West Point

• 13 June 1899 – appointed as a cadet at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York.
• 1900: Is the victim of hazing and becomes involved in a serious scandal where one cadet is left dead by upperclassman abuse. During the investigation he implicates only cadets who were already expelled from West Point or had previously confessed.
• 11 June 1903 – Graduates first in his class, commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers

Early career

• October 1903: Serves with Company I, 3rd Battalion of Engineers in the Philippine Islands.
• November 1903: Ambushed by two Filipino brigands or guerrillas while constructing a wharf in Guimaras. He shot and killed both of them.
• April 1904: Promoted to First Lieutenant.
• November 1904: Becomes assistant to Chief Engineering Officer for the Army Pacific Division in San Francisco, California.
• January 1905: Assigned to the California Debris Commission until October 1905.
• Acting Chief Engineer Officer, Pacific Division, July 1905 to October 1905.
• November 1905: Reports to Tokyo, Japan to serve as an aide to his father (Major General Arthur MacArthur, Jr.) in the Far East. Sees service in numerous locations in the Far East.
• August 1906: Takes three month furlough. Returns to United States.
• November 1906: Assigned to 2nd Engineer Battalion at Washington Barracks.
• December 1906: Serves as aide-de-camp to President Theodore Roosevelt
• August 1907: Attends the Engineering School of Application in Washington, D.C. Graduates 28 February 1908.
• March 1908: Assigned as the Officer-in-Charge (OIC), Improvements Commission, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• April 1908: Appointed as commanding officer, Company K, 3rd Battalion of Engineers. Later that year becomes an instructor at the Mounted Service School, Fort Riley, Kansas
• April 1909: Becomes Quartermaster for the 3rd Battalion of Engineers.
• 27 February 1911: Promoted to captain and serves as the Officer-in-Charge of the Engineering Depot at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
• April 1913: Appointed as superintendent of the State, War, and Navy Building in Washington, D.C.
• 25 September 1913: Assigned to the General Staff Corps, for duty as a member and recorder of the Board of Engineering Troops.
• April 1914: Becomes the assistant engineering officer of the military expedition to Veracruz, Mexico. Conducts an unauthorized reconnaissance mission during which he engages in three gun fights in which he kills a total of seven Mexicans.^[1]
• 11 December 1915: Promoted to major, serves as an engineering officer on the Army General Staff.

World War I

• 10 August 1917: Becomes chief of staff of the 42nd Division and is credited with naming it the "Rainbow Division".
• 11 August 1917: Promoted to the temporary rank of colonel in the National Army. Reports to Camp Mills, Long Island, New York to begin forming the 42nd Division.
• November 1917: Departs U.S. for France and joins the American Expeditionary Force.
• 26 June 1918: Appointed a brigadier general in the National Army and in August is appointed as commander of the 84th Infantry Brigade, which is part of the 42nd Division. Briefly commands the 42nd Division from 10 to 22 November 1918.
• 1918 – 1919: Receives two Distinguished Service Crosses and seven Silver Star Citations (later converted to Silver Stars) for battlefield leadership and bravery and also is wounded in action and gassed by the enemy. Was known for personally leading troops into battle, often without a weapon of his own. Begins to develop a negative relationship with General of the Armies John Pershing, after feeling that Pershing is wasting the lives of his troops with bad military tactics.
• May 1919: Returns to the United States as a hero, but is distraught over the lack of recognition his Rainbow Division receives for actions in France.

