April 28th, 1937 - Born in al-Awja, a village outside Tikrit, 150 km north of Baghdad.
October 1956 - Joins an uprising against the pro-British royalist rulers and then becomes a militant in the pan-Arab, secular Baath Party.
October 1959 - A year after the overthrow of the monarchy, takes part in an attempt to kill prime minister Abdel-Karim Kassem. Flees abroad.
February 1963 - Returns to Baghdad when the Baath Party seizes power in a military coup, but nine months later Baathists are toppled. Caught and jailed. Elected deputy secretary-general of the party while in prison.
July 1968 - Saddam helps plot the coup that puts the Baath Party back in power, deposing president Abdul-Rahman Aref.
March 1975 - As vice-president of the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), Saddam signs a border agreement with the Shah of Iran, who ends support for an Iraqi Kurdish revolt, causing its collapse.
July 16th, 1979 - Takes power after president Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr steps aside as chairman of the RCC.
September 22nd, 1980 - Following border skirmishes, Saddam launches war on Iran that lasts eight years.
March 16th, 1988 - Iraqi forces launch chemical attack on Iraqi Kurdish town of Halabja, killing about 5,000 people.
August 20th, 1988 - A ceasefire is officially implemented in the Iran-Iraq war. The campaign against Kurds continues.
August 2nd, 1990 - Launches invasion of Kuwait, prompting UN Security Council to impose sanctions.
Jan 17, 1991 - US-led forces start Gulf War with air attacks on Iraq and occupied Kuwait.
Feb 28, 1991 - Hostilities end with eviction of Iraqi forces from Kuwait.
April 3, 1991 - UN Security Council orders Iraq to scrap chemical, biological, nuclear and long-range missile programmes.
Oct 15, 1995 - Saddam wins a presidential referendum and is elected unopposed with more than 99 per cent of the vote.
Feb 23, 1996 - Two senior Iraqi defectors, both married to Saddam's daughters, are reported murdered by relatives just days after returning from Jordan.
Oct 15, 2002 - Official results show Saddam wins 100 per cent of votes in a referendum for a new term in office.
Dec 7, 2002 - Saddam apologises for invasion of Kuwait but blames the Emirates' leadership. Kuwait rejects the apology.
Feb 2, 2003 - In his first interview in more than a decade, Saddam denies Baghdad has any banned weapons or any links to al-Qaeda.
March 15 - Saddam puts Iraq on a war footing, dividing the country into four military districts and putting his younger son Qusay in command of the vital Baghdad-Tikrit area.
March 20 - US launches war against Iraq with strikes on Baghdad targeting "very senior" leadership. Saddam later appears on TV urging Iraqis to defend their country.
April 7 - US aircraft drop four 2,000 lb (900 kg) bombs on a building in a residential area of Baghdad after US intelligence reports indicate that Saddam and his two sons might have been inside with other Iraqi leaders.
April 9 - US forces sweep into the heart of Baghdad to an ecstatic welcome as Saddam Hussein's 24-year rule crumbles.
July 22 - US military confirms that Saddam's two sons, Uday and Qusay, were killed in gun battle in Mosul.
Dec 14 - US officials announce capture of Saddam. - Reuters