Timeline of modern Greek history

=Greek War of Independence (1821-1829)=

*1821, March 25: Metropolitan Germanos of Patras blesses a Greek flag at the Monastery of Agia Lavra. Greece declares its independence. Beginning of the Greek War of Independence
*1821, 10 April, Easter Monday: Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople is hanged in the central outside portal of the Patriarchate by the Ottomans. The door has remained shut and out of use ever since [ [http://www.ec-patr.org/list/index.php?lang=en&id=282 Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Gregory V] ]
*1821, 17 April: Former Ecumenical Patriarch Cyril VI is hanged in the gate of the Adrianople's cathedral [ [http://www.ec-patr.org/list/index.php?lang=gr&id=288 Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Cyril VI] ]
*1821, 4 April: Constantine Mourousis, Dimitrios Paparigopoulos and Antonios Tsouras are decapitated by the Ottomans in Constantinople [ [http://www.phys.uoa.gr/~nektar/history/historia_abstract.htm University of Athens, Επίτομο Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Ιστορίας] ]
*1821, 5 April: The Phanariotes Petros Tsigris, Dimitrios Skanavis and Manuel Hotzeris are decapitated, while Georgios Mavrocordatos is hanged by the Sultan forces in Constantinople [ [http://www.phys.uoa.gr/~nektar/history/historia_abstract.htm University of Athens, Επίτομο Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Ιστορίας] ]
*1821, 23-24 April: Battle of Alamana. After the Greek defeat, Athanasios Diakos is impaled and put on a spit
*1821, 4 May: Metropolitans Gregorios of Derkon, Dorotheos of Adrianople, Ioannikios of Tyrnavos, Joseph of Thessaloniki, and the Phanariote Georgios Callimachi and Nikolaos Mourousis are decapitated on Sultan orders in Constantinople [ [http://www.phys.uoa.gr/~nektar/history/historia_abstract.htm University of Athens, Επίτομο Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Ιστορίας] ]
*1821, 9 July: The head of the Cypriot Orthodox Church Archbishop Kyprianos, along with 470 prominent Greek Cypriots, amongst them the Metropolitans Chrysanthos of Paphos, Meletios of Kition and Lavrentios of Kyrenia, are executed by beheading or hanging by the Ottomans in Nicosia [ [http://www.kypros.org/Cyprus/history.html Cyprus brief historical survey] ]
*1821, 11 September: Tripoli falls to the Greeks, who proceed to eliminate the Ottoman garrison and officials
*1822: The Chios massacre takes place. A total of about 100,000 people perish
*1822, 26 July, Battle at Dervenakia. A decisive victory of the Greeks which saved the revolution.
*1823, 18 January: Nafplio becomes the seat of the Revolutionary Government
*1823, March: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, under George Canning, recognizes the Greeks as a "nation at war", thus recognizing "de facto" the Greek Independence
*1824, 7-8 June: The island of Kasos is completely destroyed by the Turkish-Egyptian forces of Hussein Rushdi Pasha
*1824, 21 June: More than 15,000 Greeks of Psara are slaughtered by the forces of Ibrahim Pasha
*1824: The First Siege of Missolonghi takes place
*1825, 22 May: Laskarina Bouboulina is assassinated in Spetses
*1825, 5 June: Odysseas Androutsos is assassinated in Athens
*1825, 6 November: Beginning of the Third Siege of Messolonghi
*1826, 10-11 April: The Siege of Messolonghi (1825)#The Escape takes place. Approximately 8,000 Greek soldiers and civilians perish
*1826, 24 June: Battle of Vergas
*1826, 11 November: Prime Minister Andreas Zaimis transfers the seat of the government to Aegina
*1827, 22-24 April: Battle of Phaleron. Georgios Karaiskakis is killed in action
*1827, July 6: Signing of the Treaty of London
*1827, 20 October: Battle of Navarino
*1828, 24 January: John Capodistria is elected Governor of Greece
*1828, 31 January: Alexander Ypsilantis dies in Vienna

=First Hellenic Republic (1829–1832)=

Kingdom of Greece (1833–1924)

Reign of King Otto (1833–1862)

