1942 - Joined the Quit India Movement, jailed during freedom struggle
1951 - Founder-member of the erstwhile Jana Sangh
1957 - Becomes leader of the Jana Sangh, 1957 - Elected to Lok Sabha
1962 - Elected to Rajya Sabha
1968 - President, Bharatiya Jana Sangh (1968-1973)
1975 - Placed under house arrest during Emergency
1977 - Founder-member of the Janata Party (1977-1980)
1977 - Became the first non-Congress External Affairs Minister
1979 - Makes memorable speech in Hindi at the UN
1980 - President, BJP (1980-1986)
1984 - Loses Lok Sabha election from his home town Gwalior
1992 - Conferred Padma Vibhushan
1994 Conferred the Lokmanya Tilak Puruskar and Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant Award for the Best Parliamentarian
1996 - Became PM, but his government lasts only 13 days
1998 - NDA comes to power, sworn in as PM for the 2nd time
- His govt carries out a series of successful nuclear tests at Pokhran in May 1998
1999 - The bus journey to Pakistan in February 1999 was widely acclaimed for starting a new era of negotiations to resolve the outstanding problems of the sub-continent.
- India wins the Kargil war, Vajpayee hailed for his successful handling of the situation in repulsing back the intruders from the Indian soil
- Resigns after his government loses a parliamentary vote of confidence on April 13, 1999
- Sworn in again as PM for the third time on October 13,1999 after his party and its allies regain control
2001 - Talks at the Agra Summit with Musharaf break down
2002 - Calls first-ever joint session of Parliament, pushes through POTA
2004 - Concedes the election after his party loses in parliamentary elections
2005 - Announces his retirement from politics
December 25, 2014 - Vajpayee's 90th birthday observed nationally as the Good Governance Day
March 27, 2015 - Conferred the Bharat Ratna award
