| Important Dates | |
| Date | Event |
| 1975 | Microsoft founded |
| Jan. 1, 1979 | Microsoft moves from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Bellevue, Washington |
| June 25, 1981 | Microsoft incorporates |
| Aug. 12, 1981 | IBM introduces its personal computer with Microsoft's 16-bit operating system, MS-DOS 1.0 |
| Feb. 26, 1986 | Microsoft moves to corporate campus in Redmond, Washington |
| March 13, 1986 | Microsoft stock goes public |
| Aug. 1, 1989 | Microsoft introduces earliest version of Office suite of productivity applications |
| May 22, 1990 | Microsoft launches Windows 3.0 |
| Aug. 24, 1995 | Microsoft launches Windows 95 |
| Dec. 7, 1995 | Bill Gates outlines Microsoft's commitment to supporting and enhancing the Internet |
| June 25, 1998 | Microsoft launches Windows 98 |
| Jan. 13, 2000 | Steve Ballmer named president and chief executive officer for Microsoft |
| Feb. 17, 2000 | Microsoft launches Windows 2000 |
| June 22, 2000 | Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer outline Microsoft's .NET strategy for Web services |
| May 31, 2001 | Microsoft launches Office XP |
| Oct. 25, 2001 | Microsoft launches Windows XP |
| Nov. 15, 2001 | Microsoft launches Xbox |
| Jan. 15, 2002 | Bill Gates outlines Microsoft's commitment to Trustworthy Computing |
| Nov. 7, 2002 | Microsoft and partners launch Tablet PC |
| Jan. 16, 2003 | Microsoft declares annual dividend |
| April 24, 2003 | Microsoft launches Windows Server 2003 |
| Oct. 21, 2003 | Microsoft launches Microsoft Office System |
| July 20, 2004 | Microsoft announces plans to return up to $75 billion to shareholders in dividends and stock buybacks |
| Nov. 22, 2005 | Microsoft launches Xbox 360 |
| June 15, 2006 | Microsoft announces that Bill Gates will transition out of a day-to-day role in the company in July 2008, Ray Ozzie is named chief software architect and Craig Mundie chief research and strategy officer |
| July 20, 2006 | Microsoft announces a new $20 billion tender offer and authorizes an additional share-repurchase program of up to $20 billion over five years |
| Jan. 30, 2007 | Microsoft launches Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office System to consumers worldwide |
| Feb. 27, 2008 | Microsoft launches Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008 |
| June 27, 2008 | Bill Gates transitions from his day-to-day role at Microsoft to spend more time on his work at The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation |
| Oct. 22, 2009 | Microsoft launches Windows 7 |
| May 12, 2010 | Microsoft launches Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010 to businesses |
| June 15, 2010 | Microsoft launches general availability of Office 2010 |
Labels:
Microsoft
