Born – 14th June 1946
Father – Fred Trump (1905 – 1993)
Mother – Mary MacLeod Trump (1912 – 2000)
Spouses – m. 1977, div. 1992 – Ivana Zelnickova (b. 1949); m. 1993, div. 1999 – Marla Maples (b. 1963); m. 2005 – Melania Knauss (b. 1970)
Children – by Ivana -Donald (b. 1977), Ivanka (b. 1981), Eric (b. 1984); by Marla – Tiffany (b. 1993); by Melania – Barron (b. 2007)
President of the United States – 2017 – Present
Predecessor – Barack Obama – 2009 – 2017
1946 (14th June)
Donald John Trump was born the fourth of five children to Fred Trump and Mary nee MacLeod at Jamaica Estates, New York, United States.
1951 (September)
Donald attended Kew Forest School in Forest Hills, New York.
1959 (September)
Due to behaviour problems at Kew Forest School, Donald’s parents sent him to the New York Military Academy.
1964 (Summer)
Donald graduated from the New York Military Academy.
1964 (Summer)
During the Summer holidays Donald worked for his father who was a successful real estate developer.
1964 (Autumn)
Donald attended Fordham University in the Bronx, New York studying Finance
1966 (during)
Donald was given a student deferment against military service in the Vietnam War.
1966 (Autumn)
Donald left Fordham and transferred to Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, University of Pennsylvania because he felt it offered him a better education.
1968 (during)
Donald was given a medical deferment against military service in the Vietnam War.
1968 (Summer)
Donald graduated from Wharton School of Finance and Commerce with a degree in Economics.
1968 (Summer)
Donald joined his father’s real estate company.
1969 (December)
Donald was given a very high draft number in the service lottery and again avoided military service in the Vietnam War.
1970 (21st June)
The Penn Central Transportation Company was declared bankrupt. It was the largest company to ever be declared bankrupt.
1970 (late Summer)
Donald obtained an option on the railroad’s yards and applied to build a number of apartments on the site. When building permission was refused he re-applied for permission to build a Convention Center and this was given permission.
1971 (during)
Donald became President of the Trump Management Company.
1971 (during)
Fred made a loan to his son, Donald, who wanted to concentrate on building projects in Manhattan that would bring a high return. It is believed that the loan was in excess of $14 million.
1974 (During)
Donald obtained an option on the Commodore, one of the Penn Central’s hotels. The hotel was unprofitable but was in an excellent location. Trump was able to turn it around as the Grand Hyatt into a popular and profitable hotel. This achievement also had the benefit of bringing Donald Trump to public notice.
1977 (7th April)
Donald married Ivana Zelnickova, a Czech model at the Marble Collegiate Church.
1977 (31st December)
A son, Donald Jnr was born to Donald and Ivana Trump.
1979 (During)
Work started on Trump Towers, a 58 storey building to serve as the Trump Organisation Headquarters. It also contains the penthouse living quarters of Trump.
1981 (30th October)
A daughter, Ivanka, was born to Donald and Ivana Trump.
1983 (30th November)
Trump Towers, which had begun development in 1979 was officially opened.
1984 (6th January)
A son, Eric, was born to Donald and Ivana Trump.
1986 (During)
Donald Trump took over the contract for repairs to the Wollman Rink in Central Park when the original contractor went over deadline. Trump completed the project ahead of schedule and under budget.
1988 (During)
Trump bought the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey but it didn’t do well and he was unable to meet repayments on the loan taken out to buy the property.
1991 (During)
Donald and Ivana Trump were divorced. The couple had drifted apart and Donald was involved with Marla Maples.
1991 (5th October)
The Taj Mahal Casino was facing bankruptcy but the banks, eager to recoup some of their money agreed to a deal whereby Trump retained a 50% share with the other 50% going to the bondholders.
1993 (13th October)
A daughter, Tiffany, was born to Donald Trump and Marla Maples.
1993 (20th December)
Donald married Marla Maples.
1995 (During)
The Gulf and Western Hotel was stripped down and rebuilt as the Trump International Hotel and Tower, a 44 storey building on Columbus Circle, New York.
1996 (During)
Trump purchased the company that ran Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants
1997 (During)
Donald and Marla Trump separated.
1997 (During)
Work began on Trump Place, also known as Riverside South, Manhattan.
1998 (During)
Donald Trump became involved with Melania Knauss.
1999 (During)
Trump’s father died and left his estate of around $250 million to his four children.
1999 (During)
Donald and Marla Trump were divorced.
2001 (During)
The 72 floor Trump World Tower building was completed. It had taken two years to complete.
2003 (During)
Trump became producer and host of the reality show The Apprentice.
2004 (April)
Donald Trump became engaged to Melania Knauss.
2005 (22nd January)
Donald married Melania Knauss at Palm Beach, Florida.
2006 (20th March)
A son, Barron William was born to Donald and Melania Trump.
2009 (15th June)
Donald Trump, a wrestling fan, purchased the WWE RAW show from WWE owner Vince McMohan.
2015 (16th June)
Donald Trump announced that he would be standing for election as Republican candidate for President of the United States
2015 (September)
WME/IMG purchased the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA from Trump.
2016 (26th May)
Donald Trump secured the Republican nomination for Presidential Candidate.
2016 (26th September)
Donald Trump went head to head in the first Presidential debate with Hillary Clinton. Polls suggested that he lost the debate.
2016 (9th October)
Donald Trump went head to head in the second Presidential debate with Hillary Clinton. Polls suggested that he lost the debate.
