1502    Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras during his fourth voyage.

1821    Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica jointly declare independence from Spain.

1851    Honduras and El Salvador, during their invasion of Guatemala, are repelled at the Battle of La Arada.

1895    El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua form the Greater Republic of Central America.

1914    Honduras becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.

1919    U.S. Marines invade Honduras.

1932    Martial law is declared in Honduras to stop revolt by banana workers fired by United Fruit.

1953    Ernesto "Che" Guevara sets out on a trip through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador.

1969    Football War: after Honduras loses a soccer match against El Salvador, riots break out in Honduras against Salvadoran migrant workers.

1969    A cease fire is announced between Honduras and El Salvador, 6 days after the beginning of the "Football War"

1974    Hurricane Fifi strikes Honduras with 110 mph winds, killing 5,000 people.

1976    In Guatemala and Honduras an earthquake kills more than 22,000.

1980    El Salvador and Honduras sign a peace treaty to put the border dispute fought over in 1969's Football War before the International Court of Justice.

1998    Hurricane Mitch, the second deadliest Atlantic hurricane in history, makes landfall in Honduras.