When my sons were younger they would ask me, “Were there cars when you were little, Dad?” Apparently I seemed pretty old to them! As they grew and learned more about history, the question eventually became, “When did that happen? Was that before Einstein? After Cleopatra? And were there cars then?” Eventually all those questions became this book. You’ll find about 3,000 entries in these pages, starting with the formation of the Earth and running into the near future.

I’m a designer, illustrator, and college professor at Conestoga College in Kitchener, Ontario. I trained as a graphic designer in the ‘70s in my home state of Michigan, then did a Master’s degree at the University of Toronto. After starting my own graphic design studio in Boston in the ‘90s I moved to Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. My company, Ampersand Studios, was an award-winning graphic design firm specializing in high-tech, health-care, manufacturing, and post-secondary design projects.

I’ve been a member of the Registered Graphic Designers association since 1996 (that’s the RGD after my name), a professional organization promoting best practices in design and advocating for the profession. At Conestoga I was awarded the Aubrey Hagar Teaching Award in the 2014 school year. My wife and I have 3 sons who all are violinists.

Hope you enjoy When Did THAT Happen?!

Tom Bishop RGD