Timeline of Rebetiko

1880	Before the dawn of time itself.
1880	Approximate date Kostas Karipis born in Constantinople.
1883	Roza Eskenazi was born in Constantinople.
1883	Dimitris Semsis (Salonikios) born to Greek parents in Stromnitsa.
1884	Giorgos Vidalis was born in Smyrna.
1885	Wikipedia says Giorgos Batis born now, not 1890.
1885	Panagiotis Toundas was born in Smyrna, or 1886.
1885	Maria Panagia born.
1886	Giannis Dragatsis (Ogdontakis) was born in Smyrna.
1890	Giorgos Batis born in Methana.
1890	Marika Papagika born on Kos on 1 September.
1891	Approx date of birth of Agapios Tomboulis in Constantinople of Armenian parents.
1892	Kostas Nouros born in Smyrna.
1892	Antonis Diamantidis, known as ‘Dalgas’ (Turkish for Wave) born in Constantinople.
1893	Wikipedia date for birth of Iovan Tsaous.
1893	Dimitris Semsis learns to play the violin at ten.
1895	Evangelis Papazoglou born in Smyrna.
1896	Iovan Tsaous born near Konya, Turkey.
1896	Zacharias Kasimatis was born in Smyrna.
1896	According to Dick Spottswood's Ethnic Music on Records, the first greek musical phonograph recording was produced in New York in May, 1896, on the Berliner label. Entitled "Greek Melody No. 1 - Original", it was one of eight songs (seven Greek, one Turkish) recorded by tenor Michali Arachtingi (or Arachintzis).
1897	Wikipedia says Evangelis Papazoglou was born.
1898	Yiannis Halikias born in Longastra near Sparta Jan 8th.
1899	Stellakis Perpiniadis born on Tinos.
1899	Approximate date Panagiotis Toundas joined "The Politakia", Smyrnaic ensemble run by Sideras.
1900	Spiros Peristeris born in Smyrna.
1900	Zacharias Kasimatis born in Smyrna.
1900	Stellakis Perpiniadis and family move to Alexandria.
1901	Apostolos Xatzikhristos born in Smyrna.
1902	Stratos Payoumtzis born in Aivali, Asia Minor.
1903	Dimitris Gogos (Bagianteras) was born in Pireas.
1903	Kostas Roukounas born at Karlovasi on Samos. Or 1904?
1904	Iovan Tsaous said to have performed with singing star Hafis Burhan Sesiylmaz for Sultan Hamit.
1905	Markos Vamvakaris was born on Syros, at Ano Hora, on May 10th.
1905	Konstandinos Bezos was born.
1905	The first song chararacterized as "rebetiko" is recorded in Constantinople: "Tik-Tak" with Gianakos Psamathianos.
1906	Stellakis Perpiniadis and family move to Constantinople.
1907	Frangiskos Zouridhakis born in Athens.
1907	Nikos Mathesis born in Salamina.
1908	Stelios Keromitis was born.
1909	Giorgos Kavouras born on Kastelorizo.
1911	Giorgia Mitaki born in Avlona.
1912	Anestis Delias born in Smyrna.
1913	Yiannis Papaioannou born in what became Turkey.
1914	Rita Abatzi born in Smyrna.
1915	Vassilis Tsitsanis was born on January 18, 1915 in Trikala, Greece, the son of an Epiriot shoemaker.
1915	Marika Papagika moves to USA.
1916	Stelios Chrisinis born in Pireas.
1917	Markos Vamvakaris runs away to Pireas.
1917	Mikhalis Genitsaris born in Pireas.
1918	Stratos Payoumtzis moved to Greece.
1918	Stella Haskil born in Thessaloniki.
1918	Sofia Karivali born in Smyrna.
1918	Marika Ninou born in the Caucasus.
1919	Stellakis Perpiniadis joins the army, and goes to Smyrna.
1920	Birth of Manolis Hiotis in Thessaloniki.
1920	Dimitris Semsis working in Smyrna.
1921	Sotiria Bellou born in Halkida.
1921	Kostas Kaplanis born on Hios.
1922	The Catastrophe.
1922	Apostolos Kaldaras born in Trikala.
1922	Stellakis Perpiniadis leaves Smyrna as a refugee.
1922	Dimitris Semsis leaves Smyrna as a refugee.
1922	Agapios Tomboulis leaves Smyrna as a refugee.
1922	Antonis Diamantidis moved from Constantinople to Athens.
1922	Or 1923. Iovan Tsaous migrated to Pireas and worked as a tailor, refusing to become a full time musician because he "didn't want to play for whores."
