Timeline of major events in Michael Jackson's life.

Aug. 29, 1958: Born in Gary, Ind., the youngest of five brothers.

1964: Jackson 5 established, with Michael as lead singer.

1970: "I Want You Back" by Jackson 5 tops charts at No. 1.

December 1982: The now-solo Michael Jackson sees his biggest smash album "Thriller" break music-world records. Album is No. 1 in the U.S. for 37 weeks straight, with hits including "Billie Jean," "Beat It" and "Thriller." Jackson's Moonwalk dance move and the mini-movie video for "Thriller" become part of the sensation.

1984: Hair catches fire while he's filming an ad for Pepsi, and he is seriously injured. Undergoes surgery for burns and is rumored to have plastic surgery. Says his increasingly fair complexion is due to vitiligo, a skin disease.

September 1986: National Enquirer publishes photo of Jackson in what appears to be a hyperbaric chamber, or oxygen tent; the singer claims it's part of program to extend his life beyond its natural span.

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1987: Reportedly offers $1 million for Elephant Man's skeleton. Also that year, releases the album "Bad," which becomes another international hit.

1991: Releases a third successful album, "Dangerous." Also that year, cruises the Caribbean with then-11-year-old Macaulay Culkin; now says they slept in same bed.

1993: Accused of child abuse in the U.S; subsequently pays multi-million dollar out-of-court settlement to 13-year-old alleged victim. He tells Oprah Winfrey in an interview that same year that he was abused by his dad, Joseph, and refutes the Elephant Man skeleton story.

May 1994: Secretly ties the knot with Elvis Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. At MTV Video Music Awards that year, shares an awkward kiss on stage with his wife, which is later speculated to have been a publicity stunt.

January 1996: Lisa Marie files for divorce.

November 1996: Jackson and his dermatologist's secretary, Debbie Rowe, already pregnant, secretly wed; they later have two children.

October 1999: Jackson and Rowe file for divorce.

October 2001: The album "Invincible" - which reportedly cost $30 million to produce - flops.

July 2002: Jackson calls then-Sony Music President Tommy Mottola a "racist."

Nov. 19, 2002: Dangles his third child, baby Prince Michael II (whom he calls "Blanket"), over a fourth-floor balcony at a Berlin hotel, shocking the crowd of fans in the street below.

2003: The widely publicized and highly controversial "Living with Michael Jackson" documentary runs on American and British TV. Documentary reveals that Jackson still has sleepovers with young boys and that his third baby was the child of a surrogate mother. Jackson is furious with the piece and goes on-air to blast it.

Sources: The New York Post and The Daily Telegraph (Sydney).