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Summary Key dates in the history of Facebook, which is to launch its public offering Friday.
-- 2004 --JANUARY: Mark Zuckerberg, a 19-year-old Harvard computer whiz, begins working out of his dormitory room on an online network. A month later, he launches thefacebook with classmates Chris Hughes, Eduardo Saverin and Dustin Moskovitz.MAY: Zuckerberg moves to Silicon Valley, decides not to return to Harvard for the fall semester.JULY: Facebook get $500,000 investment from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.-- 2005 --APRIL: Facebook gets a second round of funding: $12.7 million from Accel Partners.AUGUST: Thefacebook.com changes its name to Facebook.-- 2006 --FEBRUARY: Viacom offers to buy Facebook for $1.5 billion. Yahoo also makes an unsuccessful $1 billion bid.-- 2007 --OCTOBER: Microsoft invests $240 million in a deal that values Facebook at $15 billion. Membership tops 50 million.-- 2008 --FEBRUARY: A $65 million settlement is reached with twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss over allegations that Zuckerberg stole their idea. Facebook launches a Spanish site.MARCH: French and German sites are launched.APRIL: Facebook dethrones MySpace as the worlds most popular social network.AUGUST: Membership hits 100 million.-- 2009 --MARCH: Facebook launches the first mobile application.MAY: Russias Digital Sky Technologies invests $200 million.SEPTEMBER: Zuckerberg says the firm has become cash flow positive.-- 2010 --MAY: Pakistan blocks access to Facebook over a competition encouraging users to post caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.JULY: Membership hits 500 million, including Lady Gaga and President Barack Obama.DECEMBER: Time magazine names Zuckerberg Person of the Year for transforming the way we live our lives every day.-- 2011 --JANUARY: A private share offering raises $1.5 billion, values Facebook at $50 billion.FEBRUARY: Facebook announces plans to move from Palo Alto to former home of Sun Microsystems in Menlo Park.-- 2012 --JANUARY: Facebook files for initial public offering.MAY: Membership hits 900 million, regulatory filings show. The IPO is priced at $38 per share, giving Facebook a market value of $104 billion and raising at least $16 billion.
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