Timeline The Walking Dead | Season One

Timeline S1 – SPOILER ALERT

Arrived quietly with only six episodes, designed mostly to the delight of fans of the genre, the first season of The Walking Dead has instead surprised everyone by laying the foundations of a serial universe among the strongest, most followed and long-lived in the history of the television series.
The rural setting, the nature itself that becomes the protagonist, the very cinematic cut, characterized and profound characters who cannot help but be loved, all immersed in a world that forces to confront pain, death and despair are the essential elements that have thrilled this series and its first season.
Below a timeline with the highlights of the First Season of TWD.
PS: the dates are approximate but more or less it all happened in those days.

Complete summary table at the bottom of the page.

August 1st, 2010
During a routine patrol shift, Sheriff Rick Grimes is seriously injured in the chest during a gunfight with fleeing criminals. He is rushed by helicopter and admitted to King County Hospital in a deep coma, attended by his colleague and friend Shane.
August 5th, 2010
The World Health Organization officially declares a global epidemic due to an unknown virus. The dead begin to rise across the planet, public services rapidly collapse, and the first outbreaks of mass panic are recorded in major cities.
August 20th, 2010
Faced with the inability to contain the infection, the U.S. military orders the napalm bombing of major cities. Military jets strike downtown Atlanta to destroy the masses of walkers, while Shane rescues Lori and Carl Grimes, abandoning Rick in the now-evacuated hospital without power.
October 2nd, 2010
Rick wakes up alone in his hospital bed, dehydrated and confused, finding the building littered with corpses and surrounded by mass graves. The Bicycle Girl is the first zombie he will see. Returning to his neighborhood, he is rescued by Morgan Jones and his son Duane, who welcome him into their temporary home and teach him the basics of survival in the new world.
October 3rd, 2010
Rick rides to Atlanta in search of his family, but is surrounded by a horde of walkers and barricades himself inside a tank, where he is rescued by radio from young Glenn Rhee. Glenn leads Rick out of the city with a small group of survivors (including Andrea and Daryl). That evening, they reach a camp in the quarry outside the city, where Rick miraculously reunites with his wife Lori, son Carl, and friend Shane.
October 4th, 2010
As Rick, Glenn, and Daryl return to Atlanta to retrieve a bag of weapons, the quarry camp is surprised and overrun by a pack of walkers during the night. Amy (Andrea’s sister) and Ed (Carol’s husband) are bitten and killed in the attack. Jim is seriously wounded in the chest and, knowing his fate, later asks to be left on the road so he can revive himself.
October 6th, 2010
The surviving group decides to travel to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) headquarters in Atlanta, hoping to find a cure or medical answers. Upon their arrival, they find the facility locked down, but Dr. Edwin Jenner, the last surviving scientist, decides to open the blast doors and welcome them into the underground bunker.
October 7th, 2010
The CDC’s computer system begins the countdown to thermobaric self-destruction due to the generators running out of fuel. Before the doors lock permanently, Jenner whispers in Rick’s ear that all humans are already infected with the virus. Jacqui chooses to stay inside to end it with Jenner, while Rick, Carol, and the others manage to break through the reinforced windows and escape moments before the explosion.