Timeline of Nauru

Chronology

12 events spanning the history of Nauru. BCE/CE dating.

1. 1798

   British navigator Captain John Fearn names it Pleasant Island.

   British navigator Captain John Fearn, sailing past Nauru from New Zealand to the China Seas, names it Pleasant Island.

2. 1888

   Nauru annexed by Germany as part of the Marshall Islands Protectorate.

   Nauru annexed by Germany as part of the Marshall Islands Protectorate.

3. 1900

   British company discovers phosphate on the island.

   British company discovers phosphate on the island.

4. 1906

   Phosphate mining begins. Britain divides profits with German firm.

   Phosphate mining begins. Britain divides profits with German firm.

5. 1914

   Nauru seized by Australian troops.

   Nauru seized by Australian troops.

6. 1942 – 1945

   Nauru occupied by the Japanese.

   Nauru occupied by the Japanese. Some 1,200 Nauruans - two-thirds of the population - deported to Micronesia to work as forced labourers. Five hundred die from starvation or bombing.

7. 1967

   Nauruans gain control of phosphate mining.

   Nauruans gain control of phosphate mining.

8. 1968

   Nauru gains independence.

   Nauru gains independence.

9. 1999

   Nauru joins the United Nations.

   Nauru joins the United Nations.

10. 2001

    Australia pays Nauru to hold asylum seekers picked up trying to enter Australia illegally.

    Australia pays Nauru to hold asylum seekers picked up trying to enter Australia illegally.