Enron History Follow the rise and fall of energy giant Enron Corp. as it topped the energy world and then slipped into the biggest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history.

July 1985 Houston Natural Gas merges with InterNorth, a natural gas company based in Omaha, Neb., to form the modern-day Enron, an interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline company with 37,000 miles of pipe. Kenneth Lay is later appointed chairman and chief executive.

1989 Enron begins trading natural gas commodities. Over the years, the company becomes the largest natural gas merchant in North America and the United Kingdom.

1990 Jeff Skilling joins Enron after leading McKinsey & Co.'s energy consulting business. Six years later, he becomes Enron's president and chief operating officer.

1997 Enron acquires electric utility holding company Portland General Corp. in a $2.1 billion stock swap.

1998 Enron buys Britain's Wessex Water for $2.2 billion. Wessex becomes the core of Enron's new water unit, Azurix.

May 1999 Financing closes for second phase of the $3 billion Dabhol power plant project in India in which Enron holds a 65 percent stake.

June 1999 Azurix goes public with $700 million initial public offering at $19 per share.

August 1999 Enron withdraws from oil and natural gas production by divesting its stake in subsidiary Enron Oil & Gas Co., which is renamed EOG Resources.

October 1999 Enron announces launch of EnronOnline, its Internet-based system for wholesale energy trading.

January 2000 Enron outlines plans to build a high-speed broadband telecommunications network and trade network capacity, or bandwidth, as it trades electricity or gas.

July 2000 Enron and Blockbuster announce 20-year deal to provide video-on-demand service to consumers over high-speed Internet lines. But the partnership doesn't even last a year and the deal dissolves in March 2001.

August 2000 Enron's stock hits an all-time high of $90.56

December 2000 Azurix board agrees to a buyout by Enron at $8.375 per share after Azurix fails to meet performance targets and its stock price plummets. Enron announces that president and chief operating officer Jeffrey Skilling will take over as chief executive in February. Kenneth Lay will remain as chairman.

May 29, 2001 Maharashtra State Electricity Board, Dabhol power plant's sole customer, stops buying power in a dispute with Enron over pricing.

June 21, 2001 During a public appearance in California, Skilling is hit in the face with a cream pie thrown by a protester as Enron comes under fire for "profiteering" from the electricity crisis.

Aug. 14, 2001 Skilling resigns as Enron president and chief executive officer after running the company for just six months, citing personal reasons. Ken Lay returns to position of chief executive officer.

Oct. 8, 2001 Enron agrees to sell Portland General to Northwest Natural Gas Co. for $1.8 billion.

Oct. 15, 2001 Lay talks to Commerce Secretary Don Evans while Evans is in Russia leading a trade mission. Commerce officials say the call dealt with an Enron energy project in India and did not cover Enron's financial troubles. The next day, Enron reports a $638 million third-quarter loss and discloses a $1.2 billion reduction in shareholder equity, partly related to partnerships run by chief financial officer Andrew Fastow.

Oct. 22, 2001 Enron says U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking into a possible conflict of interest related to transactions between Enron and partnerships formed by Andrew Fastow. Two days later, Enron ousts Fastow.

Oct. 28, 2001 Lay talks by telephone with Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill to inform O'Neill of the financial problems facing the company, according to O'Neill spokeswoman Michele Davis. Davis said the two also spoke on Nov. 8. She said Treasury officials could detect no ripple effects in financial markets from Enron's troubles and O'Neill did nothing to help the company.

Oct. 29, 2001 Lay talks by telephone with Commerce Secretary Don Evans. A Commerce spokesman says Lay asked Evans if he could do anything to influence a decision by Moody's Investors Service to downgrade Enron's credit rating. Evans, after talking to the general counsel at the Commerce Department, determines it would not be appropriate to intervene in a decision by a private credit rating agency, according to Commerce spokesman Jim Dyke.

Oct. 31, 2001 Enron announces the SEC inquiry has been upgraded to a formal investigation. The next day, J.P. Morgan and Salomon Smith Barney agree to provide an additional $1 billion in secured credit.

Nov. 8, 2001 Enron files documents with SEC saying it overstated earnings dating back to 1997 by almost $600 million. The next day, Enron agrees to a deal in which smaller rival Dynegy Inc.will buy Enron for some $9 billion in stock. As part of the deal, Chevron Texaco agrees to inject $1.5 billion in fresh capital immediately.

Nov. 20, 2001 In a filing with regulators, Enron discloses that it is trying to restructure a $690 million obligation that could come due Nov. 27. The company subsequently negotiates an extension of the loan. Concerns about Enron's ability to weather its spiraling financial problems send the company's stock down nearly 23 percent to its lowest level in nearly 10 years.

Nov. 26, 2001 Enron's stock hits a new low of $3.76 as Enron and Dynegy negotiate to keep their deal on track.

Nov. 28, 2001 Major credit rating agencies downgrade Enron's bonds to "junk" status. Dynegy terminates its agreement to buy Enron. Enron temporarily suspends all payments, other than those necessary to maintain core operations. Enron stock hits a new low of 70 cents amid the heaviest single-day trading volume ever for a NYSE or Nasdaq-listed stock.

