Hogwarts Legacyis an open-world adventure game that lets players create a character who attends Hogwarts for the first time as a late joining 5th-year student. The game takes place almost exactly one hundred years before a certain boy named Harry Potter learns that he is a wizard.
Specifically,Hogwarts Legacystarts in September 1890 and goes all the way to the end of the academic year, just before the summer of 1891. As this is a time period that mostHarry Potterfans might be unfamiliar with, one way for players tobetter immerse themselves inHogwarts Legacyis to find out what happened in the real world around this time.
7Famous Births Of 1890 & 1891
In the time between playerstaking their first steps inHogwarts Legacyin September 1890 and completing their school year in 1891 (hopefully without any incidents), there were naturally many famous births in the muggle world. Just before September when players were learning of their acceptance into Hogwarts, the influential writer H.P. Lovecraft was born. After that came the founder of KFC Colonel Sanders, British author Agatha Christie, and future President of the United States, Dwight. D Eisenhower.
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There weren’t as many famous births in 1891. The only notable person being Erwin Rommel, the respected German general known as the Desert Fox, and he was actually born in November when the main character ofHogwarts Legacywould be starting their 6th year.
6Famous Deaths Of 1890 & 1891
Other than the characters who sadly died during the course of Hogwarts Legacy, there were many famous muggles to die in the real world and players might find playing the game even more interesting knowing it is the last year of certain influential lives.
Shortly before the start of the game, Vincent van Gogh tragically passed away, many years before his art would be truly appreciated. King William III of the Netherlands also passed away later in the year. 1891 then saw the deaths ofMoby Dickauthor Herman Melville, as well as former Emperor of Brazil, Pedro II who players can actually play as in one ofthe best grand strategy games of all time,Civilization 6.
5Idaho & Wyoming Admitted As U.S. States
Just prior to the events ofHogwarts Legacy, at a time when the main character may or may have not already received their letter of acceptance from Hogwarts, two new U.S. states were admitted to the union.
On July 28, 2025, Idaho was admitted as the 43rd U.S. state. Just a week later, on July 1o, Wyoming was admitted as the 44th. It had been around half a year since Washington had been admitted, but there would then be a long wait until 1896 for the 45th state of Utah to be admitted.
4The Invention Of The Foldable Cardboard Box
Not all magic happens at Hogwarts, and that was the case with the invention of the first pre-cut foldable cardboard box in 1890, although admittedly a Scotsman was responsible as is often the case with inventions.
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Although this might not sound too exciting, modern consumerism simply could not exist without these easy-to-make boxes. Surely even the wizarding world will have benefited from their invention. So the next time players load upHogwarts Legacyand find themselves browsing the various shops in Hogsmeade, they should say a small thank you to cardboard boxes.
3The Invention Of Basketball
Despite the Hogwarts Quidditch season of 1890-91 being canceled by nefarious Headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black, the muggle sport of basketball was taking its first steps in 1891. The early version of the game was thought up by James Naismith, a Physical Education teacher in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.
The game was different from the basketball of today, which is seen in some ofthe best sports games of all timesuch as theNBA 2Kgames. Still, it is interesting for basketball fans to think of, as they explore the magical Victorian Highlands.
2The Great Blizzard Of 1891
While many of the events of the muggle world would not have had any effect on life at Hogwarts during the school year of 1890-91, there is no escaping the weather, even for wizards and witches.
While the changing of the seasons is one ofthe most beautiful details inHogwarts Legacy, the characters on the grounds will have been glad they were hidden away in the Scottish Highlands and not in the southwest of England, where The Great Blizzard Of 1891 hit in March, killing over 200 people.
1Sherlock Holmes First Published In The Strand Magazine
According to Guinness World Records, Sherlock Holmes isthe most-portrayed literary human being in film and TV, but the detective’s origins are from a time close to the events ofHogwarts Legacy.
Although Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s character was first printed in 1887, the major breakthrough came in 1891 whenA Scandal in Bohemiawas published in The Strand Magazine in late June, just as theHogwarts Legacystory would be wrapping up. From this moment onwards, Sherlock Holmes proceeded to take Britain and the world by storm.
Hogwarts Legacyis out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with a Switch version coming July 25.
