diff --git a/src/components/Timeline.jsx b/src/components/Timeline.jsx
index 7673d7f..a107f55 100644
--- a/src/components/Timeline.jsx
+++ b/src/components/Timeline.jsx
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ class Timeline extends React.Component {
   constructor(props) {
     super(props);
     this.styleDatetime = this.styleDatetime.bind(this)
+    this.getDatetimeX = this.getDatetimeX.bind(this)
     this.svgRef = React.createRef()
     this.state = {
       isFolded: false,
@@ -82,22 +83,6 @@ class Timeline extends React.Component {
     }
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Get x position of eventPoint, considering the time scale
-   * @param {object} eventPoint: regular eventPoint data
-   */
-  getEventX(eventPoint) {
-    return this.state.scaleX(parseDate(eventPoint.timestamp));
-  }
-
-    /**
-   * Get y height of eventPoint, considering the ordinal Y scale
-   * @param {object} eventPoint: regular eventPoint data
-   */
-  getEventY(eventPoint) {
-    return this.state.scaleY(eventPoint.category);
-  }
-
   /**
    * Returns the time scale (x) extent in minutes
    */
@@ -211,8 +196,16 @@ class Timeline extends React.Component {
     this.props.methods.onUpdateTimerange(this.state.timerange);
   }
 
+  getDatetimeX(dt) {
+    return this.state.scaleX(parseDate(dt.timestamp))
+  }
+
   /**
-   * Determines additional styles on the <circle> for each location.
+   * Determines additional styles on the <circle> for each timestamp. Note that
+   * timestamp visualisation functions slightly differently from locations, as
+   * a timestamp can be shown as multiple <circle>s (one per category of the
+   * events contained therein). Thus the function below has a category as an
+   * argumnent as well, in case timestamps ought to be styled per category.
    * A datetime consists of an array of events (see selectors). The function
    * also has full access to the domain and redux state to derive values if
    * necessary. The function should return an array, where the value at the
@@ -220,7 +213,7 @@ class Timeline extends React.Component {
    * at the second index is an optional function that renders additional
    * components in the <g/> div.
    */
-  styleDatetime(timestamp) {
+  styleDatetime(timestamp, category) {
     return []
   }
 
@@ -285,8 +278,8 @@ class Timeline extends React.Component {
                 datetimes={this.props.domain.datetimes}
                 styleDatetime={this.styleDatetime}
                 narrative={this.props.app.narrative}
-                getDatetimeX={(e) => this.getEventX(e)}
-                getDatetimeY={(e) => this.getEventY(e)}
+                getDatetimeX={this.getDatetimeX}
+                getCategoryY={this.state.scaleY}
                 getCategoryColor={this.props.methods.getCategoryColor}
                 transitionDuration={this.state.transitionDuration}
                 onSelect={this.props.methods.onSelect}
diff --git a/src/components/presentational/DatetimeDot.js b/src/components/presentational/DatetimeDot.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3167821
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/presentational/DatetimeDot.js
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+import React from 'react'
+
+export default ({
+  category,
+  events,
+  x,
+  y,
+  styleProps,
+  extraRender
+}) => (
+  <g
+    className='datetime'
+    transform={`translate(${x}, ${y})`}
+    onClick={() => onSelect(datetime.events)}
+  >
+    <circle
+      className="event"
+      cx={0}
+      cy={0}
+      style={styleProps}
+      r={5}
+    >
+    </circle>
+    { extraRender ? extraRender() : null }
+  </g>
+)
+
diff --git a/src/components/presentational/TimelineEvents.js b/src/components/presentational/TimelineEvents.js
index 32f7448..17966ed 100644
--- a/src/components/presentational/TimelineEvents.js
+++ b/src/components/presentational/TimelineEvents.js
@@ -1,27 +1,38 @@
 import React from 'react';
+import DatetimeDot from './DatetimeDot'
+
+// return a list of lists, where each list corresponds to a single category
+function getDotsToRender(events) {
+  // each datetime needs to render as many dots as there are distinct
+  // categories in the events contained by the datetime.
+  // To this end, eventsByCategory is an intermediate data structure that
+  // groups a datetime's events by distinct categories
+  const eventsByCategory = {}
+  events.forEach(ev => {
+    if (eventsByCategory[ev.category]) {
+      eventsByCategory[ev.category].events.push((ev))
+    } else {
+      eventsByCategory[ev.category] = {
+        category: ev.category,
+        events: [ ev ]
+      }
+    }
+  })
+
+  return Object.values(eventsByCategory)
+}
 
 const TimelineEvents = ({
   datetimes,
   narrative,
   getDatetimeX,
-  getDatetimeY,
+  getCategoryY,
   getCategoryColor,
   onSelect,
   transitionDuration,
   styleDatetime
 }) => {
   function renderDatetime(datetime) {
-    const customStyles = styleDatetime ? styleDatetime(datetime) : null
-    const extraStyles = customStyles[0]
-    const extraRender = customStyles[1]
-
-    const styleProps = ({
-      fill: getCategoryColor(datetime.events[0].category),
-      fillOpacity: 1,
-      transition: `transform ${transitionDuration / 1000}s ease`,
-      ...extraStyles
-    });
-
     if (narrative) {
       const { steps } = narrative
       const isInNarrative = steps.map(s => s.id).includes(event.id)
@@ -31,23 +42,31 @@ const TimelineEvents = ({
       }
     }
 
-    return (
-      <g
-        className='datetime'
-        transform={`translate(${getDatetimeX(datetime)}, ${getDatetimeY(datetime)})`}
-        onClick={() => onSelect(datetime.events)}
-      >
-        <circle
-          className="event"
-          cx={0}
-          cy={0}
-          style={styleProps}
-          r={5}
-        >
-        </circle>
-        { extraRender ? extraRender() : null }
-      </g>
-    )
+    const dotsToRender = getDotsToRender(datetime.events)
+
+    return dotsToRender.map(dot => {
+      const customStyles = styleDatetime ? styleDatetime(datetime, dot.category) : null
+      const extraStyles = customStyles[0]
+      const extraRender = customStyles[1]
+
+      const styleProps = ({
+        fill: getCategoryColor(dot.category),
+        fillOpacity: 1,
+        transition: `transform ${transitionDuration / 1000}s ease`,
+        ...extraStyles
+      })
+
+      return (
+        <DatetimeDot
+          category={dot.category}
+          events={dot.events}
+          x={getDatetimeX(datetime)}
+          y={getCategoryY(dot.category)}
+          styleProps={styleProps}
+          extraRender={extraRender}
+        />
+      )
+    })
   }
 
   return (