Dec. 2, 2001 Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and hits Dynegy with a $10 billion breach of contract lawsuit. Enron fires 4,000 employees the next day.

Dec. 12, 2001 Congressional hearings begin on Enron's collapse, while the company announces plans to raise up to $6 billion by selling assets.

Dec. 13, 2001 Executives from accounting firm Arthur Andersen tell Congress they warned Enron about "possible illegal acts'' after the energy trading giant failed to provide crucial data about its finances to Andersen.

Dec. 18, 2001 Tearful Enron employees and investors tell a congressional committee how they lost their life savings in the collapse. Enron Chief Executive Kenneth Lay is scheduled to appear before the Senate Commerce Committee on Feb. 4.

Jan. 9, 2002 The Justice Department opens a criminal investigation of Enron.

Jan. 10, 2002 Enron's auditor Andersen admits its employees disposed of or deleted a number of documents relating to Enron's audit. President George W. Bush, who received major campaign contributions from Enron, orders government reviews of U.S. pension rules and corporate disclosure rules. Attorney General John Ashcroft, who received campaign funds from the company for his 2000 Senate race, recuses himself from the investigation.

Jan. 15, 2002 The New York Stock Exchange suspends trading of Enron shares and moves to delist the stock.

Jan. 16, 2002 Former chief auditor for Andersen's Enron account, David Duncan, tells House Energy and Commerce Committee investigators that the accounting firm's lawyers suddenly began emphasizing the firm's policy allowing destruction of some documents. He also says an Oct. 12 memo from one of Andersen's lawyers was the beginning of an effort to discard many records.

Jan. 17, 2002 Enron abruptly fires its accounting firm, Arthur Andersen, in the aftermath of the auditor's massive destruction of documents.

Jan. 21, 2002 Enron says in a statement that it had issued four e-mails from Oct. 25 to Jan. 14 warning employees against destroying documents, specifically those related to Enron's complex web of partnerships. A a former executive Enron says she saw employees shredding documents. Maureen Castaneda, who was laid off as Enron's director of foreign exchange and sovereign risk, says the shredding continued through at least Jan. 14 and involved thousands of documents.

Jan. 22, 2002 FBI agents arrived at Enron's Houston headquarters to investigate the shredding allegations, while company guards blocked employee access to the floors where the accounting and finance offices are located.

Jan. 23, 2002 Enron President and CEO Kenneth Lay resigns. Lay, who retires as an Enron employee, will remain on the company's board of directors. The board, along with the bankruptcy creditors committee, will select a restructuring specialist to steer Enron out of bankruptcy while serving as an acting chief executive.

Jan. 25, 2002 John Clifford Baxter, a former vice chairman for Enron, is found dead of a gunshot wound to the head in an apparent suicide. He was found in a car in a southwest Houston suburb. Baxter, 43, was vice chairman of Enron when he resigned in May 2001.

Jan. 29, 2002 Enron's board announces Stephen Cooper has been appointed as a reorganization expert to guide the company through its bankruptcy. Cooper, managing principal of the New York-based reorganization adviser Zolfo Cooper, is hired as chief executive and chief restructuring officer.

Feb. 4, 2002 In the first of a series of congressional hearings, William Powers, dean of the University of Texas Law School, says that his internal Enron investigation found "a systematic and pervasive attempt by Enron's management to misrepresent the company's financial condition." Powers also asserted that senior Enron executives "enriched themselves ... by tens of millions of dollars that they should never have received."

Feb. 7, 2002 Enron's former chief financial officer Andrew Fastow and three other current and former Enron executives exercise their Fifth Amendment right not to testify at a congressional hearing. Meanwhile, Former Enron executive Jeff Skilling tells lawmakers he was unable to recall key events surrounding the off-the-books partnership arrangements that sent the energy trading company into bankruptcy. He insists he knew of no wrongdoing.

Feb. 12, 2002 Disgraced Enron former CEO Ken Lay, who was subpoenaed by lawmakers, invokes his Fifth Amendment right not to testify before Congress. Before invoking his right against self-incrimination, Lay tells the Senate Commerce Committee he has "a profound sadness about what has happened to Enron" and to its employees and shareholders.

Early March 2002 Enron amends a report filed with Congress to divulge the company actually spent at least $2.46 million on efforts to influence the White House, Treasury and Commerce departments and other agencies early in the term of President Bush. The company initially reported spending only $825,000 on such lobbying from January through June 2001. Enron filed the amendment after an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics raised questions about the accuracy of the initial report.

April 9, 2002 Duncan pleads guilty to criminal obstruction by persuading coworkers and others to shred documents to thwart the government's investigation into the collapse of Enron. Duncan also agrees to cooperate with prosecutors pursuing obstruction charges against Andersen and in the broader investigation of the collapse of Enron. Read the obstruction of justice charges or the notice of related cases.

April 22, 2002 New Enron president Jeffrey McMahon, who complained two years earlier about impropriety of financial partnerships that helped fuel the company's swift downfall, says he will resign effective June 1. McMahon says he decided his resignation was necessary to help ensure Enron's successful reorganization into a mover of electricity and natural gas.

