Facebook was launched on February 4, 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg and three friends from a Harvard dormitory room. ¹⁾

Facebook began as “thefacebook.com,” an online network aimed at connecting students at Harvard University. ²⁾

The new company received its first major outside investment of $500,000 from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel and officially became Facebook in 2005. ³⁾

Microsoft took a $240 million stake in Facebook in 2007, when the platform had 50 million users. ⁴⁾

In 2008, Facebook overtook MySpace to become the world's most popular social networking website. ⁵⁾

David Fincher's film “The Social Network,” about Facebook's origins, was released in 2010 and won Oscars for best adapted screenplay, original score, and film editing. ⁶⁾

Time magazine named Mark Zuckerberg as its 2010 Person of the Year for “transforming the way we live our lives every day.” ⁷⁾

Facebook acquired photograph-sharing app Instagram for $1 billion in 2012. ⁸⁾

Facebook bought messaging platform WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014. ⁹⁾

In October 2012, Facebook's membership topped one billion users. ¹⁰⁾

Facebook's initial public offering raised $16 billion and valued the company at $104 billion in 2012. ¹¹⁾

In 2018, it emerged that British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had stealthily harvested the personal data of millions of Facebook users for political purposes. ¹²⁾

The FTC fined Facebook $5 billion in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the largest fine in FTC history at the time. ¹³⁾

In March 2019, the Department of Housing and Urban Development charged Facebook with violating the Fair Housing Act, claiming the platform allowed advertisers to discriminate based on demographics. ¹⁴⁾

On July 26, 2018, Facebook shares plunged 19%, vaporizing about $119 billion in market value—the biggest single-day loss for any public company in history at that time. ¹⁵⁾

In 2021, Facebook changed its parent company name to Meta, a Greek word meaning “beyond,” to reflect its focus on the metaverse. ¹⁶⁾

In July 2023, Meta launched Threads, a text-based app intended to rival X (formerly Twitter). ¹⁷⁾

In late October 2023, Meta started offering paid ad-free subscriptions in Europe for users unwilling to have their personal data harvested. ¹⁸⁾

In 2007, Zuckerberg apologized for a feature called Beacon that alerted the whole community when a user made purchases online. ¹⁹⁾

By early 2024, Facebook reported roughly 1.96 billion active users, remaining the world's most used social network. ²⁰⁾

Facebook introduced Timeline in September 2011, allowing users to replace their existing profile with an audio-visual timeline of their life. ²¹⁾

Facebook introduced News Feed and Mini-Feed in September 2006, allowing users to see what their friends were doing on the network. ²²⁾

The “Like” social plug-in was added to Facebook in February 2009, allowing users to give positive feedback about online content. ²³⁾

Facebook Platform launched in May 2007, enabling third-party developers to build applications and integrate with Facebook. ²⁴⁾

Facebook Connect started in May 2008, allowing users to “connect” their Facebook identity to any site and marking the beginning of the “log in with Facebook” world. ²⁵⁾

In August 2005, the network's web address changed from thefacebook.com to simply facebook.com. ²⁶⁾

In September 2006, Facebook registration was opened up so anyone over 13 could join, ending the days of requiring student status. ²⁷⁾

In March 2008, the word “Facebook” entered the Collins English Dictionary as both a noun and a verb. ²⁸⁾

In 2003, Zuckerberg created Facemash at Harvard, a website that paired photos of students and had users vote on who was more attractive. ²⁹⁾

In September 2004, Facebook introduced the Wall, which allowed people to write personal musings and other tidbits on profile pages. ³⁰⁾

In September 2004, Facebook became the target of a lawsuit claiming that Zuckerberg stole the idea for the social network from twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and a third person at Harvard. ³¹⁾

In March 2008, Facebook hired Sheryl Sandberg as chief operating officer, snatching the high-profile executive from Google. ³²⁾

Facebook introduced Chat in April 2008. ³³⁾

Facebook launched its location feature in August 2010, allowing people to share where they are with their friends. ³⁴⁾

The original Facebook logo was created in 2005 by Joe Kral and Cuban Council using a typeface called Klavika from Process Type Foundry. ³⁵⁾

Facebook updated its logo in June 2015 for the first time in ten years, making the typeface rounder and slimmer for better readability on small screens. ³⁶⁾

Facebook creative director Josh Higgins said the 2015 logo update was meant to “modernize” the logo and “make it feel more friendly and approachable.” ³⁷⁾

Facebook decided the 2015 update only needed an adjustment rather than a full redesign, working with Eric Olsen who created the original Klavika typeface. ³⁸⁾

The 2015 Facebook logo change was the first modification to the wordmark since its creation in 2005. ³⁹⁾

In November 2019, Facebook introduced a new company logo to distinguish the Facebook company from the Facebook app, which kept its own branding. ⁴⁰⁾

The 2019 company rebrand was designed to better communicate Facebook's ownership structure to the people and businesses using its services. ⁴¹⁾

Facebook's main services in 2019 included the Facebook app, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, Workplace, Portal, and Calibra. ⁴²⁾

Microsoft's $240 million equity stake in Facebook in 2007 suggested the network was worth about $15 billion. ⁴³⁾

In January 2011, Goldman Sachs invested $450 million in Facebook, suggesting investors thought the social network was worth around $50 billion. ⁴⁴⁾

In January 2012, Facebook overtook Google's Orkut as Brazil's most visited social network. ⁴⁵⁾