*1843, 3 September: Military coup and revolution caused by the King's refusal to grant constitution. Constitution was granted
*1843, 15 September: Andreas Metaxas becomes the first Constitutional Prime Minister of Greece
*1850, 4 January: Pacifico incident. Blockade of the port of Piraeus by the British fleet
*1854, 14 May: Anglo-French occupation of Piraeus to ensure Greek neutrality during the Crimean War. Cholera epidemic begins in the capital, transmitted by the foreign troops
*1861: Assassination attempt against Queen Amalia
*1862, 10 October: Military coup. Otto leaves the throne and the country

Reign of King George I (1863–1913)

*1863: Prince William of Denmark becomes the new King of the Hellenes
*1864, 2 May: Britain donates the Ionian Islands to Greece, as coronation gift to King George I
*1864: Assassination attempt against Alexandros Koumoundouros
*1864, 7 August: Greece has a new constitution which establishes Constitutional Monarchy
*1864, 28 November: New constitution, unicameral assembly and constitutional monarchy created
*1866: Beginning of the Great Cretan Revolution (1866-1869). The exiled King Otto donates most of his fortune for the cause
*1877, 2 September: The hero of the War of Independence and current Prime Minister Constantine Kanaris dies
*1878, 13 June: Beginning of the Treaty of Berlin. Eastern Rumelia becomes autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire
*1878, Summer: Cretan uprising, halted speedily through British intervention
*1881, 3 April: Earthquake strikes Chios. 3,550 people are reported dead
*1881: Thessaly becomes part of Greece
*1882, 3 March: Prime Minister Alexandros Koumoundouros resigns
*1885, May: Prime Minister Theodoros Deligiannis mobilizes the Greek Army in accordance with the Bulgarian revolt. Fearing modification of the Treaty of Berlin, the British Royal Navy blockades Greece
*1885, 6 September: Bloodless revolution in Eastern Rumelia and unification of the province with Bulgaria
*1893: Completion of the Corinth Canal
*1894, 27 April: Earthquake strikes Atalanti. 255 people are dead
*1896, 6 April: Opening ceremonies of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens
*1897, January: Cretan Rebellion. Greece refuses an Ottoman offer of an autonomous administration in Crete and mobilizes for war
*1897, 25 February: Greece refuses to withdraw the Greek volunteers from Crete. The Great Powers announce a blockade on Greece
*1897, 17 April: The Ottoman Empire declares war against Greece
*1897, 27 April: Greece loses the war, agrees to give up Crete to international administration, to minor territorial concessions in favor of the Turks and to pay a large indemnity
*1898: Creation of the Cretan State
*1904: Beginning of the Greek Struggle for Macedonia
*1904, 13 October: Pavlos Melas is killed in Macedonia
*1905, 13 June: Assassination of Prime Minister Theodoros Deligiannis
*1908: Cretan deputies declare union with Greece
*1910, 2 October: Eleftherios Venizelos becomes Prime Minister of Greece

First Balkan War

*1912, 8 October: The Balkan League, after issuing ultimata, declare war on Turkey. Beginning of the First Balkan War
*1912, 22 October: Battle of Sarantaporo
*1912, 1 November: Battle of Giannitsa
*1912, 6-12 November: Battle of Pente Pigadia
*1912, 9 November: The Greek army enters Thessaloniki. The largest part of Macedonia unifies with Greece
*1912, 15 November: Battle of Vevi
*1912, 16 December: Naval Battle of Elli
*1913, 18 January: Naval Battle of Lemnos
*1913, 21 February: The Greek army enters Ioannina. Epirus is incorporated in Greece
*1913, 5-6 March: Battle of Bizani
*1913, 18 March: King George I is assassinated in Thessaloniki
*1913, 30 May: Signing of the Treaty of London. End of the First Balkan War

Second Balkan War

*1913, 16 June: Bulgarian forces attack Greece and Serbia. Beginning of the Second Balkan War
*1913, 19-21 June: Battle of Kilkis-Lahanas
*1913, 22-23 June: Battle of Doiran
*1913, 8-18 July: Battle of Kresna Gorge
*1913, 10 August: Singing of the Treaty of Bucharest. End of the Second Balkan War

