1878: Edison Electric Light Co. was founded with $300,000 to commercialize Thomas A. Edison's breakthrough in electricity, the incandescent lamp. The first practical application of the technology was the lighting of the steamship Columbia in 1880. Soon afterward, Edison Electric built an individual lighting system for the Holborn Viaduct in London and the Pearl Street Station in New York City.

1889: Edison Electric merged with Thomson-Houston Electric Co. to form the General Electric Co. Edison was disappointed that the company did not retain his name and attended only one board meeting. He continued to serve as a consultant and to collect royalties on his inventions.

1895: GE began to manufacture the most powerful locomotive in the world.

1896: The Dow Jones Industrial Index was created. General Electric was among the 30 companies included.

1899: GE paid its first quarterly dividend. Dividends have been paid each quarter since.

1900: GE established the first industrial laboratory in the United States.

1905: GE made the fist electric toaster.

1915: GE produced the first electric refrigerator.

1919: GE formed an alliance with AT&T and Westinghouse to form the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) to develop radio technology.

1930: GE sold its RCA holdings in compliance with government antitrust action.

1932: The consumer credit division of GE was formed to finance refrigerators. The first washing machine was rolled out.

1935: John Francis Welch Jr. was born November 19 in Peabody, Massachusetts, to John Francis and Grace Welch.

1942: GE manufactured its first aircraft engine, and to supply Allied forces in World War II, factories worked to capacity.

1954: GE designed the first jet engine that propelled an airplane at twice the speed of sound.

1956: The GE Management Development Institute at Crotonville, New York, was established.

1957: Jack Welch graduated with honors from the University of Massachusetts, a BS in chemical engineering. GE won a license from the Atomic Energy Commission to operate a nuclear power plant.

1959: Welch married Carolyn B. Osburn in November. Several senior GE executives were found guilty of a price-fixing scheme with Westinghouse. The executives were fired, but the incident raised questions about CEO Ralph Cordiner's aggressive "management by objectives" program. Suzanne Spring Wetlaufer was born.

1960: Welch earned a doctorate in chemical engineering at the University of Illinois. Welch joined General Electric's plastics division in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He was responsible for the technical development of Noryl, a plastic resin.

1961: Following a lukewarm raise at GE Plastics, Welch accepted a position as a chemical engineer in Chicago. Before he started the new job, GE induced Welch back with a raise and a promotion.

1963: Welch was placed in charge of the chemical development operation.

1968: At age 33, Welch became GE's youngest general manager ever. He was given charge of the plastics business department, which included new products like Lexan and Noryl.

1972: Welch was promoted to vice president.

1973: At age 37, Welch became group executive for the $1.5 billion components and materials group, which included all of plastics, plus GE Medical Systems.

1977: Welch was named senior vice president and sector executive for the consumer products and services sector. At the same time, he became vice chairman of GE Credit Corporation.

1978: GE built the world's largest nuclear power plant, Tokai-Mura in Japan.

1979: Welch was named vice chairman and executive officer. The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident destroyed already shaky consumer confidence in nuclear energy. Orders evaporated for GE-built nuclear reactors.

1980: GE opened a new dishwasher plant in Louisville, Kentucky, in the first phase of a $1 billion investment in major appliances.

1981: On April 1, John F. Welch, 45, became the eighth chairman of GE. GE's shares, adjusted for splits, were trading at around $4; and the company's market value was $12 billion, eleventh in the stock market. Earnings were $1.65 billion on sales of $27.24 billion.

1982: Welch's phase 1, or "hardware," restructuring began. GE invested $300 million in automating its locomotive business and another $130 million to expand the R&D center in Schenectady, New York. The air-conditioning business was sold. The television show 60 Minutes criticized GE for closing a clothes iron plant in Ontario, California, that seemed to be making money.

1983: GE sold its housewares division to Black & Decker for about $300 million.

1984: Fortune magazine called Welch the "Toughest Boss in America." GE sold Utah International mining operations to BHP of Australia for $2.4 billion and acquired. Employers Reinsurance Corporation for $1.1 billion.

1985: In December, GE announced it would buy the Radio Corporation of America for $6.3 billion in cash. NBC Television was an RCA subsidiary. GE sold its interest in Australian coal fields for $390 million. The hardware phase of the Welch revolution was completed. As a precursor to phase 2, Welch began "delayering" and then reshuffling top management. GE was indicted and pleaded guilty to improper time-card charges on a defense contract. Welch and his wife, Carolyn, divorced after 28 years of marriage, a reportedly amicable separation.

1986: GE acquired Employers Reinsurance for $1.1 billion, as well as an 80 percent stake in Kidder Peabody.

1987: GE acquired a Miami television station for $270 million and D&K Financial for $100 million, swapped its consumer electronics business for the medical equipment business of Thomson S.A., and acquired Geico Corp. for $250 million. GE sold North America Co. for Life & Health for $200 million.

1988: Welch began the "software" revolution at GE in earnest. The concept of "workout" was born. The semiconductor business was sold to Harris Corporation. GE also sold RCA Global Communications for $160 million and five radio stations for $122 million. GE acquired Montgomery Ward's credit card operation for $1 billion, Roper Corp. for $510 million, and Borg-Warner's plastics business for $2.3 billion.

1989: In April, Welch and his second wife, investment lawyer Jane Beasley, were married. GE launched its innovative workout program.

1991: GE passed IBM as the nation's most valued corporation.

1993: Joe Jett's phantom trading scheme bilked Kidder Peabody for $210 million in net income.

1994: Kidder Peabody's trading operation was liquidated, and the investment firm was swapped for 25 percent equity in Paine Webber.

1995: Welch underwent quintuple-bypass heart surgery. GE launched its Six Sigma quality control effort.

1996: GE achieved $150 billion market capitalization, largest of any company in the world. It was the most profitable company in the United States.

1997: GE was the first company in the world to achieve a $200 billion market capitalization. Welch was inducted into the National Business Hall of Fame in Cincinnati.

1999: Fortune magazine named Jack Welch "Manager of the Century." Jack and Jane Welch's 10-year prenuptial agreement expired.

2000: Jack Welch was expected to retire but did not. He stayed on for a failed attempt to purchase Honeywell from Allied Signal.

2001: In September, Welch retired from GE after 41 years of service. On October 11, Welch met Harvard Business Review editor Suzy Wetlaufer. Welch was ranked on Forbes 400 Richest Americans, a position he held through 2004. His autobiography, Jack: Straight from the Gut, was published by HarperCollins.

2002: Welch and his second wife, Jane, were divorced.

2004: Jack and Suzy Wetlaufer were married.

2005: Winning, Welch's second book, was published by Random House.

2006: Welch gave his name to Sacred Heart University for the business school to be called the "John F. Welch College of Business."