April 1976 Apple is founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne.

June 1977 The Apple II computer is released.

December 1980 Apple goes public and its stock beings trading on the Nasdaq.

April 1983 Former PepsiCo executive John Sculley becomes Apple's CEO after being recruited by Steve Jobs.

January 1984 Jobs unveils the Macintosh, the first mass-market personal computer to feature a mouse and a graphical interface on the display screen.

September 1985 Jobs leaves Apple's board after company's directors side with CEO John Sculley in a dispute between the two men.

June 1993 Longtime Apple employee Michael Spindler becomes CEO, replacing Sculley, who remains the company's chairman.

August 1993 Apple releases the Newton, a touch-screen device that was supposed to work like a digital notepad.

October 1993 Sculley steps down as Apple's chairman after a disappointing earnings report.

February 1996 Apple hires turnaround specialist Gil Amelio as its CEO after Spindler's efforts to sell the company to Sun Microsystems or IBM unravel.

December 1996 Apple buys Next Software, a company started by Jobs, for about $400 million. Jobs agrees to return to Apple as an adviser.

August 1997 Apple announces it's getting a $150 million infusion from archrival Microsoft to help keep the company afloat.

September 1997 Apple announces Jobs will serve as its interim CEO.

May 1998 Jobs unveils a new line of personal computers called the iMac.

January 2000 Apple drops the "interim" preface from Jobs' CEO title.

May 2001 Apple opens its first retail stores in Virginia and California.

October 2001 Jobs unveils a digital music player called the iPod.

April 2003 Jobs unveils iTunes, a digital music store that initially only could be accessed on Apple devices. A version that worked on personal computers powered by Windows software came out six months later to broaden the market.

August 2004 Jobs discloses he had surgery for a rare form of pancreatic cancer.

October 2005 Tim Cook is promoted to chief operating officer.

January 2007 Jobs unveils the iPhone.

March 2008 Jobs announces an app store for the iPhone.

January 2009 Jobs takes a six-month leave of absence to tend to his health, temporarily turning the reins over to Cook.

January 2010 Jobs unveils a tablet computer called the iPad.

January 2011 Jobs takes an indefinite leave of absence, leaving Cook in charge once again.

August 2011 Jobs resigns as CEO and Cook succeeds him.

October 2011 Jobs dies.

March 2012 Apple announces it is restoring a quarterly dividend for the first time since 1995.

September 2014 Apple announces the Apple Watch, its first new product since Jobs' death.

March 2015 Apple becomes one of the 30 companies comprising the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

June 2015 Apple launches its music-streaming service.

June 2017 Apple announces its first internet-connected speaker, the HomePod.

September 2017 Apple unveils its first $1,000 phone, the iPhone X, in celebration of the product line's 10th anniversary.

August 2018: Apple becomes the first publicly traded company valued at $1 trillion.