Timeline
| Date | Age | Event | Location | |
| 1914 Nov | 0 | Born | Neola, IA | |
| 1918 | 4 | Family moved | Perry, OK | |
| 1920 | 6 | Family moved | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1924 | 10 | First visit to Pacific Ocean | Ocean Park, CA | |
| 1924 | 10 | Memorized 18-vol Groller History of the World | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1928 | 14 | Graduated from Christ the King (Grammar School) | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1932 | 18 | Graduated from Cascia Hall (Augustinian Prep School) | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1933 | 19 | Attended night school at U of Tulsa for two years | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1934? | 20 | Worked for US Government in civil service | Washington, DC | |
| 1935? | 21 | Worked at Clark Electric Co. | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1939? | 24 | Worked at Tulsa newspaper, first writing phase? | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1941? | 26 | Graduated from ICS Elec. Eng. correspondence course | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1942 Apr | 27 | Enlisted in U.S. Army | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1946 | 32 | Left U.S. Army (served as Staff Sergeant) | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1950 | 35 | Worked for a year away from Tulsa | Oklahoma City | |
| 1957 | 42 | Began writing (second phase) | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1959 Jun | 44 | First story accepted | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1959 Dec | 45 | First story published | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1960 Jul | 45 | Signed with agent A.L. Fierst | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1962 | 47 | Signed with agent Virginia Kidd | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1968 | 53 | First novel sold | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1968 | 53 | First meeting with SF fandom (minicon) | Oklahoma City | |
| 1969 | 54 | First Nebula Award Nomination | New Orleans, LA | |
| 1969 | 54 | Editor Frederik Pohl left Galaxy, ending RAL story run | ||
| 1970 | 55 | 2-year publishing streak of good stories ('70 & '71) | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1971 | 56 | Retired from electrical business | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1972 | 57 | Health: illness (heart?), no travel or writing | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1972 | 57 | Winner, Little Invisible Man Award | SF Bay Area, CA | |
| 1973 | 58 | Winner, Hugo Award | Toronto, Canada | |
| 1975 | 60 | Winner, Best Short Fiction, Seiun Award | Japan | |
| 1977 | 62 | Interview recorded at DeepSouthCon | Birmingham, AL | |
| 1979 | 64 | Guest of Honor Speech at DeepSouthCon | New Orleans, LA | |
| 1979 | 64 | First PC spreadsheet launched, will transform publishing | ||
| 1981? | 67 | Health: injured knees | ||
| 1982 | 68 | D. Schweitzer interview at World SF Convention | Chicago, IL | |
| 1984 | 70 | Attended DeepSouthCon | Chattanooga, TN | |
| 1984 Nov | 70 | Retired from writing | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1990 | 75 | Winner, Lifetime Achievement — World Fantasy | Schaumburg, IL | |
| 1991 | 76 | T. Jackson interview in Lan's Lantern #39 | ||
| 1991 Sep | 76 | Attended ChiCon V (last con attended?) | Chicago, IL | |
| 1994 | 80 | Health: suffered a small stroke | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1995 | 81 | Winner, Lifetime Achievement — Arrell Gibson Award | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1996? | 82 | Health: larger stroke? Moved to nursing home? | Tulsa, OK | |
| 1997 | 83 | Story in The Fantasy Hall of Fame | ||
| 1997 Dec | 83 | Health: confirmed to be in nursing home. | Broken Arrow, OK | |
| 1998 | 83 | Story in Modern Classics of Science Fiction | ||
| 1998 Mar | 83 | IGOTS 19: Ray's mail for #18 was returned | Atlanta, GA | |
| 1999 Mar | 84 | Health: update from Ray's nurse. | Broken Arrow, OK | |
| 1999 May | 84 | IGOTS 20: D. Knight said that Ray is in nursing home | Atlanta, GA | |
| 2001 | 86 | Story in The Best Science Fiction of the Century | ||
| 2002 Mar | 87 | Died at nursing home. | Broken Arrow, OK | |
| 2002 | Winner, Rediscovery Award, Cordwainer Smith Foundation | |||
| 2003 | Memorial Guest of Honor at Readercon 15 | Burlington, MA | ||
| 2010 | Story in The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction | Middletown, CT | ||
| 2011 May | Estate sold literary rights to Locus Foundation | Durham, NC | ||
| 2013 Apr | Hardcover translation of Fourth Mansions | Japan | ||
| 2014 Feb | Centipede Press released #1 of 12 collector volumes | USA | ||
| 2014 Jun | Locus signed with JABberwocky Literary Agency | New York, NY | ||
| 2014 Aug | Panel at World SF Convention Article, The Guardian | London, UK | ||
| 2014 Nov | Centennial Tributes Lost and Found, This Land Press Feast of Laughter #1, Ktistec Press Hayakawa SF Panel at World Fantasy November 2014, Locus | Tulsa, OK AU/CA/UK/USA Japan Washington, DC Oakland, CA | ||
| 2015 Jan | Centipede Press released #2 of 12 collector volumes | USA |
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