Inter-war years

• 12 June 1919: Becomes the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy, West Point.^[2]
• 20 January 1920: Appointed as a brigadier general in the Regular Army.^[2] Is one of the few officers who retain their wartime rank. Receives a negative evaluation report from Pershing, now Chief of Staff, who ranks Macarthur 38 out of 45 generals and states that MacArthur has an "exalted view of himself and should remain in his present grade for several years".
• February 1922: Married socialite Louise Cromwell Brooks in Palm Beach, Florida.
• 1 November 1922: Becomes Commanding General, District of Manila, in the Philippines.^[2]
• 29 June 1923: While still serving as District of Manila Commander, also becomes commander of the 23rd Infantry Brigade.
• 18 November 1924: Assigned as commander of the Philippine Division.^[2]
• 17 January 1925: Promoted to major general, becoming the youngest two-star general in the U.S. Army.
• 1 February 1925: Returns to the United States to become a corps commander.^[2]
• 1 May 1925: Assigned as 4th Corps Area Commander, encompassing the southeastern states with headquarters in Atlanta.^[2] Quickly reassigned as local residents did not welcome MacArthur because his father was a Union officer during the Civil War.
• 25 July 1925: Relieved of assignment as 4th Corps Area Commander.
• 1 August 1925 – 3 September 1928: Serves as 3rd Corps Area Commander, with headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland.^[2]
• November to December 1925: Serves as a member of the court martial of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell.
• 16 September 1927 to 1928: Serves as president of the American Olympic Committee. Leads the United States Olympic Team to Amsterdam in August 1928.
• 1 October 1928: Assigned as the Commanding General of the Philippine Department, with headquarters in Manila.^[2]
• 1929: Divorces his wife Louise due to mutual incompatibility.
• 2 October 1930: Becomes the commander of the Ninth Corps Area with headquarters at the Presidio of San Francisco, California.^[2]
• 21 November 1930: Appointed by President Hoover as Chief of Staff of the United States Army and promoted to the rank of general on the same date.^[2]
• 1931: Proposes the Army General Staff Badge but it is not approved by the War Department until 1933.
• 22 February 1932: Re-establishes the Purple Heart on the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Washington. Previously, wound chevrons were worn on the right sleeve of the uniform.
• 27 February 1932: Installed as the Supreme Paramount Carabao of the Military Order of the Carabao in Washington, D.C.
• June 1932: Presides over the dispersal of the "Bonus Army", deemed a low point of his tenure as Army Chief of Staff.
• 16 July 1932: Establishes the Silver Star decoration for valor in combat to replace the Silver Citation Star which was worn on the appropriate campaign medal.
• 1 October 1935: Completes his tour as chief of staff and declines retirement from the army. Per Army regulations, reverts to his permanent rank of major general.
• October 1935: Meets heiress Jean Faircloth on his voyage to the Philippines.
• 26 October 1935: Arrives in the Philippines and becomes the Chief Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines. Makes his residence at the Manila Hotel.
• 3 December 1935: Mary Pinkney "Pinkie" Hardy MacArthur (b. 1852) dies in Manila.
• 14 January 1936: Made a Master Mason at Sight by Samuel R. Hawthorne, Grand Master of the Philippines.
• 24 August 1936: Commissioned as a field marshal in the Philippine Army. Only person to ever hold that rank in the Philippine Army. Begins wearing the "scrambled eggs" cap often associated with his image.
• 30 April 1937: Marries Jean Faircloth in New York City.
• 31 December 1937: Retires from the U.S. Army at his own request. Placed on the retired list as a four-star general.
• 1 January 1938 – 25 July 1941: Civilian adviser to the Philippine Government on military matters.
• 21 February 1938: Son Arthur MacArthur IV is born in Manila.

World War II

Occupation of Japan

• 15 December 1945: Orders the end of Shinto as the state religion of Japan.
• 1945 – 1948: Begins sweeping reforms, drafts a new constitution for Japan granting women the right to vote, and puts an end to centuries of Emperor god-worship.
• January 1946: Decides not to prosecute Emperor Hirohito for war crimes because the Emperor was invaluable to MacArthur's efforts to reform Japan.
• 19 January 1946: The International Military Tribunal sits in Tokyo to conduct war crimes trials. MacArthur is given final authority to approve convictions and to carry out sentences.
• 23 March 1946: Permanently promoted to General of the Army.
• 10 April 1946: First free elections in Japan's history. Japanese women vote for the first time.
• 10 May 1946: Visited in Tokyo by Army Chief of Staff Dwight D. Eisenhower. Its the first time the men have met since December 1939.^[3]
• 4 July 1946: The Philippines become an independent nation. MacArthur, representing the United States Army, attends the celebration in Manila.
• 14 December 1946: Invested with the Grand Cross of the French Legion of Honor.
• 1 January 1947: Far East Command established with headquarters in Tokyo.
• 3 May 1947: Japan's new constitution, greatly influenced by MacArthur, goes into effect.
• June 1948: Receives 11 votes for the presidential nomination at the 1948 Republican National Convention.
• 9 July 1948: Returned to the active list of the Regular Army. He had officially been a retired officer on active duty since 26 July 1941.

