The timing of the formation of the first solids in the solar system remains poorly constrained. Micrometer-scale, high-precision magnesium (Mg) isotopic analyses demonstrate that Earth, refractory inclusions, and chondrules from primitive meteorites formed from a reservoir in which short-lived aluminum-26 (26Al) and Mg isotopes were homogeneously distributed at +/-10%. This level of homogeneity validates the use of 26Al as a precise chronometer for early solar system events. High-precision chondrule 26Al isochrons show that several distinct chondrule melting events took place from approximately 1.2 million years (My) to approximately 4 My after the first solids condensed from the solar nebula, with peaks between approximately 1.5 and approximately 3 My, and that chondrule precursors formed as early as 0.87(-0.16)(+0.19) My after.