May 29, 1903: Born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, England.

1907: Family moves to Cleveland.

1915: Wins Charlie Chaplin imitation contest. Hope says later, "That really started me in show business."

1923: Makes first vaudeville appearance in Cleveland as a dancer with Mildred Rosequist.

1924: First heard in scripted comedy role as a rube master of ceremonies in Jolly Follies in Bloomington, Ind.

1927: Makes Broadway debut in Sidewalks of New York with comedy partner George Byrne and Ruby Keeler.

1930: Falls in love with golf, playing with the Diamond Brothers on the Orpheum Circuit.

1930: Rejected after a Hollywood screen test. He says, "My nose hit the screen 10 minutes before the rest of me."

1931: Plays the Palace in New York.

1932: Makes first appearance with Bing Crosby, whom he met at the Friars Club, at the Capitol Theater in New York.

1933: Signs to co-star in Broadway's Gowns by Roberta (later known as just Roberta) with George Murphy, Fred MacMurray, Sydney Greenstreet, Imogene Coca and a pit orchestra that included Glenn Miller and Gene Krupa.

1934: Marries Dolores Reade, a cabaret singer George Murphy took him to see during the runs of Roberta.

1936: Co-stars in Broadway's Red, Hot and Blue! with Jimmy Durante and Ethel Merman.

1938: Makes feature film debut in The Big Broadcast of 1938. His character sings "Thanks for the Memory."

1938: First radio show, The Bob Hope Pepsodent Show, premieres. Before that he had starred in the Woodbury Radio Show.

1940: Makes first ''Road'' picture, The Road to Singapore, with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. Subsequent ''Road films'': Road to Zanzibar, Road to Morocco, Road to Utopia, Road to Rio, Road to Bali and Road to Hong Kong.

1941: First show for the U.S. Army seven months before the attack at Pearl Harbor, at March Field in Riverside, Calif. With him are Jerry Colonna, Frances Landford and Bill Goodwin.

1948: First Christmas show for the troops, performing for GIs involved in the Berlin Airlift at the request of then-Secretary of State Stuart Symington.

1950: Debut of first TV show, The Star-Spangled Review, featuring Dinah Shore, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Les Brown and his Band of Renown.

1960: Plays in first Palm Springs Golf Classic. In 1965, he lends his name to the tournament, called the Bob Hope Desert Classic.

1962: Dedicates the Bob Hope House, a mental health treatment center for youth in Cincinnati.

1971: Eisenhower Medical Center is dedicated on 80 acres near Palm Springs, Calif., donated by Bob and Dolores Hope. Dolores was elected president of the board of trustees in 1965, a position she held until 1992.

1972: Last starring role in a feature film, Cancel My Reservation.

1972: Last Christmas show for the troops in the Vietnam War. Hope would do Christmas shows for GIs at military and veterans hospitals throughout the United States through 1982.

1983: Performs overseas in Beirut.

1986: Dedicates the Bob Hope Cultural Center in Palm Desert, Calif. The center's McCallum Theatre opens in 1988, and Hope is presented with the Hope Award in a nationally televised gala.

1987: Flies around the world in eight days to entertain U.S. troops in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, as well as in the Persian Gulf.

1989: Gives first concert with George Burns at Madison Square Garden.

1994: Returns to England and France for 50th anniversary of D-Day celebrations.

1995: Honored at his own Hope Classic Ball. Plays golf with Presidents Clinton, Bush and Ford at his Hope Chrysler Classic tournament.

1998: Is given an honorary British knighthood.

July 27, 2003: Dies of pneumonia at his home in Toluca Lake, Calif.