November 2004:
Graham holds a four-day crusade in Los Angeles, marking the 55th anniversary of the 1949 event that propelled him to fame.

March 2, 2002:
Graham apologizes for anti-Semitic comments made during a taped conversation with U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1972. The comments were found among 500 hours of tape released by the U.S. National Archives.

Sept. 14, 2001:
U.S. President George W. Bush asks Graham to deliver the key address at the National Day of Prayer following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Many consider the sermon a high point in his career. Several major American and international networks cover the event, reaching a record number of people. This year he also receives the title of Honorary Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE) for his lifetime contribution to civic and religion life.

1997:
Graham publishes his autobiography, Just As I Am. To date he has published 24 books, many topping bestseller lists. His 1953 publication Peace with God has sold over two million copies in 38 languages.

May 2, 1996:
U.S. President Bill Clinton presents Graham and his wife Ruth with the Congressional Gold Medal. It's the highest honour the U.S. Congress can bestow on a citizen.

1992:
Billy Graham is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

1989:
Graham's son, Franklin Graham, becomes an evangelist with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He is later named CEO in 2000 and president in 2002.

1982:
Billy Graham becomes the first Christian minister allowed to preach in Moscow. The BGEA crusade travels to Russia two years later.

1971:
Graham receives the International Brotherhood Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews.

1969:
Graham has maintained relationships with many political leaders, and has met every American president during his career. One notable friendship is with Richard Nixon, the first president to establish church services in the White House. Later, at the height of the Watergate scandal, Graham drew criticism for his relationship with Nixon.

Graham is awarded the Torch of Liberty Plaque by the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai Brith.

Sept. 12 - 13, 1959:
Billy Graham hosts a crusade in Little Rock, Ark. He is initially asked to address a white-only crowd. He refuses until organizers invite blacks to attend.

1957:
Billy Graham's New York City crusade runs for 16 weeks at Madison Square Garden. Here he recruits his first black associate, Cleveland pastor Howard Jones. He receives a letter from civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. congratulating him on his efforts to end segregation.

1952:
Reverend Billy Graham begins writing a syndicated newspaper column, My Answer.

Nov. 5, 1950:
Graham hosts his first radio program, Hour of Decision. The weekly show is now carried by over 700 stations worldwide in four languages.

Sept. 17, 1950:
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is formed. Over the next several years, the organization travels to the Caribbean, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. In 1979, it becomes a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. To date, the BGEA has held over 400 crusades reaching 210 million people.

1949:
A Los Angeles crusade launches Graham into international prominence. Originally scheduled for three weeks, the event runs for two months, with overflow crowds filling a makeshift tent each night.

1945:
Graham joins Youth for Christ, an organization founded for youth and servicemen during the Second World War. He gains popularity preaching with YFC throughout North America and Europe. He makes his first Canadian appearance on June 15, 1946, at a YFC meeting in Toronto.

Aug. 13, 1943:
He marries Ruth McCue Bell, the daughter of a missionary surgeon. They have three daughters and two sons.

June 14, 1943:
Graham receives a BA from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. He serves as pastor at the First Baptist Church in Western Springs, Ill.

1940:
Graham graduates from the Florida Bible Institute, now called Trinity College.

February 1939:
Graham is ordained as a Southern Baptist minister by an ordination council of the St. John's River Association.

Nov. 4, 1938:
Billy Graham is baptized in Silver Lake, Fla.

Aug. 30 – Nov. 25, 1934:
Graham attends a series of revival meeting hosted by Mordecai Ham, an evangelist travelling through Charlotte, N.C. At age 16, he makes a personal commitment to Christ through Ham's ministry.

Nov. 17, 1918:
William Franklin Graham Jr. is born on a dairy farm in Charlotte, N.C. Growing up during the Depression, he learns the value of hard work on the family farm.