National Schism

*1914: According to the Corfu Protocol Northern Epirus is granted autonomy within Albania
*1915, January: King Constantine I forces Venizelos to resign. The National Schism begins
*1915, October: French and British forces land in Thessaloniki
*1915, December: Constantine I forces Venizelos to resign for a second time and dissolves the Liberal-dominated parliament. Venizelos leaves Athens
*1916, April: The autonomy of Northern Epirus is revoked by the Albanian government, in violation to the Corfu Protocol
*1916: Greece has two governments: the Pro-royalist government in Athens led by the King and the "Temporary Government of National Defense" led by Venizelos in Thessaloniki
*1916, 30 August: Successful anti-royalist coup by the Movement of National Defence. Venizelos returns to the Greek mainland
*1916: Beginning of the Pontic Greek Genocide. Until 1923 approximately 360,000 Pontic Greeks die
*1916, 18 November: The "November events". Royal paramilitary units, named the "League of Reservists", target the Venizelists. Armed confrontation between Greek reservists and French marines. The Allies institute a naval blockade on Greece. French and British forces land in Thessaly and enter the regional capital of Larissa
*1916, 21 November: "Britannic", sister ship of "Titanic", sinks by a mine near Kea. 30 people die
*1917, June: French and British forces occupy Piraeus, bombard Athens and force the Greek fleet to surrender. Constantine I resigns and leaves the country. His second son Alexander I becomes King and Venizelos is restored as Prime Minister in Athens
*1917, 19 August: The Great Fire of Thessaloniki destroys most of the city

World War I

*1917, July: Greece officially declares war on the Central Powers
*1918, 30 October: Signing of the Armistice of Mudros, which ended World War I in the Near East

Greco-Turkish War

*1919, 15 May: The Greek army lands in Smyrna (today called İzmir). Beginning of the Greco-Turkish War
*1919, 27 June-4 July: Battle of Aydın
*1919, 27 November: Signing of the Treaty of Neuilly. Greece acquires Western Thrace
*1920, 10 August: Signing of the Treaty of Sèvres. Greece acquires Eastern Thrace and the area of Smyrna
*1920, 12 August: First assassination attempt against Venizelos in the Gare de Lyon railway station in Paris
*1920, 13 August: Assassination of prominent royalist Ion Dragoumis in Athens
*1920, November: Despite his achievements, Venizelos is defeated in the 1920 General Elections
*1920, 25 October: King Alexander I dies suddenly of infection caused by the bite of a monkey of the Royal Gardens
*1920, 17 November: Following the death of her grandson, Queen Olga becomes regent of Greece, until the return of her son
*1920, 19 December: Constantine I returns as King, following a plebiscite
*1921, 9-12 January: First Battle of İnönü
*1921, 26-31 March: Second Battle of İnönü
*1921: Assassination attempt against George Papandreou
*1921, 26 August-13 September: Battle of Sakarya
*1922, 26-30 August: Battle of Dumlupınar
*1922, 9 September: The Turkish army enters Smyrna. Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Smyrna is lynched and murdered by a Turkish mob incited by Nureddin Pasha
*1922, 13 September: Smyrna is set on fire. Approximately 100,000 Greeks perish
*1922, September: The Greek Army, Navy and people revolt. The government is deposed and the King forced to resign. Venizelos returns in Greece
*1922, 27 September: George II becomes King of Greece
*1922, 28 November: According to the verdict of the Trial of the Six, the former Prime Minister Dimitrios Gounaris, the Commander in Chief of the Greek Armies Georgios Hatzianestis and four other high ranked politicians are executed as responsible for the Asia Minor Catastrophe
*1923, 24 July: Signing of the Treaty of Lausanne. The Greeks of Istanbul, Imbros and Tenedos (about 279,788 in Istanbul alone the next year) are excluded from the population exchange. The islands of Imbros and Tenedos are granted autonomy, by article 14, which was never implemented

Restoration of stability

*1923: Greece faces an enormous refugee problem with the arrival of approximately 1.5 million Greeks from Asia Minor (according to the population exchange agreement of the Treaty of Lausanne. The population of the bankrupt Greece rose by 1/3 in a period of a few months. The fate of the rest 1 million Greeks of Asia Minor (according to the Ottoman census) remains unknown
*1923, 31 August: The Corfu incident. Mussolini's forces bombard and briefly occupy the Greek island of Corfu
*1923, October: Failed anti-Venizelist military coup, sparked out of fear for the upcoming elections' result
*1923, 16 December: Venizelos's Liberal Party wins the elections

