I thought the general consensus was that he was born in 1926.

Yes Don Draper 1926 makes sense.

Dick's Dad, Archibald died when Dick was 10. Adam (Dick's half brother by Archibald) showed up in New York in 1960 when his was probably around 18-20 years old. Adam was shown as a boy when Dick's funeral train brought the casket home in 1950- 1951ish.

Just doing some math here

Figure he was sixteen in 1944 when the picture was taken that Adam passed on to him. 1944 minus 16 = 1928. 1962 minus 1928 = 34. Dick would only have been 17 when the end of WWII rolled around so he wouldn't have been drafted.

But, Don says he's 36. Which may have been the actual age of the real Don Draper. Drafted near the end of WWII, got out, GI Bill and then was recalled because he'd signed up for the inactive National Guard. Although he looked a good deal older than Dick Whitman.

If it's 1962 and he really is 36, then he was born in 1926. Which would make him very draftable when he turned eighteen. On the other hand, he was working on a farm and probably got a deferment as a farmer.

Hapynzap: Go to the archived topic (July), "Don's Fishy Backstory", in which you will find discussion of Don's real age and likely dates for events in his life as Dick Whitman and as Don Draper. You'll find out a lot there! enjoy.

Let's recap what we know, based on the limited (and sometimes contradictory) information we have.

1926 -- Dick Whitman is born. His mother, a prostitute, dies giving birth. Dick goes to live with his father and his wife.

1936 -- Dick is 10. His father (Archibald Whitman) dies when kicked in the head by a horse. Archie's wife Abigail is pregnant at the time and marries Uncle "Mack" Johnson shortly thereafter.

1937 -- Abigail gives birth to Adam. Adam and Don (11) have the same father, Archie Whitman.

1945 -- Dick is 19, Adam is 8. (Don leaves home?)

1950 -- Dick is 24 and joins the army to serve in the Korean war. Adam is 13.

1951 -- Dick (25) assumes identity of a dead soldier. Discharged from army as Don Draper.

1952 -- Don (26) works as a used-car salesman.

1953 -- Don (27) works for Teddy the Furrier, writing advertising copy, meets, impregnates Betty (21), and marries her.

1954 -- Don starts working at Sterling Cooper. Sally is born to Don (28) and Betty (22).

1956 -- Don (30), Betty (24), and Sally (2) welcome a son Bobby.

1960 -- Adam (23) meets with Don, his half-brother, later hangs himself.

1962 -- Don (36), Betty (30), Sally (8), Bobby (6).

2008 -- Don is 82! Betty is 76! Sally is 54! Bobby is 52! (Do you think they will make it to 2008?)

(Adam was either 10 or 11 years younger than Dick/Don (depending on whether his birthday was in 1936 or 1937. I have used 1937.)

(The little information we have seems to indicate that the real Don Draper was several years older than Dick Whitman, perhaps in his 40s. He had the rank of Lieutenant, had an Engineering degree, etc.)

Remembering - Thanks for the timeline! Everything seems plausible and pretty accurate for the info we have, though for some reason I thought Don didn't leave home until he joined the army in his early 20s. Why do you think he left home at 19? You're right about the real Don Draper being older - when Pete confronted Don last season he makes a comment about Don "looking good for (his) age" because records show the real Don would be 43 (I think).

Hanna: Yes, when Pete confronted Don about his true identity, he said that the real Don Draper would be 43.

So I believe that Don is really only 36, hence born in 1926.

And if he was 10 when Adam was born, then Adam was born in 1936. Adam would have been 24 in 1960 when he met Don in New York.

Great timeline. I have a question. How do we know that Betty was pregnant when she married Don. I must have missed that.

Great timeline. I have a question. How do we know that Betty was pregnant when she married Don. I must have missed that.

In the Episode "5G" Adam said he was 22, that was in 1960. So Adam was born in 1937-38 (probably 1937). Dick's father died when he was 10, and Adam had to be born sometime in a 9-month timeframe of Archibald Whitman's death (he was Adam's father, after all). So Dick was probably born in 1927 (he was either 10-11 when Adam was finally born).