2016 (19th October)
Donald Trump went head to head in the third Presidential debate with Hillary Clinton. Polls suggested that he lost the debate.
2016 (8th November)
Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States.
2017 (20th January)
Donald Trump was inaugurated 45th President of the United States. He and his family moved into the White House.
2017 (24th March)
Donald Trump’s bill to overthrow Obamacare was withdrawn pending a defeat in congress.
2017 (6th April)
Donald Trump fired a number of missiles at a Syrian airbase in retaliation for a chemical weapon attack allegedly carried out by President Assad on his own people.
2017 (May)
Trump made an overseas visit to Israel, Italy, the Vatican and Belgium.
2017 (9th May)
Donald Trump fired the head of the FBI, James Comey.
2017 (1st June)
Trump announced that the US would withdraw from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Trump does not agree with scientists about global warming.
2017 (early August)
Tensions increased between the US and North Korea. Kim-Jong-Un threatened to attack Guam and Trump responded that if he went ahead then “things will happen to them like they never thought possible.”
2017 (12th August)
Donald Trump failed to immediately condemn the actions of white supremacists in Charlottesville.
2017 (6th December)
Trump announced his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. He confirmed this recognition by moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. His action was widely condemned by World leaders and the United Nations.
2018 (February)
Donald Trump faced increasing demands for gun control from students and parents folowing a shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School, Florida.
2018 (March)
President Trump established new import tariffs for steel and aluminium. In response the EU imposed tariffs on US imports.
2018 (23rd April)
Donald and Melania Trump hosted a state dinner in honour of French President Emmanuel Macron.
2018 (18th May)
Trump pulled the US out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA – Iran Nuclear Deal).
2018 (12th June)
Donald Trump met with North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un in Singapore and reached agreement regarding the USA’s relationship with North Korea.
2018 (20th June)
In the face of widespread protest at the policy of separating children from parents when they illegally enter the US, Trump signed an order to end the separation of children from their parents at the border.
2018 (September)
Tariffs on Chinese imports were increased. The Chinese responded by increasing US imports into China.
2018 (22nd December)
The government was shut down after it refused to vote funds for Trump to build the wall at the border with Mexico.
2019 (23rd January)
Diplomatic relations between the US and Venezuela were broken after Trump recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as President of Venezuela stating a lack of democratic process in the country.
2019 (25th January)
Trump signed a bill to allow the government to be funded for three weeks. This allowed government workers to be paid for the first time since December.
2019 (15th February)
A bill was signed agreeing to fund the government until the end of September.
2019 (15th February)
Trump declared a national emergency situation at the border with Mexico and ordered funds be directed to build a wall along the border.
2019 (15th February)
Donald Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met for nuclear disarmament talks in Hanoi, Vietnam. The talks were cut short after they failed to reach an agreement.
2019 (22nd March)
The Mueller Report was published. It revealed strong evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election.
2019 (10th May)
Trade negotiations with China broke down and Donald Trump immediately imposed tariffs on imports of Chinese goods.
2019 (3rd June)
Donald Trump began a three-day state visit to the United Kingdom.
2019 (24th September)
The Speaker of the House of Representatives began an impeachment inquiry into the allegation that Donald Trump put pressure on the President of Ukraine to investigate the activities of his 2020 election opponent, Joe Biden.
2019 (9th October)
Following an attack on Syrian Kurds by Turkey, Trump issued a statement that the United States would not help the Kurds. He reasoned this by saying that they did not help America on D-Day so America would not help them. His stance was widely denounced.
2019 (26th October)
It was announced that US forces had killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in an airstrike on northern Syria.
2019 (18th December)
The House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump on two counts. Firstly for abusing his power by putting pressure on the President of Ukraine and secondly for refusing to cooperate with Congress and withholding evidence from the impeachment enquiry. Trump will be tried by the Senate in the New Year.
2020 (28th January)
Donald Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to unveil his peace plan for the Israeli and Palestinian people. Palestine leaders were not invited to the meeting which gave additional land to Israel including the capital city, Jerusalem.
2020 (5th February)
Donald Trump was acquitted on both of the articles of impeachment he faced.
2020 (26th February)
Trump tasked Vice President, Mike Pence to take charge of the United States’ response to the Coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak.
2020 (Summer)
Donald Trump was facing increased criticism for his handling of the Coronavirus pandemic, particularly the way he played down the severity of the virus.
2020 (24th August)
Donald Trump was confirmed as Republican candidate for the upcoming Presidential election.
2020 (1st October)
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for Covid-19.
2020 (2nd October)
Trump was admitted to hospital as a precautionary measure.
2020 (7th November)
It was announced that Donald Trump had lost the election and Joe Biden would be the next President of the United States. However, Donald Trump refused to concede and challenged the legitimacy of the result.
2021 (6th January)
Supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building in Washington DC, where Congress was meeting to confirm Joe Biden’s election as President. The rebels believed Trump’s claim that the election was rigged and maintained that he was the rightful President. Four people died and many were injured in the violence that followed. The actions were condemned by World leaders as an attack on democracy. A number of White House officials resigned and there were calls for Trump to be removed from office.
2021 (14th January)
Donald Trump was impeached for the second time for his role in inciting the riots of 6th January.
2021 (20th January)
Donald Trump left the White House with the words ‘we will be back in some form.’
First published 2016; Updated and republished Oct 3 @ 0:14 am – Updated – [last-modified]
Harvard Reference for this page:
Heather Y Wheeler. (2016 – 2021). Donald John Trump 1946 – Present. https://www.thetimelinegeek.com/donald-john-trump-1946/