=Second Hellenic Republic (1924–1935)=

*1924, 25 March: Greece is proclaimed a republic. King George II is asked to leave the country. Pavlos Kountouriotis becomes the first President of Greece
*1924, 13 April: The plebiscite condones the change of constitution
*1924, 7 October: Failed military coup
*1925, 15 March: Successful coup led by General Theodoros Pangalos. President Pavlos Kountouriotis resigns
*1925, 22 October: The brief War of the Stray Dog with Bulgaria. Greece is imposed a fine
*1926, 23 August: General Pangalos is overthrown after a coup. Caretaker government under Georgios Kondylis
*1928: Venizelos returns from exile and leads the Liberals back to power
*1932, 26 September: The village of Ierissos in Chalcidice is wiped out by a powerful earthquake. 161 people are reported dead
*1933, March: Failed pro-Venezelist coup
*1933, 23 April: Kos is struck by an earthquake. 200 people die
*1933, 6 June: Second assassination attempt against Venizelos in Athens
*1935, March: Failed coup led by Venizelos and Nikolaos Plastiras. Venizelos flees in France and dies in Paris the following year
*1935, 10 October: Coup led by Georgios Kondylis abolishes the Republic, by the confirmation of a plebiscite later the same year

Kingdom of Greece restored (1935–1967)

*1935, 3 November: George II is restored to the throne

4th of August Regime (1936-1940)

*1936, 4 August: Coup by General Ioannis Metaxas, who declares a state of emergency, decrees martial law, annuls various articles of the Constitution and establishes a crisis cabinet to put to an end the growing riots and to restore social order.
*1939: Hatay is annexed by Turkey. The immigration of the Antiochian Greeks reaches its peak
*1940, 15 August: Torpedoing and sinking of the Greek light cruiser Elli in Tinos harbor on August 15, 1940 (a national religious holiday), by an Italian submarine. The Greek government announced that the attack had been carried out by a submarine of "unknown nationality", in an attempt to keep Greece neutral

=World War II (1940-1941)=

*1940, 28 October: After Greek premier Ioannis Metaxas rejects an Italian ultimatum demanding the occupation of Greek territory, Italian forces invade Greece. Beginning of the Greco-Italian War and of the Battle of Greece
*1940, 13 November: The Battle of Pindus ends in a complete Greek victory
*1940, 14 November: The Greek forces enter Albanian territory
*1940, 24 December: The Greek army controls practically all of Northern Epirus
*1941: Turkey mobilizes all Greeks between 18 and 45 years of age and deports them to labour battalions in central Anatolia
*1941, 29 January: Ioannis Metaxas dies in Athens
*1941, 1 March: Earthquake occurs in Larissa leaving 40 people dead and thousands homeless
*1941, 9-20 March: The Italian Spring Offensive fails to dislocate the Greek forces
*1941, 6 April: The German Army invades Greece
*1941, 11-12 April: Battle of Vevi
*1941, 18 April: The German Army advances towards Athens. Prime Minister Alexandros Koryzis commits suicide
*1941, 20 April: The Greek First Army surrenders to the Germans
*1941, 21 April: The German forces manage to go through the Metaxas Line
*1941, 22 April: The King, the Royal family and the Government flee Athens and go to Crete
*1941, 27 April: The German Army enters Athens. Greek writer Penelope Delta commits suicide. The Nazi flag is raised on Acropolis; Evzone soldier on guard duty jumps off the Acropolis wrapped in the Greek flag
*1941, 4 May: Out of respect for the Greek nation, Hitler orders the Wehrmacht not to take Greek war prisoners and allows them to carry weapons
*1941, 20 May: Beginning of the Battle of Crete
*1941, 22 May: The King, the Royal family and the Government are evacuated to Alexandria
*1941, 1 June: The remaining defenders at Sphakia surrender to the German Army

Axis occupation and Resistance (1941-1944)

