| Year | Event |
| 1961 | Born Aug. 4, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Obama Sr. and Stanley Ann Dunham |
| 1964 | Parents divorce |
| 1967 | Obama's mother married Lolo Soetoro, moved family to Indonesia |
| 1970 | Sister Maya Soetoro born, Aug. 15 |
| 1971-1979 | Obama moved back to Hawaii for 5th grade through high school, lived mostly with grandparents |
| 1971 | Obama Sr. visited his son in Hawaii |
| 1979 | Attended Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA, for 2 years |
| 1981 | Transferred to Columbia University, NY |
| 1982 | Father died in car crash at age 46, in Nairobi, Kenya |
| 1983 | Received BA in Political Science from Columbia Univ., worked in New York City |
| 1985 | Moved to Chicago, IL, worked as community organizer |
| 1987 | Visited Kenya and his father's grave |
| 1988 | Enrolled at Harvard Law School |
| 1990 | Elected editor of Harvard Law Review (first African-American elected to the position) |
| 1991 | Graduated from Harvard Law School |
| 1992 | Married attorney Michelle Robinson, Oct. 18 |
| 1993 | Began lecturing at University of Chicago Law School and working at a law firm |
| 1995 | Mother died of cancer, age 52 |
| 1996 | Elected to the Illinois state senate (first term) |
| 1998 | Re-elected to the Illinois state senate (second term) |
| 1999 | Daughter Malia born |
| 2000 | Lost Illinois Democratic primary election for US House of Representatives seat |
| 2001 | Daughter Sasha born |
| 2002 | Re-elected to the Illinois state senate (third term) |
| 2005 | Obama's first book, Dreams from My Father, published |
| 2004 | Elected to the US Senate (IL-Dem) |
| 2006 | Obama's second book, The Audacity of Hope, published |
| 2008 | Won Democratic Party presidential primary election process, June. Officially nominated by the Democratic party at August Convention (first African-American to win a major party nomination) |
| 2008 | Elected 44th President of the USA on Nov. 4 (first African-American elected to the position) |
| 2009 | Inaugurated as President of the USA on Jan. 20 |
| 2009 | Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, October 9 |
| 2012 | Elected for a second presidential term, November 6 |
