The Enron Timeline

1985 Enron is formed by the merger of Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, and is headquartered in Houston.

August 2000 Enron shares reach a high of $90.

December 2000 Enron, then the seventh largest U.S. company by market capitalization, names president Jeffrey Skilling to succeed Kenneth Lay as CEO.

August 2001 Skilling resigns as CEO after only six months. Lay is reappointed to the top position.

October 2001 Enron's results turn dismal. The company announces a third-quarter loss and a $1.2 billion reduction in shareholder equity. The Wall Street Journal publishes articles about partnerships known as "LJM," run by CFO Andrew Fastow, which are tied to Enron's financial woes. The SEC begins to investigate Enron's books, and Fastow is soon ousted.

November 2001 Enron revises its financial statements for the past five years, and accounts $586 million in losses. By the end of the month, Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service downgrade Enron's bonds to junk.

December 2001 Enron files for bankruptcy.

January 2002 The Justice Department begins a criminal investigation of Enron. The following day, Arthur Andersen, Enron's auditor, says the company destroyed important documents related to Enron's accounting. Two weeks later, Lay resigns as CEO.

February 2002 Fastow and Lay invoke their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination when they appear before Congress. Skilling chooses to testify before the same Congressional panel.

March 2002 Arthur Andersen is indicted for destroying documents.

June 2002 Andersen is convicted of obstruction.

October 2002 Andersen is fined $500,000. The company has already been prohibited from auditing public companies. Shortly after, Fastow is indicted on 78 charges of myriad of crimes, including money laundering, fraud and conspiracy.

March 2003 Enron says that it will emerge from bankruptcy as two separate companies. Four former Merrill Lynch executives were charged by the SEC with aiding and abetting Enron's fraud.