1905: Christian Dior is born in the French seaside town of Granville to an affluent family of agricultural industrialists.
1919: Dior meets a fortune-teller, who says he will find success through women.
1923: Dior enters a prestigious political science university in Paris.
1932: Dior and Pierre Colle open a gallery on Rue Cambacérès on the Right Bank in Paris, where they later display Surrealist works by Salvador Dalí, Alberto Giacometti, Pablo Picasso and Man Ray.
1934: Struck with tuberculosis, Dior retreats to the Pyrenees mountains and decides to turn to fashion.
1935: Dior does illustrations for the daily Le Figaro and fashion magazine Le Jardin des Modes and begins to sell drawings to couture houses including Jean Patou, Nina Ricci, Maggy Rouff and Balenciaga.
1938: Dior is hired by couturier Robert Piguet, where he creates the Café Anglais dress.
1941: Dior becomes a designer for Lucien Lelong, where he plays with pencil skirts and rounded pleats.
1946: Supported by industrialist Marcel Boussac, Christian Dior establishes the Christian Dior Couture house and opens workshops at 30 Avenue Montaigne, employing 85 people.
1947: Dior presents his first collection under his own name. Winning the Neiman Marcus “fashion Oscar” in Dallas, he tours Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and New York.
1948: Christian Dior establishes a shop on Fifth Avenue in New York.
1950: Dior receives the French Legion of Honor award for his role in the fashion and textile industry and presents a collection in London to Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret.
Marlene Dietrich wears a Christian Dior wardrobe in Alfred Hitchcock’s movie “Stage Fright.”
1951: Staff levels at Christian Dior swell to around 900 people.
1953: Christian Dior opens a store in Caracas, Venezuela, and travels in South and Central America.
1955: Yves Saint Laurent becomes Dior’s design assistant.
The house opens a Victor Grandpierre-decorated boutique on the corner of Avenue Montaigne and Rue François I-er in Paris.
1957: Dior appears on the cover of Time magazine. The designer dies of a heart attack in Montecatini Terme, Italy.
Yves Saint Laurent becomes creative director of the fashion house.
1958: The Trapèze line of Yves Saint Laurent’s first collection marks a shift for the house. Roger Vivier launches a shoe brand under the Dior label.
1960: Marc Bohan becomes creative director of Christian Dior and later introduces the Slim Look.
1967: Philippe Guibourgé creates the Miss Dior ready-to-wear line.
Princess Grace of Monaco inaugurates the Baby Dior boutique at 28 Avenue Montaigne.
1970: Marc Bohan creates Christian Dior Monsieur.
1983: Marc Bohan wins the Golden Thimble for his spring haute couture collection.
Dominique Morlotti becomes creative director of Christian Dior Monsieur.
Bernard Arnault buys the Financière Agache group, owner of Christian Dior Couture.
1985: Bernard Arnault becomes chief executive officer of Christian Dior Couture.
1987: François Mitterrand inaugurates a retrospective exhibit at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs for the house’s 40th anniversary.
1989: Italian couturier Gianfranco Ferré becomes the designer for Christian Dior and wins the Golden Thimble for his first fall haute couture collection.
Bernard Arnault takes over the LVMH group, owner of Parfums Christian Dior, bringing couture and perfumery back under the same roof.
1992: Patrick Lavoix becomes creative director of Christian Dior Monsieur.
1995: Bernadette Chirac presents Diana, Princess of Wales, with a brand new Dior bag named Lady Dior.
1996: John Galliano succeeds Gianfranco Ferré as designer for Christian Dior.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York celebrates the 50th anniversary of the house of Dior with an exhibit. At the Met Gala, Lady Diana wears the first Dior dress designed by Galliano.
1997: John Galliano presents his first haute couture collection for Dior. Nicole Kidman wears a dress from his collection at the Oscar ceremony.
The Christian Dior museum opens in Christian Dior’s family home, the Villa Les Rhumbs in Granville.
1998: Dior Joaillerie is founded with Victoire de Castellane as creative director.
2000: Hedi Slimane becomes creative director of Christian Dior Monsieur and changes its name to Dior Homme.
2007: Kris Van Assche becomes creative director of Dior Homme.
2011: Bill Gaytten becomes the designer for Christian Dior.
2012: Raf Simons is appointed creative director of women’s wear for Christian Dior and presents his first haute couture collection.
2013: The Museum of Contemporary Art stages an exhibit called “The Dior Spirit” in Shanghai with over a hundred pieces from 1947 to 2013.
2016: Maria Grazia Chiuri becomes Dior’s first female creative director.
2017: The House of Dior celebrates its 70th anniversary with major exhibits in Paris and Granville, France; Melbourne, Australia; and Toronto, Canada.