*1941, 30 May: The first resistance act takes place in Athens. Two law students tear down the Swastika from the Acropolis
*1941, 27 September: The National Liberation Front, the largest resistance group, is founded
*1941, 28-29 September: A spontaneous rebellion in Drama is repressed by the Bulgarian occupation forces with a death toll of 3,000
*1941, 24-25 October: Massive executions of the inhabitants of the villages Mesovouno, Cleisto, Kidonia and Ambelofito by the Nazis
*1941-1942, Winter: The Great Famine. An estimated 300,000 Greeks perish
*1942: The Fortune Tax ("Varlık Vergisi") is imposed on the Greeks in Turkey (as well as on others, mostly non-Muslims), resulting in their financial ruination
*1942, February: The Greek National Liberation Army operates in the mountains
*1942, Summer: The great suffering and the pressure of the exiled Greek government eventually forces the British to partially lift the blockade. The International Red Cross is able to distribute food supplies in sufficient quantities
*1942, 25 November: The Gorgopotamos bridge is blown up in a common operation between the Greek militants and British saboteurs. This successful operation disrupted the German transportation of ammunition via Greece to the Nazi Africa Corps under Rommel
*1943, 27 February: Poet Kostis Palamas dies. His funeral becomes a major event of the Greek resistance
*1943, March: The Germans began mass deportations of the Jews of Thessaloniki to Auschwitz. By the end of the war, an estimated 60,000 Greek Jews were murdered
*1943, 16 August: 317 inhabitants of Kommeno are murdered and the village is torched by the Nazis
*1943, September: The Nazi attempt to exterminate the Jews of Athens fails, thanks to the combined efforts of Archbishop Damaskinos, the Greek resistance groups and the Greek people
*1943, 13 September: A total of 8,800 Italian soldiers are killed by the Nazis in Cephallonia or perish in the sea, during the German takeover of the Italian occupation areas
*1943, 26 September-16 November: Battle of Leros
*1943, 13 December: The Massacre of Kalavryta takes place
*1944, 10 June: The Distomo Massacre. 218 civilians are murdered and the village is looted and burnt

Restoration of the Greek Government

*1944, 18 October: Prime Minister George Papandreou and repatriates
*1944, 3 December: "The December events". 28 people are killed by British troops and policemen in Athens
*1944, 4 December: George Papandreou attempts to resign
*1944, 12 December: ELAS controls most of Athens and its environs
*1945, 16 June: Former ELAS's leader Aris Velouchiotis is killed or commits suicide
*1945, 17 October: Archbishop Damaskinos serves as regent in an attempt to stabilize the country
*1945, 24 October: Greece is one of the founding members of the United Nations

=Civil War (1946-1949)=

*1946, March: Fighting resumes between the Government and the Communists
*1946, 28 September: A national referendum favours constitutional monarchy
*1946: King George II returns in Greece
*1947, 20 January: The deadliest shipwreck of the modern Greek history occurs when "Himara" sinks in the South Evian Gulf, resulting in 391 deaths. It remains unknown if the cause was the bad weather, a mine or sabotage
*1947, 1 April: King George II dies of a sudden heart attack in the Palace in Athens. The Greeks do not believe the announcement, considering it a joke. He is succeeded by his younger brother Paul
*1947, December: Approximately 1,200 Communist militants are killed in a battle near Konitsa
*1948: The Communists reach the peak of their power
*1949, 4 April: Greece is one of the founding members of NATO
*1949, August: Prime Minister Alexander Papagos launches a major counter-offensive against Communist forces in northern Greece
*1949, 16 October: Nikolaos Zachariadis leader of the Communist guerillas signs the treaty that marks the end of the Greek Civil War

Postwar Greece (1950-1967)

*1950, 10 January: The eruption of the Thera volcano for the fourth time in the century, leads to the evacuation of the island
*1950, 9 December: Greece takes part in the Korean War in the side of South Korea. By the end of the war in 1953, 194 Greek soldiers will be killed
*1953, August: A series of earthquakes devastates the islands of Zakynthos and Cephallonia resulting in 476 deaths. The first relief efforts came from the recently established state of Israel
*1954, 30 April: Sofades is struck by an earthquake. 25 people die
*1955, 6-7 September: The Istanbul Pogrom, directed primarily against the city's 100,000-strong Greek minority, takes place. A total of 16 Greeks are killed, while many others are severely wounded, raped and forcibly circumcised by the mob. Thousands or Greek-owned buildings are badly damaged or destroyed, accelerating emigration of ethnic Greeks from the city
*1956: Failed coup against King Paul I by a group of colonels
*1956, 9 July: Many casualties and extensive damages are caused by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Santorini and the nearby islands
*1959: The Merten affair challenges the Greek political world
*1963, 27 May: Assassination of politician Gregoris Lambrakis
*1963, 17 June: Constantine Karamanlis resigns the premiership after a disagreement with King Paul
*1963, November: The Center Union under George Papandreou wins the elections. Karamanlis is self-exiled in Paris
*1964, 6 March: The Palace announces the death of King Paul. Rumors circulate in Athens that in fact he had died several days earlier. He is succeed by his son Constantine
*1964: The Ankara government reneges on the 1930 Greco-Turkish Ankara Convention. Deported with two day’s notice, the Greek community of Istanbul shrunk from 100,000 persons in 1955 to only 48,000 in 1965
*1965, 1 October: Royal Coup, involving King Constantine II and a group of politicians, known as Apostasia of 1965. Prime Minister George Papandreou is forced to resign
*1966, 7 December: Ferry SS Heraklion sinks in the Mirtoon Sea. 247 people lose their lives in the worst shipwreck of postwar Greece

