Peasants in Languedoc (southern France) played a game where they hit balls with shepherd crooks through bent willow branches.

The game of le Jeu de la Crosse (or la Crosserie) was immensely popular in Normandy, especially at Avranches, but the object appears to have been to send the ball as far as possible by driving it with the mallet. [1911 Enclyclopedia Britanica]

Louis XIV played Jeu de Mail at Versailles, France.

Charles II of England and his courtiers played Pall Mall at St. James's Park in London.

Sir Walter Peel, namesake of the peel, started playing croquet.

John Jaques bought the rights to the rules of croquet from Isaac Spratt, and printed 25,000 copies of Croquêt: Its Laws and Regulations.  Mysteriously, the first edition of this work is described as "thoroughly revised".

Croquet by Captain Mayne Reid was published by James Redpath, Boston, Massechusets, USA.

The Park Place Croquet Club of Brooklyn organizes with 25 members. "Croquet is probably the first game played by both men and women in America."*

Peterson's Magazine described the game of Troco, or Lawn Billiards.

Walter Miller wrote Laws of Croquet.

The Laws of Croquet as Played by the Medes and Persians by ‘Rab-Mag’ was published by Hatchard in London, England.

Routledge’s Handbook of Croquet by Edmund Routledge was published by Routledge, Warne, & Routledge in London, England.

The Rules of the Game of Croquet, as Played at Sheriff Hutton Park by Leonard Thompson was publish by Cordeaux & Ernest in York, England.

The title Croquet Polka was registered at Stationer's Hall on May 14th by London music publishers Addison & Lucas.

R. Fellow of Boston, MA, USA, wrote The Game of Croquet, Its Appointments and Laws.

The Game of Croquet, Its Laws and Regulations published by Dean & Son in London, England, UK.

Laws and Regulations of the Game of Croquet by James Soutter & Son published by James Soutter & Son in Edinburgh, Scotland.

How to Play Croquêt by S. Kramer published by Adams & Co in Boston, USA.

The Newport [Rhode Island] Croquet Club handbook Croquet as Played by the Newport Croquet Club said, "Whist exercises the memory and the power of calculating probabilities; chess the imagination and the faculty of abstract reasoning; but croquet, though it taxes these mental capacities less, combines them with the delights of out-of-doors exercise and social enjoyment, fresh air and friendship -- two things which are of all other most effective for promoting happiness."

Hand-Book of Croquet published by Milton Bradley & Company in USA.

Walter Jones Whitmore's rules of croquet published in The Field. [Guy Stapleton, of Moreton Historical Society, in When Cotswolds Became the Birthplace of Croquet]

The Oxford University Croquet Club was formed.

Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, alias Lewis Carroll, published the rules for Castle Croquet: For Four Players in August in Aunt Judy's Magazine.

French dictionary for the first time defines croquet as a game.

Walter James Whitmore (actually W. T. Whitmore-Jones, 1831-1872) wrote Croquet Tactics.

First All-Comers Meeting was held at Moreton-in-the-Marsh, England. [1911 Enclyclopedia Britanica] Walter Jones Whitmore held the Grand Open Tournament on Moreton cricket ground. The croquet courts were about 45 yards by 35 yards with 8-inch hoops. 16 gentlemen played heats, quarter- and semi-finals before the final. Whitmore lost in the quarter-final to the ultimate winner Walter Peel. [Guy Stapleton, of Moreton Historical Society, in When Cotswolds Became the Birthplace of Croquet]

Walter James Whitmore (actually W. T. Whitmore-Jones, 1831-1872) was barred from the AECC, and formed the National Croquet Club.

The first women's croquet championship were held in England, and won by a Mrs. Joad.*

Chambers Book of Days published a picture of King Charles II attempting to knock the ball through the hoop. He was apparently very good at the game.

Alfred Concanen illustrated the sheet music for Croquet Schottisch by Lawreen and Davis, and arranged for piano by C. H. R. Marriott.

Wimbledon held croquet championships, seven years before lawn tennis was played there.  The All England Croquet Club setting of ten wickets and two pegs was used.

The General Conference of Croquet Clubs drew up the laws of croquet.

Tight Croquet, in which a player puts their foot on their ball when croqueting another ball, was outlawed. [Dr. Ian Plummer in Oxford Croquet.]

The handbook in the Milton Bradley croquet set said, "When we [Americans] work or fight, we work and fight harder than any other people.  We should be as enthusiastic in our play."

Arithmetical Croquet invented by Lewis Carroll.

The Oxford University Croquet Club holds its first tournament.

The Convention of Croquet Players met in August in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, USA, and "amended and accepted" The Revised Rules for the Game of Croquet.

The NCA held a convention of 25 clubs on October 4th at the New York Croquet Club, and adopted a standard set of rules for the nine-wicket game.

South Bend Toy Works, OH, USA, begins manufacturing toy croquet sets.

Cassell's Book of Illustrated Sports quoted, "both sexes could join on terms of equality, ... Old and young could take part with equal chances."

The Complete Croquet Player published in London, England, UK.

Sir Walter Peel, name sake of the peel, died in December.

C. E. Willis is Champion of England.

The Present Position of the Game of Croquet by Leonard Williams published by Badminton magazine.

The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club changes its name to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, but rehangs the placards of croquet champions taken down in 1887.

