1945: Born Frederick August Kittel in Pittsburgh to baker Frederick Kittel and cleaning woman Daisy Wilson.

1960: Drops out of high school after enduring racist treatment. From that point on, Wilson takes his education upon himself, studying at the local library.

1962-1963: Enlists in Army, leaves after one year.

1965: Changes name to August Wilson; father dies; buys his first typewriter for $20.

1968: Co-founds Black Horizon Theater.

1969: Marries Brenda Burton.

1970: Daughter Sakina Ansari Wilson born.

1972: Marriage ends.

1977: Writes "Black Bart and the Sacred Hills."

1978: Moves to St. Paul, Minn.

1982: "Jitney" staged in Pittsburgh. "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" accepted by the National Playwrights Conference at the O'Neill Theater Center in Connecticut.

1984: "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" opens in New Haven, Conn., moves to Broadway.

1987: "Fences" opens on Broadway, wins Pulitzer.

1990: Marriage ends, moves to Seattle, "Piano Lesson" opens on Broadway and wins Pulitzer.

1991: Seattle Repertory stages "Two Trains Running." The Rep will go on to stage all the plays in Wilson's epic cycle except "Radio Golf," which was recently added to this season's slate, and "Gem of the Ocean."

1994: Marries Constanza Romero.

1996: Gives speech at the Theater Communications Group conference opposing color-blind casting.

1997: Daughter Azula Carmen Wilson born.

1999: "King Hedley II" premieres in Pittsburgh, later moves to Seattle, and Broadway.

2003: Wilson performs one-man show, "How I Learned What I Learned" at Seattle Repertory Theater.

2005: The last play of his 10-play cycle, "Radio Golf" opens in Connecticut. In August, he announces he has liver cancer.

Sources: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Associated Press, Dartmouth University and Seattle Times archives