April 2, 1926: Nasser’s mother dies while he was aged eight, an event that left a deep scar on him for the rest of his life.
March 1937: Nasser attends the Military Academy as a cadet.
May 1948: He joins the Palestine war as a member of an Egyptian army battalion sent to battle against the Israelis.
July 23, 1952: Young army officers led by Nasser announce the success of a revolution against the Egyptian monarchy.
July 26, 1952: King Farouk leaves Egypt for Italy after he has been forced by the young revolutionaries to abdicate in favour of his six-month-old son Ahmad Fouad
June 18, 1953: Monarchy is abolished and a republican system is declared in Egypt. Mohammad Najeeb becomes the country’s first president and a prime minister. Nasser is named a deputy prime minister and the interior minister.
July 27, 1954: Nasser signs a pact providing for Britain’s withdrawal from Egypt after decades-long colonialisation.
October 26, 1954: Nasser survives an assassination attempt blamed on the Muslim Brotherhood. The attempt triggers a tough crackdown on the Islamist group.
January 24, 1956: Nasser is elected a president by vast majority in a referendum.
July 20, 1956: The US announces its refusal to finance the building of the High Dam, a massive hydroelectric structure that Nasser regards as vital for Egypt’s agro-industrial development.
July 23, 1956: Nasser defiantly announces the nationalisation of the Suez Canal, a major international waterway, in order to use its revenues in financing the building of the High Dam in Upper Egypt.
October 29, 1956: Israel, France and Britain begin military attacks on Egypt in retaliation for the Suez Canal nationalisation move.
February 1, 1958: Egypt and Syria merge and declare the establishment of the United Arab Republic. The merger collapses three years later.
June 5, 1967: Israel launches a surprise attack on Egypt, occupying the Sinai Peninsula and dealing it an ignoble military defeat.
June 9, 1967: Nasser announces his decision to step down, a move that prompts tens of thousands to take to the streets, demanding to stay on. He later bows to the popular pressure and revokes his resignation.
September 28, 1970: Nasser dies of a heart attack at the end an Arab summit in Cairo. An estimated 5 million people attend his funeral.
