| March 22, 1868 | Robert Millikan is born | Robert was born into a family that had emigrated from England. He was born and raised in Illinois. |
| 1880's | Robert's school years | In his childhood, Robert attended school with his peers. He attended Maquoket High School while also working as a court reporter. |
| 1893 | College graduation | Robert studied at Oberlin College once he'd left high school. He eventually graduated with a master's degree in physics. |
| 1895 | Columbia University | Robert then moved on to Columbia University. There he would earn his PhD in physics. |
| 1896 | Working at the University of Chicago | After graduation, Robert was given an assistant's position within the college. He maintained this position for several years. |
| 1902 | Marriage | After meeting a woman named Greta Blanchard, Robert became engaged and married to her. They had three children. |
| 1908 | Robert's first attempt at writing a book | Robert had a deep desire to help everyone understand science. Because of this, he wrote his first book titled Electricity, Sound and Light. |
| 1909 | Experiments | Fully immersed in physics, Robert began experimenting with electrical charges, and electrons. His experiment became known as the Millikan oil-drop experiment. |
| 1910 | University of Chicago | Robert continued his work at the University of Chicago as a professor, in their newly opened Ryerson Laboratory. He worked there for many years, until he left in 1921. |
| 1921 | California Institute of Technology | When Robert left Chicago, he went to the California Institute of Technology. As their director, he took CIT to a new level of scientific excellence, and CIT became famous for its contributions to science. |
| 1920's | Cosmic rays | During his time at CIT, Robert took on a study of the radiation that had been detected coming from space. The study proved the existence of these rays, and Robert dubbed them "cosmic rays." |
| 1923 | The Nobel Prize | Robert's work proved some of Einstein's theories of science, and he was widely praised for his effort. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize. |
| 1923 | Another book | Robert's second book about science for the masses was called Science and Life. He went on to write two other books. |
| 1945 | Retirement | After many years dedicated to advancing science, Robert finally retired. When he left CIT, or CalTech, he had turned it into one of the leading science facilities in the country. |
| December 19, 1953 | Robert's death | Robert A. Millikan died in California. He had spent his life for the scientific community, and his work has lived on through the years. |
