1954 (Nov 26): Born in Jaffna in a Hindu middle class family, the youngest of two sons and two daughters.
1960-70s: Takes to militancy, indulges in minor acts of violence.
1972: Forms Tamil New Tigers (TNT), flees home for good.
1975: Assassinates Jaffna Mayor Alfred Duriappah at Hindu temple.
1976: TNT becomes Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
1978: LTTE issues first press statement.
1982: Arrested in Madras (now Chennai) after a shootout with a rival Tamil militant. Jailed, bailed, escapes to Sri Lanka.
1983: Ambushes army patrol in Jaffna, killing 13 soldiers. Anti-Tamil riots sweep Colombo, leaving hundreds dead and igniting Tamil insurgency.
1983 (September): Moves to Tamil Nadu, sets up home in Chennai. LTTE training camps come up in Tamil Nadu.
1984: Meets Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran and seeks support. Marries Jaffna university student. They go on to have two sons and daughter.
1985 (May): Orders massacre of Buddhists in the holy town of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.
1986 (April-May): Orders slaughter of Tamil militants from rival group TELO.
1987 (January): Quits India for good, saying there is an attempt to kill him.
1987 (July): Meets Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in New Delhi and says he accepts India-Sri Lanka accord meant to end Tamil separatism.
1987 (August): Gives speech in Jaffna, saying "We love India", but tells aides he will teach India a lesson for betraying Tamil Eelam cause.
1987 (October): Launches war against Indian troops deployed in Sri Lanka's northeast.
1989 (April-June): Goes into peace talks with Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa, who asks Indian troops to go home.
1989 (July): LTTE kills well known Tamil politicians A. Amirthalingam and V. Yogeswaran in Colombo.
1990 (April): Takes control of Jaffna, addresses the media.
1990 (June): Resumes war against Sri Lanka for Tamil Eelam, orders 100,000 Muslims living in Jaffna to quit. Rival militant K. Pathmanabha and aides killed in Chennai, India.
1991 (March): Sri Lankan Defence Minister Ranjan Wijeratne killed by car bomb.
1991 (May): LTTE woman suicide bomber assassinates former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi at election rally near Chennai.
1992 (August): Sri Lanka's northern army command wiped out.
1992 (November): LTTE suicide bomber riding motorcycle kills Sri Lanka Navy chief Clancey Fernando.
1993: Sri Lankan President Premadasa killed at May Day rally.
1993 (August): Arrests LTTE number two Mahattaya on charges of being Indian spy, executes him in December 1994.
1994: Agrees to talk to President Chandria Kumaratunga. Fighting halts.
1995: Sri Lankan presidential candidate Gamini Dissanayake assassinated. Resumes war against for Tamil Eelam.
1995 (December): Loses Jaffna to Sri Lankan troops.
1996 (July): LTTE slaughters 1,200 soldiers and policemen in military complex in just 72 hours.
1997-99: Takes control of large parts of north and east in Sri Lanka.
1999 (December): President Kumaratunga escapes assassination attempt, is blinded in one eye.
2000-01: Sri Lanka approaches Norway to facilitate peace talks with LTTE.
2001 (July): LTTE suicide cadres overrun Sri Lanka's only international airport, destroys 13 aircraft.
2002 (February): Signs Norway-brokered ceasefire agreement with Sri Lanka.
2002 (April): Addresses Sri Lankan, international media in Kilinochchi, says he will never give up Tamil Eelam cause.
2003 (April): Walks out of Norway-backed peace process.
2004 (March): Faces revolt by LTTE eastern regional commander Karuna and hundreds of cadres in eastern province.
2005 (August): Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar shot dead by LTTE sniper.
2006 (April): Army General Sarath Fonseka badly hurt in attack by woman suicide bomber.
2006 (December): Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa, brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, survives assassination attempt
2007: Launches air strike near Colombo. LTTE loses eastern province to Sri Lanka. Prabhakaran vows to fight back.
2008 (January): Sri Lanka spikes ceasefire agreement. LTTE begins to lose territory in north.
2008 (November): Mocks President Rajapaksa, says LTTE territory can never be seized.
2009 (January): Loses Kilinochchi, hub of de facto Tamil Eelam state; retreats into Mullaitivu district.
2009 (May 17): Decides to "silence" guns and end armed struggle.
2009 (May 1
: Prabhakaran killed while trying to escape from war zone in Mullaitivu district. Heir apparent son and all key aides also killed.