Military Dictatorship (1967–1974)

*1967, 21 April: Successful coup d'état led by a group of colonels
*1968: Counter-coup organized by King Constantine II fails. Constantine II leaves the country
*1968, 13 August: Assassination attempt against Dictator Papadopoulos by Alexandros Panagoulis
*1968, 1 November: George Papandreou dies. His funeral becomes the occasion for a large anti-dictatorship demonstration
*1971: Halki seminary, Orthodoxy's most prominent theological school, is closed by the Turkish government. Despite international pressure for its reopening, it remains closed ever since
*1972, 2 March: Ecclesiastical coup in Cyprus fails to remove Makarios from the Presidency
*1973, 1 June: Dictator George Papadopoulos declares Greece a republic and himself President
*1973, 17 November: End of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. A total of 24 civilians and students are killed
*1973, 25 November: Military coup by General Dimitrios Ioannides ousts Papadopoulos. Military law is reinstated
*1974, 15 July: The Greek regime sponsors a coup d'état in Nicosia, replacing President Makarios III with Nikos Sampson
*1974, 20 July: Turkey invades Cyprus
*1974, 23 July: Nikos Sampson is removed from office and replaced with Glafkos Klerides. The coup regime ends. A general ceasefire is declared
*1974, 23 July: Junta-appointed President Phaedon Gizikis calls a meeting of old guard politicians with the participation of the heads of the armed forces. Konstantinos Karamanlis is chosen to assume the premiership