Korean War

• 1950: Elected an honorary member of the New York Society of the Cincinnati.
• 21 June 1950: Meets with future Secretary of State John Foster Dulles in Tokyo.
• 25 June 1950: Invasion by North Korea into South Korea.
• 8 July 1950: Named Commander-in-Chief of United Nations Command and takes command of all United Nations forces in Korea.
• 31 July 1950: Travels to Taiwan and conducts diplomacy with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek.
• 15 September 1950: Leads UN forces at the invasion at Inchon, which is seen as one of the greatest military operations in history.
• 1 October 1950: Calls on North Korean forces to lay down their arms.
• 15 October 1950: Meets with President Truman on Wake Island after heavy disagreements develop regarding the conduct of the Korean War. When meeting Truman, it is very noticeable that MacArthur does not salute his Commander-in-Chief but rather offers a handshake. Truman awards MacArthur a fourth oak leaf cluster on his Distinguished Service Medal.
• 19 October 1950: China intervenes in North Korea with 200,000 troops.
• November – December 1950: With China committed to all-out war against the US on the Korean peninsula, MacArthur advocates for the same in return against China but is prohibited. He is outraged when military leaders in Washington restrict the war to only the Korean theater, meaning that he cannot bomb even the bridges of the Yalu river over which Chinese troops, supplies, and material are streaming across. He is further restricted from bombing their bases in Manchuria. MacArthur expressed his outrage later, saying that "The order not to bomb the Yalu bridges was the most indefensible and ill-conceived decision ever forced on a field commander in our nation's history."
• 25 March 1951: MacArthur is directed to clear his press releases with Washington prior to making them public.
• 5 April 1951: Republican Congressman Joseph Martin reads a letter written to him by MacArthur on 20 March 1951 to the House of Representatives. In the letter MacArthur supports Martin's view that Chinese Nationalist forces should be employed in the Korean War. This position is in conflict with the policies of the Truman administration.
• 10 April 1951: President Truman meets with senior officials regarding, in Truman's opinion, MacArthur's insubordination.^[4] It is decided that MacArthur should be relieved of command of United Nations forces in Korea.
• 11 April 1951: After several public criticisms of White House policy in Korea, which were seen as undercutting the Commander-in-Chief's position, President Truman removes MacArthur from command and orders him to return to the United States. Some suggest Truman may have exchanged MacArthur for a sound nuclear policy in Korea since he did not trust "Brass Hat MacArthur" with nuclear weapons. Some disagree with this, however, since MacArthur later came out against Truman's use of the bomb against Japan and there seems to be no concrete evidence of a major change in his views.^[5] MacArthur's commands are turned over to Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgway.
• 8 September 1951: Peace treaty with Japan signed. Position of Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) abolished.

