Calendar of Historical Events in Iceland
| 874 - 930 | Settlement of Iceland, mainly from the West coast of Norway and the Viking settlements in Ireland and Scotland. |
| 930 | Establishment of Althingi - the world's oldest existing parliament - at Thingvellir. |
| 985 - 986 | Discovery and colonization of Greenland from Iceland by Eiríkur the Red, father of Leifur (the Lucky) Eiríksson. |
| 1000 | Icelander Leifur Eiríksson ecomes the first European to set foot in America. Christianity is adopted peacefully by the Althingi at Thingvellir. |
| 1022 | Treaty between the Athingi and King Olafur Haraldsson (St Olaf) of Norway concerning equal rights of Icelanders and Norwegians. |
| 1056 | Isleifur Gissurarson, first bishop of Iceland at Skalholt. |
| 1106 | Founding of the episcopal seat of Holar for the northern region of Iceland. |
| 1133 | First monastery in Iceland founded at Thingeyrar. Monasteries became centres of learning and literature. |
| 13th Century | Saga Era, the golden age of Saga writing. The Sagas include some of the classics of medieval literature, written in Icelandic, the ancient language of the Vikings which is still spoken in Iceland today. |
| 1178 - 1241 | Snorri Sturluson, chieftain and historian. Author of "Heimskringla", history of the Kings of Norway. |
| 1220 -1262 | Age of the Sturlungs, a period of civil war between the leading chieftain families that vied for power in Iceland. |
| 1262/1264 | The "Old Covenant" adopted between Icelandic chieftains and King Hakon the Old of Norway. Iceland comes under the rule of the Norwegian Crown, but the Althingi retains its legislative powers. |
| 1281 | New law code, Jónsbók, presented by the King og Norway, accepted by the Althingi. |
| 1380 | Union of the Danish and Norwegian kingdom. Iceland and Norway come under Denmark. |
| 1402 | The Black Death reaches Iceland. |
| 15th Century | The English Century. Close contact between Iceland and England. The English regularly sail to Iceland for fishing and trade. |
| 1530s | Printing introduced in Iceland by Jón Arason Bishop of Hólar. |
| 1537 | Norway is dissolved as a state (until 1814) and becomes part of Denmark. Iceland comes directly under Danish crown. |
| 1540 | Publication of the New Testament in Icelandic. |
| 1550 | The Reformation. After strong opposition Lutheranism becomes the state religion. Danish royal power is strengthened in Iceland. |
| 1602 | The Danish trade monopoly is introduced. |
| 1627 | Pirates from North Africa raid certain coastal areas ("Turkish raid"). |
| 1662 | Absolutism is introduced in Iceland. Danish monarchs become hereditary rulers of Iceland. Legislative powers of the Althingi greatly reduced. |
| 1783 - 1785 | Volcanic eruption (Skaftáreldar) causes widespread devastation in Iceland. |
| 1787 | Trade monopoly abolished, but the right to trade in Iceland is still limited to Danish subjects. |
| 1800 | The Althingi is abolished. |
| 1801 | The episcopal seats of Skálholt and Hólar are abolished. One bishop, based in Reykjavík, administers the whole country. |
| 1809 | Danish adventurer Jörgen Jörgensen takes power in Iceland, declares Iceland's independence. His rule lasts two months. |
| 1818 | The National Library is founded. |
| 1835 | Publication of the periodical Fjölnir, rallying point of the patriotic movement. |
| 1811 - 1879 | Jón Sigurðsson leader of the struggle for Iceland' independence. |
| 1843 | Althingi re-established in Reykjavik. |
| 1854 | Free trade re-established. |
| 1874 | Millennial anniversary of the settlement of Iceland celebrated at Thingvellir. A constitution is adopted giving legislative powers to the Althingi and granting limited self-government in domestic affairs. |
| 1904 | Home rule. Appointment of the first Icelandic government minister resident in Iceland and responsible to the Althingi. |
| 1911 | University of Iceland founded. |
| 1915 | Iceland unilaterally bans whaling (ban effective until 1935). |
| 1918 | Act of Union. Iceland becomes a sovereign and independent state, the Kingdom of Iceland. It shares the same monarch with Denmark. For the most part foreign affairs continued to be handled by the Danish foreign service, as decided by Iceland. Iceland declares perpetual neutrality. |
| 1920 | The Supreme Court is founded. |
| 1930 | Millennial celebration of the establishment of the Althingi at Thingvellir. |
| 1940 | Icelandic Foreign Service established. |
| 1940 | British forces occupy Iceland. |
| 1941 | By agreement US troops arrive in Iceland (six months before Pearl Harbour), replacing British forces. US forces remain until the end of World War II. |
| 1944 | The modern Republic of Iceland is established at Thingvellir on 17 June, birthday of Jón Sigurðsson. |
| 1945 | The first international flight by an Icelandic aircraft. |
| 1946 | Iceland joins the United Nations. |
| 1947 | Iceland becomes a founding member of the OEEC (forerunner of the OECD). |
| 1948 - 1953 | Strong "Marshall Plan" support for Iceland. |
| 1949 | Iceland becomes a founding member of NATO. |
| 1950 | Iceland joins the Council of Europe. National Theatre and Symphony Orchestra founded. |
| 1951 | Iceland and the United States conclude a bilateral defence agreement. US troops return to Iceland. |
| 1952 | Fisheries jurisdiction extended from 3 to 4 miles. |
| 1952 | Iceland becomes a founding member of the Nordic Council. |
| 1955 | Icelander Halldór Laxness receives Nobel Prize for literature. |
| 1958 | Fishing limit extended to 12 miles. "Cod War" with the United Kingdom. |
| 1963 | Volcanic eruption in ocean south of Iceland creates a new island, Surtsey. |
| 1965 | Danish Parliament decides to return ancient Saga manuscripts to Iceland. |
| 1968 | Iceland joins GATT. |
| 1970 | Iceland joins European Free Trade Association (EFTA). |
| 1971 | Denmark begins to return ancient Saga manuscripts to Iceland. |
| 1972 | Fishing limit extended to 50 miles, "Cod War" with the UK. |
| 1972 | Free trade agreement with the EEC (later EU). |
| 1973 | Volcanic eruption in Heimaey, the only inhabited island of the Westman Islands group off the south coast of Iceland. Five thousand inhabitants are relocated to the mainland of Iceland. |
| 1974 | 1100th anniversary of the settlement of Iceland celebrated at Thingvellir. |
| 1975 | Fishing limit extended to 200 miles, "Cod War" with the UK. |
| 1980 | Ms. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected President, the first woman in the world to be elected as a head of state. |
| 1986 | Meeting of Reagan and Gorbachev in Reykjavik marks the beginning of the end of the Cold War. Reykjavik celebrates its bicentenary. |
| 1992 | EFTA countries and the European Union establish the European Economic Area (EEA). Iceland becomes part of the EU´s single market. |
| 1994 | EEA Agreement comes into effect. |
| 1994 | 50th anniversary of the founding of the Icelandic Republic. |
| 2000 | 1000 years of Christianity in Iceland celebrated. |
