1948 Benelux, France, and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the North Atlantic Treaty establishing NATO.
1949 A riot breaks out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík, when Iceland joins NATO.
1949 Twelve nations sign the North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
1949 The treaty creating NATO goes into effect.
1950 US General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes supreme commander of NATO-Europe
1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower resigns as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO.
1955 Cold War: West Germany joins NATO.
1961 In a speech John F. Kennedy emphasizes that any attack on Berlin is an attack on NATO.
1962 Spiegel scandal: ''Der Spiegel'' publishes the article ''"Bedingt abwehrbereit"'' (''"Conditionally prepared for defense"'') about a NATO manoeuver called "Fallex 62", which uncovered the sorry state of the Bundeswehr (Germany's army) facing the communist threat from the east at the time. The magazine is soon accused of treason.
1974 Turkish occupation of Cyprus: Forces from Turkey invade Cyprus after a "coup d' etat", organised by the dictator of Greece, against president Makarios. NATO's Council praises the United States and the United Kingdom for attempts to settle the dispute. Syria and Egypt put their militaries on alert.
1985 United States Navy F-14 fighter jets intercept an Egyptian plane carrying the ''Achille Lauro'' cruise ship hijackers and force it to land at a NATO base in Sigonella, Sicily where they are arrested.
1990 Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti reveals to the Italian parliament the existence of Gladio, the Italian "stay-behind" clandestine paramilitary NATO army.
1995 United States Air Force Captain Scott O'Grady's F-16 is shot down over Bosnia while patrolling the NATO no-fly zone.
1995 NATO launches Operation Deliberate Force against Bosnian Serb forces.
1995 NATO begins peacekeeping in Bosnia.
1997 NATO invites the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland to join the alliance in 1999.
1999 The Euro currency is introduced in 11 countries - members of NATO (with the exception of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Sweden).
1999 Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland join NATO.
1999 Kosovo War: NATO commences air bombardment against Yugoslavia, marking the first time NATO has attacked a sovereign country.
1999 NATO mistakenly bombs a convoy of ethnic Albanian refugees – Yugoslav officials say 75 people are killed.
1999 Kosovo War: In Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, three Chinese citizens are killed and 20 wounded when a NATO aircraft bombs the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
1999 Kosovo War: NATO suspends its air strikes after Slobodan Milošević agrees to withdraw Serbian forces from Kosovo.
1999 Kosovo War: Operation Joint Guardian begins when a NATO-led United Nations peacekeeping force (KFor) enters the province of Kosovo in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
2001 NATO decides to send a peace-keeping force to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
2001 NATO backs U.S. military strikes following 9/11.
2001 NATO confirms invocation of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
2002 NATO declares Russia a limited partner in the Western alliance.
2002 NATO invites Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to become members.
2003 France and Belgium break the NATO procedure of silent approval concerning the timing of protective measures for Turkey in case of a possible war with Iraq.
2003 NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history.
2004 Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia join NATO as full members.