Timeline: Ayatollah Khomeini


1902
Born in Khomein
1903

1904

1905

1906

1907

1908

1909

1910

1911

1912

1913

1914

1915

1916

1917

1918
Aunt and mother die; brother Seyed Mourteza becomes head of family
1919

1920
Goes to Sultanabad for education
1921

1922

1923
Arrives in Qom to continue education
1924

1925

1926

1927

1928

1929

1930

1931

1932

1933

1934

1935

1936

1937

1938

1939

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

1946

1947

1948

1949

1950

1951

1952

1953

1954

1955
Tries and fails to win Ayatollah Boroujerdi's support for campaign against Baha'i sect
1956

1957

1958

1959

1960

1961
Ayatollah Boroujerdi dies; Khomeini emerges as successor
1962
Telegraphs Shah and prime minister in wake of election laws that Khomeini felt threatened Islamic law
1963
Delivers speech critical of the Shah's White Revolution; arrested
1964
Released from prison; after another speech denouncing the Shah, Khomeini exiled
1965
Leaves Turkey for Najaf, Iraq
1966

1967

1968

1969

1970
Delivers lectures on Islamic government, which were published in Iraq and smuggled into Iran
1971

1972

1973

1974

1975
Student uprising in Iran results in multiple deaths when demonstration is attacked by the Shah's army; Khomeini declares that it is a sign of "freedom and liberation from the bonds of imperialism"
1976

1977

1978
Shah secures Khomeini's deportation from Iraq; Khomeini ends up in Paris
1979
Returns to Tehran to the delight of the people; after referendum declaring the Islamic Republic, becomes Imam and Supreme Leader
1980
Receives heart treatment in Tehran
1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989
Dies after 11-day stay in hospital

Source:
Iran Chamber Society: Ayatollah Khomeini