diff --git a/R/timevisBasic.R b/R/timevisBasic.R
index ca20e69..175678b 100644
--- a/R/timevisBasic.R
+++ b/R/timevisBasic.R
@@ -26,8 +26,8 @@
 #'   }
 #' )
 #' @export
-timevis <- function(data = list(), width = NULL, height = NULL, elementId = NULL) {
-  items <- data
+timevis <- function(data, width = NULL, height = NULL, elementId = NULL) {
+  items <- dataframeToD3(data)
   
   # forward options using x
   x = list(
@@ -83,4 +83,16 @@ timevisBasic_html <- function(id, style, class, ...) {
       htmltools::tags$button("-")
     )
   )
+}
+
+dataframeToD3 <- function(df) {
+  if (missing(df) || is.null(df)) {
+    return(list())
+  }
+  if (!is.data.frame(df)) {
+    stop("timevis: the input must be a dataframe", call. = FALSE)
+  }
+  
+  row.names(df) <- NULL
+  apply(df, 1, function(row) as.list(row[!is.na(row)]))
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/man/timevis.Rd b/man/timevis.Rd
index 9d66187..2090ace 100644
--- a/man/timevis.Rd
+++ b/man/timevis.Rd
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 \alias{timevis}
 \title{Create a basic timeline visualization}
 \usage{
-timevis(data = list(), width = NULL, height = NULL, elementId = NULL)
+timevis(data, width = NULL, height = NULL, elementId = NULL)
 }
 \description{
 Create a basic timeline visualization