From Harvard dorm to global phenomenon
Key dates in the history of Facebook, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary in February
January 2004
Mark Zuckerberg, a 19-year-old computer whiz at Harvard University, begins working out of his dormitory room on an online network aimed initially at connecting Harvard students
February 2004
Thefacebook.com is launched by Zuckerberg and three Harvard roommates and classmates: Chris Hughes, Eduardo Saverin and Dustin Moskovitz
May 2004
Zuckerberg moves to Silicon Valley and decides not to return to Harvard for the fall semester
July 2004
The new company receives its first investment: $500,000 from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel
September 2004
"The Wall" is added to user profiles
April 2005
Second major round of funding: $12.7 million from Accel Partners
August 2005
Thefacebook.com officially changes its name to Facebook
February 2006
Viacom offers to buy Facebook for $1.5 billion but is turned down
September 2006
Yahoo also makes an unsuccessful $1 billion bid for the social network. Facebook adds the "News Feed" and opens up to anyone over the age of 13.
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October 2007
Microsoft takes a $240 million stake in Facebook, which has 50 million members
February 2008
A $65 million settlement is reached with twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss over allegations that Zuckerberg stole their idea for Facebook while at Harvard. Facebook launches a Spanish site.
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April 2008
Facebook dethrones MySpace to become the world's most popular social networking website
August 2008
Facebook membership hits 100 million
March 2009
Facebook launches the first mobile application for the site.
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April 2009
Membership hits 200 million
September 2009
Membership hits 300 million. Zuckerberg says the social network has become "cash flow positive," meaning it is earning enough to cover operating costs
December 2009
In one of many privacy flaps, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Center for Digital Democracy and others ask the US Federal Trade Commission to look into Facebook privacy policies, claiming it had deceived users over protection of their personal data.
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July 2010
Membership hits 500 million. Lady Gaga becomes the first person with 10 million fans on Facebook, breaking the barrier a few days ahead of US President Barack Obama
October 2010
"The Social Network," director David Fincher's movie about the origins of Facebook, hits movie theaters. The film written by Aaron Sorkin and starring Jesse Eisenberg and pop star Justin Timberlake is a box office hit. Nominated for eight Oscars, it takes three: best adapted screenplay, original score and film editing
December 2010
Time magazine names Zuckerberg Person of the Year for "transforming the way we live our lives every day."
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February 2011
Facebook announces plans to move from Palo Alto to a sprawling campus once home to Sun Microsystems in nearby Menlo Park.
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April 2011
Obama visits Facebook headquarters, taking questions from Zuckerberg, employees and an online audience
September 2011
Timeline pages are introduced that let Facebook users turn their profiles into interactive digital scrap books that tell the stories of their lives.
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November 2011
Facebook agrees to tighten privacy policies and submit to external audits in a settlement with US regulators
January 2012
Facebook files for an initial public offering.
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May 2012
Some $16 billion raised in the richest technology IPO, giving the company a market value of $104 billion. A hoodie-clad Zuckerberg remotely rings the Nasdaq bell from Facebook's California headquarters on the first trading day. Membership hits 900 million
August 2012
Facebook closes its deal to buy the popular photo-sharing app Instagram. The purchase price was $1 billion when announced, but less at the closing because of a slump in Facebook's share price.
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October 2012
Facebook membership tops one billion.
Read more Facebook at 10: From Harvard dorm to global phenomenon related news
January 2013
Facebook launches a "social graph" search engine to find posts on the network, in collaboration with Microsoft.
Read more Facebook at 10: From Harvard dorm to global phenomenon related news
April 2013
Zuckerberg forms a political lobby group called FWD.us to press for reforms in immigration and education policy. The "Facebook Home" software suite platform for smartphones is announced.
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November 2013
According to media reports, Facebook makes an unsuccessful $3 billion offer for the Snapchat messaging platform.
Read more Facebook at 10: From Harvard dorm to global phenomenon related news
January 2014
Facebook shares hit a record high ahead of the company's 10th anniversary, giving the group a market value above $150 billion. Profit reported for 2013 jumps to $1.5 billion on revenue of $7.9 billion.
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