Aug. 21, 2002 Michael Kopper, Enron's ex-managing director of global finance, pleads guilty to money laundering and wire fraud charges. He's the first company official to be convicted in the wake of the company's collapse. Kopper gives prosecutors ammunition against his former boss Andrew Fastow, saying he acted under the CFO's direction.

Oct. 2, 2002 Andrew Fastow, Enron's former CFO, is charged in connection with his role in the company's financial collapse. The charges against him include securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy. The criminal complaint alleges Fastow and others devised a scheme to defraud Enron and its shareholders through off-the-books partnerships, which made the company look more profitable than it was.

Oct. 17, 2002 Timothy Belden, the former head of trading in Enron's Portland, Ore., office, admits to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and promises to cooperate with state and federal prosecutors as well as any non-criminal effort to investigate the energy industry.

Oct. 31, 2002 A federal grand jury indicts former CFO Andrew Fastow on 78 counts, alleging he masterminded a scheme to artificially inflate the energy company's profits. The indictment, essentially a formal restatement of the earlier criminal complaint, is notable for the number of charges. If convicted, Fastow faces hundreds of years in jail and millions of dollars in fines.

May 1, 2003 Andrew Fastow faces 31 more charges and his wife and nine other former executives are indicted on a host of fraud, insider trading and other counts. Fastow now faces 109 charges. His wife, Lea Fastow, is charged with six counts, including money laundering conspiracy, filing false tax returns and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

May 7, 2003 Rex T. Shelby, 51, a former vice president of engineering operations for Enron Broadband Services, surrenders to the FBI on charges he allegedly sold large amounts of company stock when he knew his telecommunications unit was failing. He is charged with fraud, money laundering, insider trading and conspiracy. Four other former Enron Broadband executives Kenneth Rice, Joseph Hirko, Kevin Hannon and F. Scott Yeager face similar charges.

Sept. 10, 2003 Former Enron Corp. treasurer Ben Glisan, who had earlier pleaded innocent to multiple charges of money laundering, wire fraud and conspiracy, changes his plea to guilty on a single count of conspiracy. He is sentenced to five years. Glisan was fired less than a month before Enron filed for bankruptcy, when an internal probe revealed he gained $1 million from a $5,800 investment in one of several complex deals at the heart of the scandal.

Sept. 17, 2003 Three former Merrill Lynch executives, Daniel Bayly, Robert Furst and James Brown, are charged with fraud for allegedly helping Enron Corp. inflate earnings with a loan the energy trader disguised as a sale. The charges stem from a scheme in which Enron, with Merrill's knowledge, allegedly booked a short-term investment from the brokerage firm as profit from the sale of Nigerian barges. The income was then used to make Enron appear to have met earnings targets.

Oct. 30, 2003 Dave Delainey, former chief of Enron Energy Services, pleads guilty to insider trading and agrees to cooperate with federal prosecutors. Delainey admits he was in on a scheme by senior management to manipulate the company's earnings to meet or exceed Wall Street's expectations.

Jan. 6, 2004 Enron's roadmap for emerging from bankruptcy receives New York judge's initial blessing and will be sent to creditors for approval.

Jan. 8, 2004 A federal judge tentatively accepts a plea agreement for Lea Fastow, the wife of former Enron Corp. finance chief Andrew S. Fastow, a move that could lead to a plea from Fastow and possibly his cooperation in the investigation of other top executives in the the energy giant's collapse. Under the deal, Lea Fastow, a former assistant treasurer at Enron, would go to prison for five months.

Jan. 9, 2004 The deadline for Lea Fastow to accept the judge's conditions on the plea deal passes with no word from her attorneys. As a result, U.S. District Judge David Hittner says she will go to trial as planned.

Jan. 14, 2004 Andrew Fastow pleads guilty to two counts of conspiracy. The plea calls for a 10-year sentence and for him to help prosecutors who have targeted -- but not charged - former top Enron executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. His wife Lea pleads guilty to filing false tax forms.

Jan. 22, 2004 Richard Causey, Enron's former top accountant, surrenders to the FBI and pleads innocent to a six-count indictment accusing him of being "a principal architect" of a scheme to mislead investors.

Feb. 19, 2004 Jeffrey Skilling, 50, surrenders to face expected criminal charges related to the company's collapse. Skilling, flanked by a pair of attorneys, turned himself in at the Houston FBI offices just before daybreak.

July 7, 2004 Two-and-a-half years after the federal government launched its painstaking investigation into Enron's financial dealings, former chairman and CEO Kenneth Lay is indicted on criminal charges. Lay is the 30th and highest-profile individual charged in the collapse.

July 8, 2004 Kenneth Lay pleads innocent to an 11-count indictment charging he was involved in a wide-ranging scheme to deceive the public, company shareholders, government regulators and others. Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission files civil charges against the Enron founder and former CEO.

July 15, 2004 A bankruptcy court judge signs off on Enron's plan to exit Chapter 11 protection. Out of the $63 billion it owes, Enron will pay $12 million (in cash and new company stock) to most of its creditors, which number more than 20,000. The name Enron disappears.