Goldwater's Life At A Glance

Here are some important dates in the life of Barry Goldwater, who died Friday in Arizona at the age of 89:

Jan. 1, 1909: Born in Phoenix, son of Baron and Josephine Williams Goldwater and the grandson of an immigrant Polish peddler who launched the Goldwater department-store chain.

1928: Graduates from Staunton Military Academy in Virginia.

1930: Joins the Army as a second lieutenant.

Sept. 22, 1934: Marries Margaret "Peggy" Johnson.

1937: Becomes president of the family stores.

1941-45: Pilot and colonel, U.S. Army Air Corps.

1945-52: Major general and chief of Arizona Air National Guard.

1949: Elected to Phoenix City Council as part of a group of candidates aimed at cleaning up widespread prostitution and gambling.

1952: Upsets Democratic Sen. Ernest McFarland to win his first term in the U.S. Senate by a 6,000-vote margin.

1953: Becomes chairman of the Goldwater stores' board.

1960: His name goes before the national Republican convention as a presidential candidate, but he withdraws in support of Richard Nixon.

1964: Captures the 1964 presidential nomination after a convention fight with New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. In a controversial speech, he says that "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice." Gives up Senate seat for presidential bid.

1964: Loses presidency to incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson, who rose to the White House the previous year after the assassination of John Kennedy.

1967: Retires as a major general in the Air Force Reserve.

1968: Gets re-elected to the Senate.

August 1974: One of several GOP leaders who visit President Nixon, telling him impeachment is inevitable. Nixon resigns that same week.

1980: Survives his stiffest Senate challenge from Democrat Bill Schulz, a millionaire Phoenix landlord, who lost by about 10,000 votes.

1985: Teams up with Sen. Same Nunn, D-Ga., to pursue far-reaching reorganization in the defense department.

1985: Peggy, his wife of more than 50 years, dies after circulation problems force the amputation of a leg.

1987: Retires from the Senate.

1992: At age 83, marries health-care executive Susan Schaffer Wechsler, 51.

1996: Endorses Republican Sen. Bob Dole in his bid for the presidency.

1996: Suffers a stroke that damages the frontal lobe of his brain, which controls memory and personality.

1997: Doctors tell relatives that Goldwater shows symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

May 29, 1998: Dies at his home in Paradise Valley, Ariz.