=Third Hellenic Republic (1974–today)=

*1974, 24 July: Constantine Karamanlis returns with the French Presidential jet. Democracy in Athens is restored
*1974, 14 August: Second phase of the Attila Operation in Cyprus. The Turkish forces advance capturing the 37% of the island. A total of about 3,000 are killed or missing. Another 200,000 become refugees
*1974, 14 August: Greece withdraws its forces from NATO's military command structure, as a result of the Turkish invasion on Cyprus [ [http://www.nato.int/docu/update/70-79/1974e.htm NATO Update 1974] ] [History, Editorial Consultant : Adam Hart-Davis, Dorling Kindersley Limited publisher, ISBN : 978 1 8561 3062 2]
*1974, 8 September: TWA Flight 841 crashes into the Ionian Sea. All 79 passengers and 9 crew members are killed
*1974: Makarios returns as President in Cyprus
*1974, 13 December: With a national referendum, monarchy is abolished and parliamentary republic established
*1974, 18 December: President pro tempore Phaedon Gizikis is replaced by Michail Stasinopoulos, the first duly elected President of the Third Hellenic Republic
*1977, 3 August: Cypriot President Makarios dies unexpectedly of heart attack
*1978, 20 June: Destructive earthquake hits the second largest Greek city of Thessaloniki killing 45 people
*1980: Greek forces are readmitted in NATO
*1981, 1 January: Greece joins the European Community
*1981, 24 February: A strong earthquake strikes Athens and Corinth, resulting in 20 deaths
*1981, 21 October: Andreas Papandreou becomes Greece's first socialist Prime Minister
*1986, 2 April: TWA Flight 840 is bombed on the way to Athens, sucking out 4 on board; the plane lands safely
*1986, 13 September: The Kalamata earthquake causes heavy damage and kills 20 people
*1987: The Sismik incident. Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou orders the ship to be sunk if found within Greek waters
*1989: Political crisis after a series of elections in which no party secured a substantial percentage of popular vote, nor was willing to take part in a coalition
*1989, 3 August: Short 330 of the Olympic Airways from Thessaloniki to Samos crashes in the Kerketeus range of mountains. All 34 people on board are killed
*1989, 26 September: Greek liberal politician Pavlos Bakoyannis is assassinated by the terrorist group N17
*1989, 23 November: Xenophon Zolotas agrees to serve as interim non-party Prime Minister, until fresh elections can be held
*1990, 11 April: Constantine Mitsotakis becomes Prime Minister, after his New Democracy wins the elections
*1991, 5 February: The worst accident in the history of the Hellenic Air Force. Lockheed C-130H Hercules 748 crashes into Mount Othrys. 63 are reported killed
*1991, 8 September: The Macedonia naming dispute arises, after the declaration of independence of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)
*1992, January: After a "special court" trial, Andreas Papandreou is cleared of the charges that had arisen from the Bank of Crete scandal
*1992, 3 July: The adoption of a flag incorporating the Vergina Sun by FYROM, increases tensions between the two countries
*1993, 13 October: Andreas Papandreou's PASOK wins the general elections
*1994, 16 February: Greece imposes an embargo on FYROM
*1994, 6 March: Greek actress, singer, political activist of the anti-dictatoric struggle and Minister of Culture Melina Merkouri dies of cancer. She receives a state funeral equivalent to that of a Prime Minister, which is attended by hundreds of thousands of people
*1995, 13 May: Grevena and Kozani are struck by an earthquake. Several villages are destroyed and hundreds of people are left homeless
*1995, 15 June: An earthquake shatters Aigio. 26 people are reported dead
*1995, November: Greece lifts the embargo that had imposed on FYROM, after the later's decision to change its flag, its banknotes and controversial articles of its constitution
*1996, 16 January: Andreas Papandreou, hospitalized with advanced heart disease and kidney failure since November 1995, retires from office
*1996, 18 January: Costas Simitis is elected Prime Minister
*1996, 31 January: The Imia/Kardak crisis. Greece and Turkey are brought to the brink of war. A Greek military helicopter crashes in the area, killing the three pilots on board
*1996, 23 June: Andreas Papandreou dies. His funeral procession produces a great outpouring of public emotion
*1996, 23 July: Greece's "national actress" Aliki Vougiouklaki dies after short illness. Her funeral is attended by hundreds of thousands of people
*1996, 11, 14 August: During demonstrations in Cyprus, activists Tassos Isaac and Solomos Solomou are murdered by members of the Grey Wolves
*1997, 17 December: Yakovlev Yak-42 of the Aerosvit Airlines crashes into the Pierian mountains in Central Macedonia. The exact spot of the crash was discovered 3 days later, cause of the bad weather conditions and the mountainous landscape. 70 people are killed
*1997, 20 December: Lockheed Hercules C-130 of the Hellenic Air Force crashes into Pastra Mountain near Tanagra, cause of bad weather conditions, killing 5 people. The military aircraft was due to transfer soldiers from Tanagra to Pieria, in order to take part in the operations for the discovery of the Ukrainian plane which had crashed 3 days earlier
*1999, 17 August: Powerful earthquakes strike the Turkish city of Izmit. Greece is the first foreign country to pledge aid and support to Turkey
*1999, 7 September: Athens is struck by the most devastating earthquake in Greece of the past 20 years. A total of 145 people die. The Turkish aid is the first to arrive. The two earthquakes initiate the Greek-Turkish earthquake diplomacy
*2000, 26 September: Passenger ferry Express Samina sinks near the island of Paros. 80 of the over 500 passengers are lost at sea
*2001, 4 May: Pope John Paul II visits Athens and makes apologies for the sins of the Crusader attack on Constantinople in 1204
*2001, 11 September: 33 Greek Americans lose their lives during the September 11, 2001 attacks. The St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church is completely buried by the collapse of the South Tower
*2002, December: Assassination attempt against Dora Bakoyannis
*2004, 24 April: In a referendum, Greek Cypriots reject the Annan Plan
*2004, 1 May: Cyprus becomes a member of the European Union
*2004, 13-29 August: Athens hosts the 2004 Summer Olympics.
*2004, 11 September: The helicopter carrying Patriarch Peter VII of Alexandria along with 16 others (including journalists and three other bishops of the Church of Alexandria) crashes into the Aegean Sea while en route to the monastic community of Mount Athos, arguably after an explosion. None survived. The cause of the crash remains unknown
*2005, 14 August: After fears that it could crash in Athens' center, Helios Airways Flight 522 crashes in Grammatiko, killing all 121 people on board. This was the deadliest aviation accident in the history of Greece
*2007, June through September: Western Peloponese and southern Euobea are ravaged by lethal infernos.

Notes