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| 1964 | High Numbers, The |  |
| For a short period, under the management of Peter Meaden, The Who change their name to The High Numbers, during which time they release "Zoot Suit/I'm The Face", a single designed to appeal to their mostly mod fans |
| 1964 | Who, The | |
| For a short period, under the management of Peter Meaden, The Who change their name to The High Numbers, during which time they release "Zoot Suit/I'm The Face", a single designed to appeal to their mostly mod fans |
| The Detours change their name to "The Who" and, with the arrival of Keith Moon that year, their line-up is complete |
| London The Who evolve from a group called the High Numbers, which include Daltrey, Townshend and Entwistle, they are joined by Moon, who'd played in a British surf group called the Beachcombers |
| 1965 | Composition | |
| Jan "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere", 2nd UK hit, the only song credited as being composed in a joint effort by Townshend and Daltrey |
| Jan The Who release their debut album My Generation (The Who Sings My Generation in the US) is released |
| Jan The Who's first release, and first hit, "I Can't Explain", influenced by the early Kinks hits (with whom they share American producer Shel Talmy) |
| 29th Oct The Who release "My Generation" |
| 1966 | Composition | |
| The Who release "A Quick One", which includes the storytelling medley "A Quick One While He's Away", which is later referred to as a "mini opera" |
| 1967 | Composition | |
| The Who first hit the top ten in the USA with "I Can See For Miles", no 9 |
| "The Who Sell Out", a concept album which plays like an offshore radio station, complete with humorous jingles and commercials, and which also includes a mini rock opera, called "Rael" (whose closing theme ended up on "Tommy") |
| 1968 | Rock and Roll Circus | |
| The Rolling Stones film the 'Rock and Roll Circus', with guests Eric Clapton, John Lennon, Jethro Tull and the Who |
| 1969 | Composition | |
| Life Magazine says of Tommy, "...for sheer power, invention and brilliance of performance, Tommy outstrips anything which has ever come out of a recording studio" |
| 6th June 'Tommy', The Who's rock opera, hits #2 in the UK and #4 in the US, the first commercially successful rock opera and a major landmark in modern music |
| 1969 | Death | |
| July Upon Brian Jones ' death, Pete Townshend writes a poem titled "A Normal Day For Brian, A Man Who Died Every Day" (printed in The Times) |
| 1969 | Woodstock Music and Art Festival | |
| Woodstock The Who perform much of Tommy at the Woods tock Music and Art Festival |
| 1970 | Composition | |
| "Lifehouse" is never completed in its intended form, although it is reconstructed as a radio play for the BBC in 2000, and most of the material was released on a 6-CD album from Pete Townshend's website |
| Leeds The Who record "Live at Leeds " |
| 7th June New York The Who's "Tommy" is performed at New York's Lincoln Center |
| 28th Nov The Who hit #12 in the US with "See Me, Feel Me" from 'Tommy' |
| 1970 | Eel Pie Records | |
| Pete Townshend founds Eel Pie Records |
| 1971 | Composition | |
| The Who release "Who's Next", using the available "Lifehouse" material, hence ending the project |
| 1973 | Composition | |
| "Quadrophenia", a work in the rock opera vein, which can also be seen as something of an autobiographical or social history piece about early 1960s adolescent life and conflict in London |
| 12th Nov The Who hit #2 with 'Quadrophenia' |
| 29th Dec The Who hit #76 in the US with "Love Reign O'er Me" from their rock opera 'Quadrophenia' |
| 1975 | Composition | |
| A movie version of Tommy is released, directed by Ken Russell, starring Roger Daltrey in the title role and earning Pete Townshend an academy award nomination for Best Original Score |
| "The Who by Numbers", several introspective songs, lightened by the crowd-pleasing "Squeeze Box", another hit single |
| 1975 | Film | |
| A movie version of Tommy is released, directed by Ken Russell, starring Roger Daltrey in the title role and earning Pete Townshend an academy award nomination for Best Original Score |
| 1977 | Composition | |
| London Release of Album, "Rough Mix". 1st solo Album |
| 1978 | Composition | |
| The Who release "Who Are You" |
| 1979 | Film | |
| The Who release a documentary film called The Kids Are Alright and a film version of Quadrophenia |
| 1981 | Composition | |
| The Who release "Face Dances" |
| 1982 | Composition | |
| The Who release "It's Hard" |
| 1982 | Who, The | |
| The Who launch a lengthy and much-publicized "farewell" tour but thereafter regroup on a number of occasions, apparently having said farewell only to the notion of making new music together |
| 1983 | Who, The | |
| Keith Moon died in 1978, after which the band released two more studio albums, the top five Face Dances (1981) and the top ten It's Hard (1982), with drummer Kenney Jones , before officially disbanding in 1983 |
| 1984 | Composition | |
| 5th Mar Dave Gilmour releases his second solo album, "About Face", co-written with Pete Townshend |
| 1985 | Live Aid | |
| 13th July Members of The Who, including Kenny Jones , reform for a one-off performance at Bob Geldof's Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium |
| 1990 | Rock and Roll Hall of Fame | |
| The Who are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame |
| 1993 | Tony Award | |
| Tommy is successfully adapted to the Broadway stage in 1993, with Townshend's blessing and involvement, and wins five Tony awards |
| 2001 | Grammy | |
| The Who are honoured with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award |
| 2005 | Live 8 | |
| July The Who perform "Who Are You" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" on the London stage of the Live 8 concert |
| 2006 | Freddie Mercury Lifetime Achievement Award | |
| The Who are the first recipients of the Freddie Mercury Lifetime Achievement Award in Live Music at the Vodaphone music awards |
