The Riddle Calendar

[jodel at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 50810

Harriet makes a good attempt at sorting out what year Tom M. Riddle was born. 
But overlooks a small detail.

Yes. The fact that the Riddle Diary is dated 50 years before the year Harry 
got his hands on it is a major clue to the CoS plot, and is relevant.

It is likely that the 500 year aniversary of Nick's Deathday, in 1492 is also 
relevant. 

It is generally accepted that Harry was born in 1980 since he had just had 
turned 12 the year of the deathday party.

However; 
1.  He did not get his hands on the diary until after the year had turned. 
2. The events of Hagrid's expulsion did not take place until the June of the 
year that was the date printed on the diary. 
3. By Riddle's own testimony, he did not put himself into the diary until 
*after* the Chamber had been closed again.

The school year may have begun in 1992, but it ended in 1993. The diary's 
date, from the internal evidence was 1943. If the diary was recording events 
of the year of its own date, (implied, but not solidly established) then 
Riddle must have either aquired the diary after the school year ended (from a 
remainder cart perhaps) having been sent back to London at the end of the 
year despite his request to stay on over the summer, or he was in the habit 
of keeping a diary already and had been given it before he left for school 
the year earlier, or sent it by someone in Muggle London, possibly for 
Christmas. From all indications, it was unlikely that he had returned to 
London over the Christmas break, and purchased it then, but that is also an 
outside possibility. Do we know whether the policy of allowing students to 
remain in residence over term breaks was already in place in Dippett's day?

What has been established is that Riddle was 16 when he put himself in the 
diary, and that he did that at some point *after* June 1943. If the same sort 
of monitoring of magic use by underage wizards in Muggle environments was in 
place at the time, the most likely date for the diary insertion would have 
been upon his return to Hogwarts in September at the beginning of his 6th 
year. We are not sure when during the year Tom Riddle's birthday falls. Only 
that he was deffinitely 16 when he put a version of himself into the diary. 
At some point in 1943.

In order to be 16 in the middle of 1943, Riddle must then have been born at 
some point between September 2 1926 and September 1 1927. His first year 
began with the fall term in September 1938 and he finished school with the 
summer term of 1945.

Yes, Harriet is right, Riddle *could* have been born in 1926. He could have 
also been born in 1927. We do not know which, and will not find out unless 
Rowling gives us some clue as to just when during the year his birthday falls.