1958 A STAR IS BORN: Michael Joseph Jackson is born in Gary, Ind., on Aug. 29, the seventh child in the family. Following his dad and older brothers, he takes to music at an early age, performing in a Christmas recital at just 5 years old.
1964 Jackson and his brother Marlon join the Jackson Brothers, a band started by their older siblings Jackie, Tito and Jermaine. After playing percussion, Michael soon begins singing backup vocals and dancing. By 8, he takes on lead vocals with Jermaine, and the group becomes known as the Jackson 5.
1968 MOTOWN AND RISE TO FAME: The group signs with powerhouse label Motown Records in 1968. The Jackson 5 becomes the first act to have its first four singles on a major label reach No. 1 on the charts. The hits include “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save” and “I”ll Be There.”
1975 The boy band leaves Motown after some less successful releases. The group signs with CBS Records, and Motown sues for breach of contract. As part of the agreement to let the Jackson 5 switch labels, the group changes its name to the Jacksons.
1978 “THE WIZ”: Jackson stars as Scarecrow in this movie adapted from the Broadway musical. The film receives four Oscar nominations, along with a Best Supporting Actor nod for Jackson from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.
1979 The performer breaks his nose during a dance routine. He has rhinoplasty surgery but complains of breathing difficulties. The operation is believed to be the first of many cosmetic enhancements.
1982 “THRILLER”: Jackson’s sixth album is released on Nov. 30, featuring hits such as “Billie Jean” and “Beat It.” It goes on to become the best-selling record of all time, with 109 million copies sold to date. It remains on the Billboard 200’s top-10 list for 80 straight weeks and is the first album to have seven Billboard Hot 100 singles.
1983 MOONWALK: Jackson’s trademark dance move makes its debut on March 25, when he performs live on the “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever” TV special. While singing “Billie Jean,” Jackson awes viewers with a move that makes him appear to be stepping forward as he glides backward.
1984: Pyrotechnics set the star’s hair on fire while filming a Pepsi commercial in Los Angeles on Jan. 27. He suffers second-degree burns to his scalp and is rushed to the hospital.
1985 BRANCHING OUT: Hugely popular, Jackson turns his interest to a variety of projects. “We Are the World,” written with Lionel Richie, becomes one of the best-selling singles of all time, and the proceeds are donated to famine relief in Africa. After befriending Paul McCartney, Jackson buys the publishing rights to more than 100 Beatles songs. Meanwhile, the singer adopts a chimpanzee, named Bubbles; his close friendship with the animal, coupled with stories that he has purchased the bones of the Elephant Man and sleeps in an oxygen chamber, earn him the nickname “Wacko Jacko.” The star is troubled by health issues such as vitiligo, which causes chronic depigmentation of large patches of skin.
1987 “BAD”: Jackson releases the followup to “Thriller.” While “Bad’s” sales can”t match those of its predecessor, it includes hummable hits such as “The Way You Make Me Feel” and “Man in the Mirror.”
1988: Jackson’s autobiography, “Moon Walk,” hits shelves and becomes a best seller. The book, named after Jackson’s signature dance move and edited by Jackie Onassis, details beatings he and his siblings received at the hands of their father. “If you messed up, you got hit,” Jackson writes, “sometimes with a belt, sometimes with a switch.”
1988: Jackson purchases some 3,000 acres in Los Olivos, Calif., to create the Neverland Ranch, which will eventually include carnival rides and a zoo. Once thought to be worth more than $100 million, the ranch has since faced foreclosure threats.
1991 “DANGEROUS”: Jackson releases an album featuring the single “Black or White.” “Dangerous” eventually reaches multiplatinum status. The singer is now known by a nickname created by pal Elizabeth Taylor: “The King of Pop.”
1993 SCANDAL: Jackson’s success takes a huge hit when he is accused of child molestation by 13-year-old Jordan Chandler and his father, Evan, once a friend of the singer. Jackson’s home is searched by police. Alleged victims are said to include actor Macaulay Culkin, who appeared in the “Black or White” video. (In a later trial, Culkin testifies in Jackson’s defense that the claims are “absolutely ridiculous.”) Jackson’s lawyers brand the accusations as a plot to squeeze money from the star. The following year, Jackson settles with the Chandlers out of court.
1994: In May, Jackson secretly marries Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley. Some believe the marriage to be a fake, intended only to buoy Jackson’s image, but Presley insists in interviews, “How can you fake this 24 hours a day — sleeping with somebody, waking up with somebody?” They divorce in January 1996.
1996-1998 FATHERHOOD: During the world tour for his album “HIStory,” Jackson marries dermatological nurse Deborah Jeanne Rowe. She bears him a son, Michael Jr. (also known as Prince), in 1997, and a daughter, Paris, in 1998. The couple divorces in 1999, and Rowe gives Jackson full custody of the kids.
2001 Jackson releases “Invincible,” which will be his last album. In a concert at Madison Square Garden to celebrate his 30th year in the music business, he is joined onstage by stars such as Whitney Houston, Usher and Britney Spears. The same year, he is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist, an honor to match the group induction he received with the Jackson 5 in 1997.
2002 “BLANKET”: Jackson welcomes son Prince Michael Jackson II, known as “Blanket” in February. The child was conceived with a surrogate through artificial insemination, and the identity of the mother remains a mystery. In November, Jackson dangles the infant over the edge of his hotel balcony in Berlin. He later calls the move “a terrible mistake.”
2003-2005 BACK TO COURT: In 2003, a documentary titled “Living With Michael Jackson” sheds light on the singer’s close relationship with cancer survivor Gavin Arvizo, who subsequently accuses Jackson of molesting him at the Neverland ranch when Arvizo was 13. Jackson maintains his innocence, and on June 13, 2005, a jury finds the singer not guilty.
2007-2009 ATTEMPTS AT A COMEBACK: To celebrate the 25th anniversary of “Thriller,” Jackson reissues the album with remixes and previously unheard songs, and a compilation album follows for the singer’s 50th birthday. Widely reported to have fallen into debt, and facing foreclosure on Neverland, Jackson announces he will perform 50 concerts in London, and the run quickly sells out. Jackson is rumored to be suffering from skin cancer, but his reps insist he is “in perfect health.” In another report denied by Jackson”s staff, the singer is said to worry aloud about whether he will have the endurance to complete the concert series.
THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2009: Jackson, age 50, is hospitalized in Los Angeles following a heart attack and dies.
