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Birth
Saddam Hussein was born on April 28, 1937. Saddam Hussein is born to a peasant family in a desert village near Tikrit, north of Baghdad. His name in Arabic means "one who confronts." -
Jail Time
Joins the underground Baath Socialist Party in 1957. The following year he is arrested for killing his brother-in-law, a Communist, and spends six months in prison. -
War with iran
A year after the Islamic revolution in neighboring Iran, tensions rise between Iran and Iraq. Saddam orders his troops to invade. The inconclusive eight-year war impoverishes Iraq and kills hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides. (Washington and its allies supported Saddam to help stave off the victory by Iran.) -
Kurdish Attack
Uses chemical weapons against the Kurdish town of Halabja in northern Iraq, killing an estimated 5,000 civilians. The attack is part of the government's campaign to suppress rebellious Kurds across northern Iraq. The campaign leaves 180,000 Kurds missing and presumed dead. -
Invading Kuwait
Saddam demands that Kuwait forgive the debts taken on by Iraq during the Iran war, then invades his tiny, oil-rich neighbor. -
Gulf war
The war starts with aerial bombing of Iraq and Iraqi troops in Kuwait by U.S. and allied militaries under the name Operation Desert Storm. -
Spider hole
Saddam is captured by U.S. forces at 8:30 p.m. in the town of Adwar, 10 miles south of Tikrit. He is hiding in a specially prepared "spider hole." -
Death
Iraq's highest appeals court upholds the death sentence for Saddam from his trial for the 1982 killing of 148 Shiites in the city of Dujail. The chief appeals court judge says Saddam must be hanged within 30 days. Although, 4 days later Saddam is taken to the gallows and hanged, according to various reports.