In the picture of Adam and Dick dated 1944 on the back, if Dick was born in 1927, he would be 17 in 1944, and 18 in 1945. In essence too late to be any part of WWII (unless he was born earlier than 1927), but probably in his early 20's for the start of the Korean War in June 1950.

Good stuff Remembering

.....Mkting101......didn't Betty mention being pregnant, and then marrying Don, to Francine that day in the Draper kitchen? Remembering, thanks for the timeline...

Greetings to everyone who posted on this confusing subject. Thanks for starting this thread Hapynzap.

hanna and jamm54:
I don’t know exactly when Dick left home or at what age.

We don’t really know what Dick Whitman did between 1937 (Adam’s birth) and 1950 when he served in the Korean War. Perhaps he stayed on the farm. (Sorry to mislead with my 1945 entry. It was more to fill in a gap between dates and to review ages. I, too, question Dick’s leaving home then. Too late for World War II, too early for Korea.)

It was probably 1951 when Dick/Don brought back the body of the real Don Draper. We know Adam was born in late 1936 or early 1937 (depending on Abigail’s gestation period), so in 1951 Adam would have been 14/15. Yet in “5G” Adam says he saw Dick “hiding in uniform” on the train and that he was “only 8 but I knew it was you.” I can't explain this discrepancy. Perhaps the MM writers can.

If any of you have any additional or conflicting information, please post it so I can update my timeline and become more confused.

Hapynzap, are you two people….Hap and Zap? Just curious.

No not 2 two people - just a theme to be hapy and zap the blues

Yeah Remembering, if Dick/Don is born around 1926-27, he still seems awfully "old" to be entering the Korean War.

My father was born in July 1925, and enlisted in the Marines in 1943 before his 18th birthday. If Dick/Don was born in 1926 or earlier, more than likely he would have been in WWII for the last 2 1/2 years of it.

My father came off the farmlands of North Dakota, so being on a farm didn't prevent or insulate you from enlistment. That's why I think Don was born 1927 or later actually.

@Remembering: I agree with your timeline for Don/Dick's age progression and the discrepancy with Adam Whitman's age. I've got all the MM episodes in iTunes and I just rewatched "5G" from Season 1 where Adam finds Don. In the diner, Adam very clearly says, "I knew you weren't dead. I knew I saw you that day hiding in the window in your uniform. I was only eight but I knew it was you." In the flashback from "Nixon vs. Kennedy" when Don arrives on the train with the real Donald Draper's body in a coffin, Adam indeed appears to be eight years old. It seems that the writers have made a serious continuity screw-up. The only way they haven't is if the newborn brother in Don's flashback from "5G" is not Adam after all and they have played a trick on us, but what would their purpose be except to have this brother turn up later on? Maybe it was Pete! (Just kidding.) I think I would prefer that they made a mistake, but that's also hard for me to accept.

Well Jonathan in your case then Dick Whitman really is around 30-32ish in 1962. My theory is dead Don Draper was the one born in 1926 Not Dick now assumed Don. No?

Nothing says you have to be 18 or 19 to be drafted. Dick could have been a little older when he was drafted.

While Mr. Weiner & Co. haven't filled in the gaps, Dick would have left the farm as soon as he could. Don't know if that would have been before he was 21 in those days or not. Still, the guy who called out to Dick Whitman on the train looked a lot older that Dick/Don.

i call the years of 1944-1950 "Don's Lost Years" and i do believe he was old enough to serve in wwii, being 18 in 1944 and 19 in 1945. plenty of young men were drafted from those age groups. the wwii draft ended in 1947, i believe.

so the question becomes, what was he doing between the ages of 18 and 24?

the guy on the train looked older because he was fatter and don is thin. but not all soldiers who serve together are the same age. there would be men of all ages serving together. i think the draft age ended at 35.

Oh, we really DO need lives....LOLOL.....
How great is this show??? Love it.