1923	Treaty of Lausanne and population exchanges between Greece and Turkey.
1923	Panagiotis Toundas moves to Nea Smyrni, Athens.
1923	Giannis Dragatsis (Ogdontakis) released by Turks, and goes to Greece.
1923	Dimitris Semsis married Dimitra Kanoula.
1923	Zacharias Kasimatis arrived in Greece.
1923	Kostas Karipis played in a company which included Kostas Tsavenou, Mitsos Arapakis, Spiros Peristeris and Antonis Diamantidis (Dalgas) at the best tavernas until the early 1930s.
1924	Panagiotis Toundas becomes director of Odeon recording company. His first composition, "Smyrnia", was recorded by Misailidi in this year.
1924	Giorgos Mitsakis born in Istanbul.
1925	The first recording in Greece of a band containing a bouzouki, according to "Rebetiki anthology" by T. Skorelis.
1925	Manolis Margaronis buys Stellakis Perpiniadis his first guitar, and teaches him to play and sing.
1925	Markos Vamvakaris heard "Old Nikos" from Aivali play bouzouki. Six months later he was playing at a teke when Old Nikos stopped by, and couldn't believe it was the same kid who'd never even played a few months earlier. Nikos said they'd show Markos something in the morning and he'd come back and play it better than them in the evening.
1926	Loukas Ntaralas born.
1927	Vassilis Tsitsanis starts to learn to play the mandolin. While at the local high school he also learned violin and received lessons from Mr. Giosa, the Italian music teacher.
1927	Kostas Roukounas begins singing at Pansamiakon Taverna in Neo Karlovasi, Samos.
1928	Kostas Roukounas moves to the mainland.
1929	Manolis Karapiperis the mystery bouzouki player from Patmos, made recordings, then vanished.
1929	Possibly earlier? Dimitris Semsis was recording director at HMV and Columbia, a role of great influence that he retained throughout the 1930s - 1940s.
1929	Panagiotis Toundas finds Roza Eskenazi singing in Tsitsifies and starts her recording career.
1929	Roza Eskenazi makes her first recording.
1929	Stellakis Perpiniadis met Panagiotis Toundas and recorded some music.
1930	Giannis Dragatsis is recording director of Columbia for the next ten years.
1930	Nikos Mathesis begins to write songs, his first was "Mes' stou Nikita tou teke" written with Giorgos Papasideris
1930	Panagiotis Toundas hears of Kostas Roukounas and gets him into his studios to record.
1932	Yiannis Halikias (Jack Gregory) records Minore Tou Teke in America.
1931	Stelios Kazantzidis, was born in Nea Ionia in August.
1931	Panagiotis Toundas becomes director of the Columbia recording company.
1932	Marika Franceskopoulou records "Gi'afto Foumaro Kokaini" in Athens in October.
1932	The first two recordings of Markos Vamvakaris songs in Greece made in November for Columbia but not released until later. He carried on working at the Athens slaughter-house.
1933	The first Greek rebetiko recording with bouzouki, was made in 1933 by Giorgos Batis (at Lampropoulos' Columbia), but the record went to market 6 months later in 1934. Thus "Narxosouna re magka mou" by Markos Vamvakaris, with Spiros Peristeris supervising and on guitar, was the first rebetiko record with bouzouki in circulation (on the second side there was a solo). (Sources: "Rebetiko Anthology" by T. Skorelis, "Ntobra kai starata" by Yiannis Papaioannou, Autobiography of Stellakis Perpiniadis).
1933	Stratos Payoumtzis starts making recordings.
1934	The first compania of bouzoukia named "The famous(or legendary) TETRAS of Piraeus", appeared in Sarantopoulo's taverna, in Pireas, in April . This was Markos Vamvakaris, Anestis Delias, Giorgos Batis and Stratos Payoumtzis.
1934	Stelios Keromitis begins to perform in Pireas.
1934	Panagiotis Toundas starts to use bouzouki and baglama in his studio's recordings.
1934	Kostas Roukounas married Anna Politissa and started working in Mitsou tou Mourosis, where he worked until 1941.
1935	Giorgos Mitsakis moves to Volos.
1935	Vassilis Tsitsanis comes to Athens to study law. The singer Dimitris Perdikopoulos introduced him to Spiros Peristeris, recording director at Odeon.
