National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Mitch Wilkinson is a black-market dealer who possesses a fragment of Booth's diary that he uses to frame Thomas Gates for involvement in Lincoln's assassination. This page seemingly connects Thomas to Booth and O'Laughlen, which prompts Ben to embark on decoding the cipher to clear his ancestor's name.

Foreshadowing: The diary fragment is the same page O'Laughlen rescued from the fire after Thomas tried to destroy it.

• mitch wilkinson
• booth diary
• lincoln assassination
• thomas gates

The Playfair cipher deciphers to reveal a route to Cíbola, the legendary City of Gold. This is the secret that Thomas Gates discovers and why the diary becomes so valuable, its message contains directions to one of history's greatest hidden treasures.

Foreshadowing: Thomas's final words about Cíbola echo through the generations until Ben uncovers the full truth.

• playfair cipher
• cibola
• city of gold
• booth diary

The Laboulaye Lady is a scale model of the Statue of Liberty located in Paris. Hidden on this model is a secret message derived from Thomas's last words, which directs Ben to the two Resolute desks, one in Buckingham Palace and one in the Oval Office.

Foreshadowing: Thomas encoded this clue using his final words to his son Charles, waiting 140 years to be deciphered.

• laboulaye lady
• statue of liberty
• paris
• clue
• resolute desk

The Resolute desk in the Queen's chambers at Buckingham Palace acts as a puzzle box containing a centuries-old plank with unreadable hieroglyphics. The desk's compartment mechanism reveals this hidden plank, which holds the next clue leading to Cíbola.

Foreshadowing: The desks were crafted from wood from the HMS Resolute, ship that inspired the Statue of Liberty.

• resolute desk
• buckingham palace
• queen
• hieroglyphics
• plank

The Book of Secrets is a confidential archive kept by sitting U.S. Presidents containing hidden truths about major historical events and conspiracies, including Watergate, Area 51, the Apollo program, and JFK's assassination. Only the President knows its location, traditionally passed down verbally.

Foreshadowing: The President warns Ben that revealing the Book's location could shake public confidence in government.

• book of secrets
• president
• conspiracy theories
• library of congress

In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge discovered the remaining portion of the hieroglyphic plank but destroyed it after photographing it. To erase the pictorial evidence of the Cíbola landmark shown on the plank, he commissioned Gutzon Borglum to sculpt Mount Rushmore, which would cover the secret location.

Foreshadowing: The film explicitly connects Coolidge's actions to Borglum's creation of the monument.

• calvin coolidge
• mount rushmore
• gutzon borglum
• cibola
• sculpture

Mitch intercepts Ben's communication and coerces Emily Appleton into providing false translation information to Patrick. Using Emily as leverage, Mitch manipulates the team into following his intended path toward Cíbola while they believe they're receiving accurate intel.

Foreshadowing: This deception is only revealed when Ben realizes Emily's translation was tampered with.

• emily appleton
• mitch wilkinson
• betrayal
• translation
• plank

Page 47 is an enigmatic new mystery the President asks Ben to help decipher at the film's conclusion. This teaser suggests another layer of historical secretkeeping, potentially setting up future adventures involving even more concealed truths.

Foreshadowing: The President specifically requests Ben's help, indicating Page 47 contains something only a Gates could decode.

• page 47
• president
• mystery
• teaser
• sequel

At Cíbola, when a water surge threatens to trap everyone, Mitch initially forces Ben into the sacrificial role. However, when the situation becomes critical, Mitch chooses to hold the door himself, expressing regret for his earlier actions and asking to share in the glory of the discovery.

Foreshadowing: Mitch's change of heart shows his redemption arc, though his motivations remain partially self-serving.

• mitch wilkinson
• cibola
• drainage door
• sacrifice
• escape

Ben orchestrates the President's birthday celebration at Mount Vernon and traps him in a series of neglected tunnels. While initially warning of kidnapping charges, the President sympathizes with Ben's mission to clear his family's name and personally reveals the Book is hidden in the Library of Congress.

Foreshadowing: Ben's bold approach puts the President in a position where he must either help or risk the publicity of a kidnapping investigation.

• president
• mount vernon
• book of secrets
• library of congress
• tunnel

These are Thomas Gates' final words to his son Charles, spoken just before O'Laughlen can kill him. The phrase refers to death itself, the universal debt all humans eventually pay. It also carries deeper meaning about the burden of secrets and the sacrifices made to protect truth.

Foreshadowing: Thomas's dying words become the key to unlocking the cipher on the Laboulaye Lady model.

• thomas gates
• charles carroll gates
• final words
• death
• quote