Timeline of Important Dates in Microsoft History

This timeline shows the main events in Microsoft history. 1975: Microsoft foundedJanuary 1, 1979: Microsoft moves from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Bellevue, WashingtonJune 25, 1981: Microsoft incorporatesAugust 12, 1981: IBM introduces its personal computer with Microsofts 16-bit operating system, MS-DOS 1.0November 1983: Microsoft Windows announcedNovember 1985: Microsoft Windows version 1.0 releasedFebruary 26, 1986: Microsoft moves to corporate campus in Redmond, WashingtonMarch 13, 1986: Microsoft stock goes publicApril 1987: Microsoft Windows version 2.0 releasedAugust 1, 1989: Microsoft introduces earliest version of Office suite of productivity applicationsMay 22, 1990: Microsoft launches Windows 3.0August 24, 1995: Microsoft launches Windows 95December 7, 1995: Internet by launching internet explorer a web browser.June 25, 1998: Microsoft launches Windows 98Jan. 13, 2000: Steve Ballmer named president and chief executive officer for MicrosoftFeb. 17, 2000: Microsoft launches Windows 2000June 22, 2000: Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer out line Microsofts .NET strategy for Web servicesMay 31, 2001: Microsoft launches Office XPOct. 25, 2001: Microsoft launches Windows XPNov. 15, 2001: Microsoft launches XboxNov. 7, 2002: Microsoft and partners launch Tablet PCApril 24, 2003: Microsoft launches Windows Server 2003Oct. 21, 2003: Microsoft launches Microsoft Office SystemNov. 22, 2005: Microsoft launches Xbox 360Jan. 30, 2007: Microsoft launches Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office System to consumers worldwideFeb. 27, 2008: Microsoft launches Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008June 27, 2008: Bill Gates transitions from his day-to-day role at Microsoft to spend more time on his work at The Bill Melinda Gates FoundationJune 3, 2009: Microsoft launches Bing search engineOct. 22, 2009: Microsoft launches Windows 7June 15, 2010: Microsoft launches general availability of Office 2010Nov. 4, 2010: Microsoft launches Kinect for Xbox 360Nov. 10, 2010: Microsoft launches Windows Phone 7Nov. 17, 2010 : Microsoft announces availability of Microsoft LyncJune 28, 2011: Microsoft launches Office 365