzle published, marking the end of the “Wanderer Editions” Hardy Boys series
September 15, 1987 - The Mystery of the Silver Star published, marking the beginning of the “Minstrel Editions” Hardy Boys series
April 1, 1987 - Dead on Target published, marking the beginning of the Hardy Boys Casefiles series.
June 1, 1988 - Double Crossing, the first book in the 36-book “Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys Super Mystery” series is released
1990s
September 23, 1995 - The first episode of a 13-episode Canadian TV series The Hardy Boys is released. All episodes are released before the end of 1995. .
September 1, 1997 - The Gross Ghost Mystery published, marking the beginning of the Clues Brothers series.
January 1, 1998 - Dead in the Water published, marking the end of the Hardy Boys Casefiles series.
April 1, 1998 - Process of Elimination, the final book in the “Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys Super Mysteries” series is published.
2000s
April 1, 2000 - The Bike Race Ruckus published, marking the end of the Clues Brothers series.
January 1, 2001 - Kickoff to Danger published, marking the end of the “Minstrel Editions” Hardy Boys series
January 1, 2002 - The Test Case published, marking the beginning of the “Aladdin Editions” Hardy Boys series
April 1, 2005 - Motorcross Madness published, marking the end of the “Aladdin Editions” Hardy Boys series
April 1, 2005 - The Ocean of Osyria published, marking the beginning of the Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers Graphic Novels series
April 1, 2005 - Extreme Danger published, marking the beginning of the Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers series.
October 3, 2008 - The Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft, the first installment of a video game series, is released on PC and CD, with the Nintendo Wii version being released almost a year later.
June 16, 2009 - The Hardy Boys: The Perfect Crime, the second installment of a video game series, is released on PC and CD. This game was not intended to be a sequel of the previously released game The Hidden Theft. No further video games were released after The Perfect Crime.
2010s
August 31, 2010 - Deadly Strategy published, marking the end of the Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers Graphic Novels series.
April 27, 2010 - Trouble at the Arcade published, marking the beginning of the Hardy Boys: Secret Files series
January 3, 2012 - Movie Mayhem published, marking the end of the Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers series
February 5, 2013 - Secret of the Red Arrow published, marking the beginning of the Hardy Boys Adventures series.
December 1, 2015 - The Race is On published, marking the end of the Hardy Boys: Secret Files series
April 19, 2016 - The Video Game Bandit published, marking the beginning of the Hardy Boys Clue Book series
2020s
December 4, 2020 - The first season of the new TV show, The Hardy Boys, is released on Hulu.
April 6, 2022 - The second season of The Hardy Boys is released on Hulu.
February 14, 2023 - The Smuggler’s Legacy published, marking the end of the Hardy Boys Adventures series
July 26, 2023 - The third and final season of The Hardy Boys is released on Hulu.
June 11, 2024 - Splash Pad Sabotage published, marking the end of the Hardy Boys Clue Book series
June 1, 2027 - Hardy Boys centennial anniversary