1904, May 4
Born in Elte, district Steinfurt (Westphalia/Germany)
1912, in the fall
Pieper moves to Münster (Westphalia) owing to his father’s transfer, who later becomes principal of the Sankt-Josefs-Schule there
1919
Joins the Catholic youth group Quickborn
1923
Graduation from Gymnasium Paulinum in Münster
1923, May – October
Trips to Denmark, Sweden and Iceland
1923-1928
Studies at the universities of Münster and Berlin (1926/27): philosophy, law, sociology
1928, February
Pieper receives a PhD in Münster
1928-1932
Assistant of Prof. Dr. Johann Plenge at the “Forschunginstitut für Organisationslehre und Soziologie” at the University of Münster
1932-1940
Freelance literary work; since 1933 executive employee at the “Institut für neuzeitliche Volksbildungsarbeit” (Dortmund)
1935, April 23
Pieper marries Hildegard Münster; they move to Dortmund
1936, June 21
Birth of his son Thomas
1938, May 4
Birth of his daughter Monika
1938, September 1
Pieper moves to Münster; he continues doing freelance work at the institute in Dortmund
1940, February 1
Conscription call (to the psychology section of the army)
1942, March 10
Birth of his son Michael
1942, December 15
Pieper leaves the army (closing of the section that examines the soldiers’ aptitude)
1943, January
Academic helper at the central welfare office of Westphalia; Pieper examines the aptitude of soldiers with severe battlefield injuries
1944, October
Second conscription call (air force)
1945, March
Transfer to the military hospital Bigge (Ruhr) in order to examine the patients’ aptitude
1945, April – July
War captivity; return to his work at the central welfare office of Westphalia
1945, October
Beginning of Pieper’s habilitation procedure at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Münster
1946, February 1
Appointment as lecturer of philosophy at the Pedagogical Academy of Essen; appointment as tenured professor on July 29, 1946
1946, July 5
Inaugural lecture at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Münster; venia legendi as private lecturer
1949, in the spring
Trip to England (at the invitation of the British Council; encounter with T.S. Eliot)
1949, in the spring
Appointment to the “Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung” (Darmstadt)
1950, March 8
Appointment as professor extraordinarius at the University of Münster
1950, July
Pieper is offered a professorship at the American University of Notre Dame, Indiana (rejected)
1954
Pieper is offered a professorship at the University of Mainz (rejected)
1954, January 15
Appointment to the Rhenish-Westphalian “Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Forschung” (today: “Rheinisch-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften”)
1954, March 31
Associate member (membre associé) of the Société Philosophique de Louvain
1958
Pieper is offered a professorship at the University of Munich (rejected)
1959, May
Appointment as full professor for philosophical anthropology at the University of Münster; Pieper continues his part-time job at the Pedagogical Academy of Essen
1962, September – December
Lecturing tour through India and Ceylon (today: Sri Lanka)
1962, September 27
Honorary Fellow of the State Sanskrit College, Calcutta
1963, September – November
Lecturing tour through East Asia (Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand)
1964, July 25
Sudden death of his son Thomas in the USA
1972, September
Emeritus status; Pieper continues lecturing regularly at the University of Münster
1980, May 19
Appointment to the Pontificia Academica Romana di S. Tommaso D’ Aquino, Rome
1984, June 25
Death of his wife Hildegard, née Münster
1986, May
Appointment to the senate of the International Academy of Philosophy in Liechtenstein
1991
Foundation of the “Josef Pieper Stiftung” in Münster for the support of science and education
1994, May 12-14
Academic symposium on the occasion of Pieper’s 90th birthday at the city hall of Münster
1995, May 4
Beginning of the appearance of Pieper’s complete works in the form of volume 3, Schriften zum Philosophiebegriff
1996, summer term
Last lecture at the University of Münster (“What does believing mean?”)
1997, November 6
Josef Pieper dies in his house in Münster