Lily Gower, the "Championess" of England, wins her first of three English national women's championships after only playing for one year.

First annual Charnwood Forest tournament held at Charnwood Forest Archery and Lawn Tennis Society in Swithland, Leicestershire, England.

Olymic Games in Paris, France, as part of the Exposition Universelle
Internationale -- the Paris World's Fair -- includes croquet at Cercle du Bois de Boulongne; all players were Frenchmen.

The first 19 women to compete in the modern Olympics Games play in just three sports: tennis, golf, and croquet.* The first to compete were Mme. Brohy and Mlle. Ohnier of France in croquet.

Arthur Lillie publishes Croquet up to Date containing an article entitled Cowardly Tactics by Aunt Emma.

Cyril Corbally of Ireland first swings the mallet between his legs, rather than a golf swing.

John Jaques publishes the Laws of Croquet for the Croquet Association.

The Championship of Oxford Open Singles Challenge Cup was first played.

The first issue of the Croquet Association Gazette appears on Wednesday, April 27th, edited by C. D. Locock.

The Willis Setting of six wickets and one peg devised by C. E. Willis was adopted by the CA, and became International Rules or Association Rules croquet.

Either-ball law added to Laws of Association Croquet. [David Maugham]

Herbert Bayard Swope returns from being a reporter for the New York World in England, where he saw croquet, and starts playing at his home in Great Neck, Long Island, New York, USA. His version of croquet had nine wickets, four balls, strict sequence, and carry-over deadness.

Holywood stars Harpo Marx, Louis Jordan, Darryl Zanuck, Tyrone Power, George Sanders, Gig Young, Prince Romanoff, and Samuel Goldwyn popularized nine-wicket croquet on the West coast of America.  Bets of $10,000 were made.  The level of play was high: at the start of a game, Louis Jourdan would light a cigarette, take a deep puff, and place it on the stake; then he would do an all-round run in time to pickup his cigarette for one last puff.

Roehampton experiments during the 2nd World War led to the Wichelo variation,
namely lifts at 1-back and 4-back and the contact. [Prichard]

East-West Croquet Match held on July 6-7 at Howard Hawks home in Hog Canyon, Plam Springs, California, USA.

Advanced Rules added to Laws of Association Croquet.

The Championship of Oxford Open Singles Challenge Cup was last played because the cup then "went missing".

Laws of Association Croquet published by the Croquet Association.

Tom McDonnell starts playing nine-wicket croquet in Coldwater Canyon Park, Beverly Hills, California, USA, after Samuel Goldwyn's croquet court was lost.

Tackle Croquet This Way by E. P. C. Cotter published by Stanley Paul, London, England, UK. 124 pages.

Keith Wylie (1945-1999) becomes the first player to complete a delayed sextuple (where the first peel, through 1-back, is not completed until after the first hoop has been scored by the striker's ball). This he did in the second game of the final in the 1971 Open Singles Championship at Hurlingham against Nigel Aspinall. [1990 Townsend's Croquet Almanack]

The History of Croquet by D. M. C. Prichard published by Cassell of London with ISBN 0304307599.

Rudolph "Foxy" Carter holds New England Regional Tournament at Newport Croquet Club.

Nigel Aspinal, John Solomon, Bernard Neal, and William Omerod come from England to Palm Beach, Florida, USA, to play American Rules Croquet against Jack Osborn, Archie Peck, Teddy Prentis, and Ned Prentis. The British spent much of their time sticking the American's balls in hoops. This was before the wiring-lift rule was in effect in the US, and the rule change was put into effect shortly after.

Keith Wylie writes Expert Croquet Tactics.

John Prince becames the first player to score two sextuples in one day,
on the November 8th during the President's First Eight at Gisborne,
New Zealand. [1990 Townsend's Croquet Almanack]

World Croquet Federation (WCF) was formed as an "international governing body".

American Croquet Association (ACA) was formed by Stan Patmor of Arizona to "promote International Rules croquet in America".

Hans Peterson publishes Croquet Magazine co-edited by Bob Alman and Mike Orgill.

First Sonoma World Championship held at the Sonoma-Cutrer Winery, Winsor, California, USA by Brice Cutrer Jones.  It has since become the site of the World Croquet Championships.

Croquet was a "demonstration sport" at the World Games in Karlsruhe.

World Croquet Championship held at the Casino in Newport, Rhode Island, USA, and sponsored by Jaguar Cars.

The United States first competes in the MacRobertson Shield.

First sextuple peel performed by an American in a sanctioned tournament: Jacques Fournier in the United States Open at Palm Beach, Florida, USA.

Cheating, Gender Roles, and the Nineteenth-Century Croquet Craze by Jon Sterngass published in the Journal of Sport History by the North American Society of Sports History.

Maui Croquet Club (MCC) formed in Kihei, Hawaii, USA.

San Francisco Open discontinued after 15 years.

Maui Croquet Club (MCC) joins the USCA.

Croquet: A Bibliography -- Specialist Books and Pamphlets Complete to 2002 by David H Drazin published by Oak Knoll Press in USA, and Roefield Press in England.

Reg Bamford sets the world four-game peeling record runing two consecutive sextuple peels followed by two consecutive octuple peels in his last four games at The Resort at the Mountain Invitational. These were also the first octuple peels every completed in American tournament play.