July 28, 1954: Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is born in the agricultural heartland of Barinas

1971: Chávez joins the military academy.

1991: Chávez makes the rank of commander

Feb. 4, 1992: Chávez and other mid-level officers stage a failed coup to oust Carlos Andrés Pérez.

March 26, 1994: Chávez is pardoned and released from prison. He travels to Cuba and meets with Fidel Castro, who would become a lifelong friend and mentor.

Dec. 1998: Chávez wins his first presidential election with 62 percent of vote, becoming the nation’s youngest president.

Dec. 1999: A new constitution is implemented via referendum, triggering fresh elections.

2000: Chávez wins a new six-year term with 60 percent of the vote.

2001: Venezuela and Cuba become founding members of the Alliance for the People of our Americas, or ALBA.

April, 2002: Bristling under his economic reforms, Chávez faces a national strike.

April, 12, 2002: Chávez is forced out of office in a confusing and short-lived coup. Pedro Carmona is declared president.

April, 14, 2002: Commandos free Chávez from Orchilia Island and he resumes the presidency.

Dec. 2002, Chávez faces a new round of strikes including a crippling strike by oil workers. Chávez fires 15,000 of them on national television.

2004: Chávez survives a recall vote organized by his detractors. Fifty-nine percent of Venezuelans vote to keep him.

2004: Venezuela becomes a founder of the Union of South American Nations, or UNASUR.

2005: Chávez begins expropriating land in the name of food security and wealth redistribution.

2005: The opposition boycotts congressional elections, handing Chávez a rubber-stamp legislature.

2006: Chávez beats Manuel Rosales for the presidency with 63 percent of the vote.

2007: Country hit by fresh wave of strikes after Chávez does not renew the broadcast license for the nations largest independent television station RCTV.

2009: In a national referendum, Chávez wins the right to indefinite reelection. He taunts the opposition by saying he will stay in power until 2031.

June 26, 2011: Amid growing rumors about Chávez’s health, the head of parliament denies the president has cancer.

June 30, 2011: In a speech from Cuba, Chávez says he had a tumor removed from his pelvic region and that he has begun cancer treatment.

July 16, 2011: Chávez begins chemotherapy in Cuba, which he calls preventative.

July 23, 2011: Chávez returns to Caracas and says no malignant cells were discovered.

August 1, 2011: Chávez appears on TV bald and bloated from his cancer treatment.

Sept. 10, 2011: Chávez says he has “defeated” cancer.

Sept. 22, 2011: Chávez finishes his fourth round of chemotherapy

Sept. 29, 2011: Amid media reports that he has been rushed to the hospital in grave condition, Chávez appears on television playing baseball.

Oct. 20, 2011: Chávez announces that he has made a full recovery.

Jan 13, 2012: Chávez delivers a 9-hour speech to parliament and reaffirms his good health.

Feb 21, 2012: Chávez admits doctors have found a new lesion near the site of his previous tumor.

March 5, 2012: Chávez says the second tumor is malignant.

March 24, 2012: Chávez announces he will begin five rounds of radiation therapy in Cuba.

April 5, 2012: Chávez cries in a church and begs Jesus to save his life.

April 15, 2012: Chávez cancels appearance at the Summit of the Americas; Venezuelan reporter Nelson Bocaranda says the cancer has spread.

May 11, 2012: Chávez returns to Caracas and says his treatment was successful and that he’s in shape to win the Oct. 7 presidential election.

June 9, 2012: Chávez says CT scans and an MRI shows that he’s in remission.

June 11, 2012: After weeks of speculation, Chávez officially kicks off his reelection campaign singing, dancing and giving an almost three-hour speech.

July 9, 2012: Chavez says he is once again free off cancer.

Oct, 7, 2012: Chávez wins his fourth presidential bid with 55 percent of vote.

Nov 27, 2012: The National Assembly gives Chávez approval to return to Cuba for hyperbaric oxygen treatment.

Dec. 8, 2012: The president announces that malignant cells have reappeared in the same area as his previous cancer and that he will return to Cuba for more surgery.

Dec. 11, 2012: The president undergoes a “complex and difficult” surgery.

Dec. 16, 2012: Chávez’s PSUV party sweeps regional elections winning 20 out of 23 governors’ posts.

Dec. 18, 2012: The government announces that Chávez has developed a pulmonary infection as a result of the surgery.

March 5, 2013: The goverment announced Chávez death.