1936	The fascist Metaxas siezes power and censorship begins for rebetiko lyrics.
1936	Sofia Karivali begins singing career on Crete.
1937	Amanadhes and other "Eastern influences" banned by the Metaxas government.
1937	Vassilis Tsitsanis makes his first recording, 'S'ena teke boukarane' with Giorgia Mitaki singing.
1937	Vassilis Tsitsanis recording career took off in late 1937 when he returned to the Odeon studios with Perdikopoulos to record "Olo Ta Echo Varethi."
1937	Giorgos Mitsakis moves to Thessaloniki.
1939	Giorgos Mitsakis moves to Pireas.
1940	Sotiria Bellou moved to Athens.
1941	Dimitris Gogos (Bagianteras) went blind.
1942	Iovan Tsaous died (according to Wikipedia).
1942	Panagiotis Toundas died on May 23rd at his home in Nea Smyrna.
1943	Giorgos Kavouras killed by Germans.
1943	Marika Papagika died in New York.
1943	Konstandinos Bezos died.
1943	Evangelis Papazoglou died of TB in Pireas.
1943	Anna Politissa, wife of Kostas Roukounas, died of a heart attack.
1944	Anestis Delias died from an overdose of drugs. According to others he died in 1941 (G. Panagiotakopoulos - Source: "Rebetiki Anthologia" by Tasos Skorelis)
1945	Antonis Diamantidis died in Athens.
1947	Vassilis Tsitsanis records "Synefiasmeni Kyriaki".
1947	Stella Haskil records "Nichtose Horis Fengari", which was banned almost immediately.
1947	Sotiria Bellou met Vassilis Tsitsanis and recorded the first of her many 78 rpm records with him.
1947	Stelios Keromitis works with Markos Vamvakaris and Vassilis Tsitsanis from now until 1950.
1948	Historical Manos Hatzidakis conference about the rebetiko, at the theatre Kentrikon (Carolos Kounadis). Manolis Hadzidakis 1949 Lecture.
1948	Kostas Roukounas married lyricist Alexandra Kiriasi.
1948	In October, Stellakis Perpiniadis engaged Marika Ninou to sing with him at the 'Florida' on Leoforos Alexandras.
1950	Manos Hatzidakis publishes his piano suite "Six Popular Paintings" (Exi Laikes Zografies) based on rembetiko and traditional songs.
1950	Dimitris Semsis died of cancer in Athens on January 13th.
1951	Kostas Karipis disappears from the music scene.
1952	Kostas Karipis believed to have died.
1954	Stella Haskil died in Athens on February 27th.
1955	Marika Ninou went to the USA to appear with Kostas Kaplanis.
1956	Marika Ninou died of cancer in Athens.
1957	Yiannis Halikias died Sept 15th in NYC New York.
1958	Giannis Dragatsis died.
1958	Kostas Roukounas tours the USA for a year.
1959	Apostolos Xatzikhristos died in Athens.
1965	Approx date Agapios Tomboulis died in Athens.
1966	Grigoris Asikis died on October 7th.
1966	Spiros Peristeris died in Athens.
1966	Zacharias Kasimatis died in Athens.
1967	George Tsoros ( Giorgos Batis) died in Piraeus on March 3rd.
1968	January:Ilias Petropoulos "Rembetiko Songs" book is published. It was the first time that the word "rembetiko" appeared on a serious book cover.
1969	Rita Abatzi died in Athens.
1970	Stelios Chrisinis died.
1970	Manolis Hiotis died.
1971	Stratos Payoumtzis died on stage while working in the USA. A collection had to be taken to ship his body back to Greece.
1972	Markos Vamvakaris died in February.
1972	Yiannis Papaioannou is killed in a car accident on August 3rd.
1975	Nikos Mathesis died on 27 April 1975.
1977	Marinos Gavril died on November 19th.
1977	Giorgia Mitaki died in Avlona on February 28th.
1977	Stellakis Perpiniadis died in Haidari.
1977	Loukas Ntaralas died.
1979	Stelios Keromitis died.
1980	Roza Eskenazi died on December 2nd and was buried in an unmarked grave at the village of Stomio on the Gulf of Corinth. See biography for update.
1981	Agathonas Iakovidis and his orchestra record old unknown songs which become known to the public.
1984	Kostas Roukounas died in March.
1984	Vassilis Tsitsanis died in London at Brompton Hospital on January 18th.
1985	Dimitris Gogos (Bagianteras) died in Athens.
1991	Apostolos Kaldaras died in Athens.
1993	Giorgos Mitsakis died in Athens on November 17th.
1994	Frangiskos Zouridhakis died.
1995	Sofia Karivali died.
1997	Sotiria Bellou died in Athens.
2005	Michalis Genitsaris died on 11th May.