11,000 BC: First archaeological evidence of humans in Argentina

1480 AD: Inca Empire expands into northwestern Argentina

1516: Juan Solis becomes first European to visit present-day Argentina

1580: Buenos Aires established

1776: Viceroyalty of River Platte established

1806-1807: Great Britain tries twice to capture Buenos Aires, repelled both times

May, 1810: Argentina declares provisional independence from Spain

1814-1816: José de San Martín liberates Argentina from Spanish forces in a series of battles

1816: Argentina formally declares independence

1825: Bolivia secedes from Argentina

1828: Uruguay becomes independent

1835-1852: Rule of Dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas

1853: Juan Batista Alberdi writes Argentina’s first constitution

1864-1870: Argentina joins Uruguay and Brazil against Paraguay in the War of the Triple Alliance

1870-1920: Hundreds of thousands of Europeans immigrate to Argentina

1946: populist Juan Peron elected

1947: Evita Peron creates Evita Peron Foundation to help the poor

1952: Evita Peron dies at the age of 33, millions mourn

1955: Juan Peron deposed, flees to Spain

1973: Peron re-elected

1974: Peron dies in office, wife/vice president Isabel Peron takes over

1976: Military coup removes Isabel Peron from office

1976-1983: “Dirty War” in Argentina: up to 30,000 civilians executed by the government

1978: Argentina wins World Cup Soccer

1982: Great Britain defeats Argentina in the Falklands War

1983-1986: President Raul Alfonsín brings Dirty War officials to trial for their role in the massacres and disappearances but must desist when the military attempts several takeovers

1986: Argentina wins World Cup Soccer

December 2001: Argentina’s economy crashes

2003: Nestor Kirchner elected president, economy begins to recover

2007: Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (Nestor’s wife) elected president