Later life

• 19 April 1951: At a farewell address before the United States Congress, MacArthur gives his famous "Old Soldiers Never Die" speech.^[6]
• April 1951: Awarded Gold Commemorative Medal by New York City.
• 20 April 1951: Honored with a ticker tape parade in New York City.
• 25 April 1951: Addresses a crowd of 50,000 at Soldier Field in Chicago.
• 27 April 1951: Visits Milwaukee, Wisconsin and accepts honorary degree from Marquette University.
• 28 April 1951: Awarded Distinguished Service Citizens Medal by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
• 1 May 1951: Awarded Gold Good Citizenship Medal by the Sons of the American Revolution.
• 3-5 May 1951: Appears before the Senate committees on Foreign Relations and Armed Services. MacArthur answers questions about the conduct of the Korean War and his relief from command. The hearings continue until 27 June 1951.
• May 1951: Retires a second time from the U.S. Army, but is listed as permanently on active duty due to the regulations regarding those who hold the rank of General of the Army. For administrative reasons, he is assigned in absentee to the office of the Army Chief of Staff. Makes his residence at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.
• 13 June 1951: Addresses the Texas State Legislature in Austin. Warns against a policy of appeasement.
• 25 July 1951: Addresses the Massachusetts State Legislature in Boston. He states that it is a dangerous concept for members of the military to owe their primary allegiance to those in temporary authority in the executive branch of government rather than to their country and its Constitution.
• 17 October 1951: Addresses the National Convention of the American Legion in Miami, Florida.
• 1952: Allows name to be placed on primary ballots for Republican nomination, but does not campaign or announce as a candidate.
• July 1952: Delivers the keynote address at the 1952 Republican National Convention. Senator Robert Taft promises supporters to name MacArthur as candidate for vice president, but Taft loses to nomination to Eisenhower on the 1st ballot. MacArthur received 10 votes on the 1st ballot before shifts and only 4 votes after shifts.
• 1952: Nominated for president, without his consent, by both the Constitution Party and the America First Party, with Senator Harry F. Byrd as the nominee for vice president. Receives 17,205 votes nationwide.
• 1952: Accepts position as chairman of the board of directors of Remington Rand Corporation.
• 17 December 1952: At the request of President-elect Eisenhower, MacArthur meets with him and Secretary of State designate John Foster Dulles at the Waldorf Astoria to discuss MacArthur's suggestions for ending the Korean War. This is the first meeting between the two in six years.
• 18 March 1954: Meets with President Eisenhower at the White House.
• 1955: Is considered for promotion to the rank of General of the Armies. The promotion does not take place, various difficulties having arisen.
• 30 July 1957: Addresses stockholders meeting of the Sperry Rand Corporation. Comments on the negative economic impact of taxation.
• 1959: The MacArthur Bowl trophy is established. It is a trophy awarded annually by the National Football Foundation (NFF) (owners and operators of the College Football Hall of Fame) to the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football team(s) that are recognized by the NFF as the National Champions for that season.
• 1 December 1959: Addresses Football Hall of Fame dinner in New York City.
• 1960: Active in U.S. Olympic affairs.
• 21 June 1960: Invested with the Grand Cordon with Paulownia Flowers of the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun. (This makes MacArthur one of the few generals in history to be honored by a country he fought against.)
• 10 January 1961: Invested as Chief Commander of the Philippine Legion of Honor.
• 28 April 1961: Meets with President John F. Kennedy at the Waldorf Astoria.
• 6 June 1961: Arthur MacArthur IV graduates from Columbia University. Lives a reclusive adult life in New York City under an assumed name.
• 4 July 1961: Visits the Philippines on the fifteenth anniversary of its independence. This is his last appearance in uniform.
• 20 July 1961: Meets with President Kennedy at the White House.
• 1961: Awarded an honorary Combat Infantryman Badge by Army Chief of Staff General George H. Decker. During World War II, Decker served as chief of staff of the Sixth United States Army, which was a major element under MacArthur's command.
• 12 May 1962: Gives famous Duty, Honor, Country speech at West Point upon accepting the Sylvanus Thayer Award granted by the West Point Association of Graduates.
• 25 May 1962: Awarded Silver Buffalo Award from the Boy Scouts of America.
• 20 July 1962: Awarded the Thanks of Congress by unanimous vote.^[7]
• 16 August 1962: Meets with President Kennedy at the White House.
• 9 October 1962: Awarded Congressional Gold Medal.
• 30 September 1963: Awarded the Distinguished Achievement Medal by Freemasonry.

Illness and death

• 2 March 1964: Goes to Walter Reed Army Hospital for a checkup due to stomach pains.
• 6 March 1964: Has surgery for removal of his gallbladder and of gallstones, which had been causing obstructive jaundice.
• March 1964: Visited by President Lyndon Johnson while recovering from surgery.
• 5 April 1964: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur dies of liver and kidney failure following gallbladder surgery at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. President Johnson orders all US flags be flown at half staff until after MacArthur's burial.
• 7 April 1964: Lies in honor at the Seventh Regiment Armory in New York City.
• 8-9 April 1964: Lies in state at the United States Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C. Eulogies are given by the chaplains of the House and Senate and President Johnson lays a wreath on MacArthur's casket. Admiral of the Navy George Dewey and General of the Armies John Pershing are the only other military officers who were not presidents or senators to have lain in state at the Capitol.
• 11 April 1964: Interred at the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Virginia.
• 22 January 2000: Jean MacArthur dies in New York City and is buried next to her husband.