| Date | Event |
|---|
| 1820, Nov. 11 | Born, Westminster, Vt. |
| Circa 1844-1849 | Employed by the New York and Troy Steamboat Co., Troy, N.Y., and later by the Astoria House, New York, N.Y. |
| 1850-1852 | Cashier, Aspinwall and Co., San Francisco, Calif. |
| 1853 | Purchased the Willard Hotel, Washington, D.C., with his brother, Henry A. Willard |
| 1862 | Commissioned, Union army |
| 1864 | Married Antonia Ford |
| 1892 | Sole owner of the Willard Hotel, Washington, D.C., after purchasing Henry A. Willard's interest |
| 1897, Jan. 17 | Died, Washington, D.C. |
| Date | Event |
|---|
| 1865, May 1 | Born, Washington, D.C. |
| 1886 | Graduated, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Va. |
| 1891 | Admitted to the Virginia bar
Married Belle Layton Wyatt |
| 1894-1902 | Member, Virginia House of Delegates |
| 1898 | Organized Company I, Third Regiment, Virginia Volunteer Infantry, and served on Fitzhugh Lee's staff in Cuba during the Spanish-American War |
| 1902-1906 | Lieutenant governor of Virginia |
| 1905 | Ran unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in Virginia |
| 1906-1910 | Virginia state corporation commissioner |
| 1914-1921 | Ambassador to Spain |
| 1924, Apr. 4 | Died, New York, N.Y. |
| Date | Event |
|---|
| 1853 | Willard Hotel, Washington, D.C., purchased by Henry A. and Joseph C. Willard |
| 1892 | Joseph C. Willard purchased Henry A. Willard's interest in the Willard Hotel, becoming its sole owner |
| 1899 | Virginia Hotel Co. founded by Joseph Edward Willard |
| 1900 | Virginia Hotel Co. purchased Willard Hotel from Joseph Edward Willard; construction began on the "New" Willard Hotel |
| 1900-1921 | Willard Hotel leased to Willard Hotel Co. |
| 1912 | Richmond and Rappahannock River Railway Co. founded (dissolved 1917)
Rappahannock Land and Development Corp. founded (dissolved 1940) |
| 1921-1929 | Willard Hotel leased to Capitol Hotel Co. |
| 1923 | Fairfax Development Corp. founded |
| 1929 | Willard, Inc., founded (dissolved 1955) |
| 1932 | Insurance Agency, Inc., founded (dissolved 1939) |
| 1939 | Your Secretary, Inc., founded (dissolved 1949) |
| 1946 | Willard Hotel sold to Louis Berry |
