Timeline
| 1921 | August 3 - Richard Adler is born in New York City |
| 1943 | Graduates from the University of North Carolina with a Bachelor of the Arts degree |
| 1943 | Joins the United States Navy as a Leutenant |
| 1950 | Joins the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) |
| 1950 | Frank Loesser introduces Adler to Jerry Ross. The team would collaborate on the Broadway hit productions Damn Yankees and The Pajama Game |
| 1953 | December 10 - John Murray Anderson's Almanac debuts at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway |
| 1954 | May 13 - The Pajama Game debuts at the St. James Theatre on Broadway |
| 1954 | Rosemary Clooney's recording of HEY THERE reaches #1 on the Billboard pop charts |
| 1955 | May 5 - Damn Yankees debuts at the 46th Street Theatre on Broadway |
| 1955 | (YOU'VE GOTTA HAVE) HEART reaches #6 on the Billboard pop charts with a recording by Eddie Fisher |
| 1955 | Duet recording of TWO LOST SOULS by Perry Como and Jaye P. Morgan reaches the top twenty on the pop charts |
| 1955 | Sarah Vaughan's recording of WHATEVER LOLA WANTS (LOLA GETS) reaches #6 on the pop charts |
| 1958 | January 3 - Marries Sally Ann Howes |
| 1958 | ANOTHER TIME ANOTHER PLACE reaches #20 on the pop charts with a recording by Patti Page |
| 1958 | Doris Day's recording of EVERYBODY LOVES A LOVER reaches #6 on the pop charts |
| 1959 | GIRL ON PAGE 44 reaches the top fifty on the pop charts with a recording by the 4 Lads |
| 1960 | Serves as a consultant on entertainment for Presidents Kennedy and President Johnson |
| 1963 | Becomes a Director of ASCAP |
| 1963 | The Shirelles' cover recording of the 1958 top ten hit EVERYBODY LOVES A LOVER reaches the top twenty on the pop charts |
| 1964 | Serves as a trustee for John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC |
| 1964 | Burl Ives' recording of TRUE LOVE GOES ON AND ON reaches #66 on the pop charts |
| 1979 | July - Pulitzer Prize nominated symphonic work, Retrospectrum, premiers at Carnegie Hall |
| 1980 | November - Pulitzer Prize nominated symphonic work Yellowstone Overture, premiers at Carnegie Hall with the American Philharmonic Orchestra |
| 1983 | February - Pulitzer Prize nominated work Wilderness Suite premieres with a performance by the Utah Symphony |
| 1984 | Eight by Adler, a ballet for the Chicago City Ballet wins an Emmy |
| 1984 | Awarded the National Parks Service Honorary Ranger Award |
| 1985 | October - Pulitzer Prize nominated synphonic work, The Lady Remembers, premieres at the Kennedy Center with a performance by the Detroit Symphony |
| 1990 | Autobiography You Gotta Have Heart is published |
| 1993 | Commisioned work by the University of North Carolina premieres with a recording by the London Symphony Orchestra |
| 1998 | Score composed for the ballet "House of Bernarda Alba" premeiers in February by the Miami City Balley |
| 1999 | November - Awarded the University of North Carolina Playmakers Lifetime Achiement Award |