| 1790 | Born March 29 in Charles City County, Virginia |
| 1807 | Graduates from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia |
| 1809 | Admitted to practice law in Virginia |
| 1811 | Elected to the Virginia House of Delegates |
| 1812 | War of 1812 |
| 1813 | Marries Letitia Christian; their union eventually produces eight children |
| Captain, Charles City County, Virginia, Volunteer Militia | |
| 1816 | Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives |
| 1821 | Resigns House seat due to poor health |
| 1823 | Elected to Virginia House of Delegates |
| 1825 | Elected governor of Virginia |
| 1827 | Elected to the U.S. Senate by Virginia state legislature |
| 1833 | Only U.S. senator to vote against President Andrew Jackson’s Force Bill |
| Returned to U.S. Senate by Virginia state legislature | |
| 1836 | Resigns Senate seat in protest; joins the Whig Party |
| 1838 | Reelected to Virginia House of Delegates as Whig |
| 1839 | Elected Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates |
| 1840 | Elected vice president of the United States under William Henry Harrison |
| 1841 | Sworn in as vice president of the United States on March 4 |
| President William Henry Harrison becomes first president to die in office, April 4 | |
| Tyler sworn in as tenth president of the United States, April 6; issues “Inaugural Address” | |
| Convenes Special Session of Congress | |
| Vetoes legislation rechartering Second Bank of the United States submitted by Senator Henry Clay | |
| “Ruffians” attack White House, leading to creation of first White House police force | |
| Vetoes second BUS bill | |
| Forms new cabinet after Harrison-Tyler cabinet, except for Secretary of State Daniel Webster, resigns | |
| Expelled from Whig Party Rhode Island Dorr rebellion | |
| 1842 | Vetoes tariff bill |
| House committee considers impeaching Tyler | |
| Senate approves Treaty of Washington | |
| Tyler approves new tariff bill | |
| Letitia Christian Tyler becomes first presidential wife to die in the White House | |
| U.S. extends Monroe Doctrine, protecting the Hawaiian islands from European colonization, a policy that comes to be known as the Tyler Doctrine | |
| 1843 | Courts Julia Gardiner |
| Secretary of State Daniel Webster resigns and is succeeded by Abel P. Upshur | |
| Upshur begins negotiations for treaty annexing Texas | |
| 1844 | The USS Princeton’s Peacemaker cannon explodes with Tyler on board; Secretary of State Upshur, the secretary of the navy, and others are killed |
| John C. Calhoun becomes secretary of state; negotiations with Texans resumed | |
| Treaty with Texas signed | |
| Nominated for the presidency by the Democratic-Republican Party | |
| Marries twenty-four-year-old Julia Gardiner; their union eventually produces seven children | |
| U.S. and China sign Treaty of Wangxia Withdraws from 1844 presidential contest | |
| Democratic candidate James K. Polk elected president Asks Congress to annex Texas through joint resolution | |
| 1845 | Congress passes and Tyler signs resolution of Texas annexation |
| 1846 | Testifies before House Foreign Affairs Committee in defense of Secretary of State Daniel Webster’s handling of Maine crisis |
| 1846–48 | U.S.-Mexican War |
| 1850 | Supports Compromise of 1850 |
| 1854 | Supports Kansas-Nebraska Act |
| 1856 | “Bloody Kansas” |
| 1859 | John Brown attack on Harpers Ferry, Virginia |
| 1860 | Abraham Lincoln elected president |
| 1861 | Meets with outgoing president James Buchanan |
| Elected president of a peace convention to help resolve sectional crisis | |
| Virginia secedes from the Union | |
| Elected to Confederate House of Representatives | |
| 1862 | Dies January 18 in Richmond, Virginia, and buried in Hollywood Cemetery |