Timeline

1940 (April 1):
Wangari Muta Maathai was born in Nyeri, Kenya

1960:
Wangari wins the Kennedy Scholarship and starts her university education in the United States

1964:
Obtained a degree in Biological Sciences from Mount St.Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas

1966:
Obtained a Master of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
Pursued doctoral studies in Germany and the University of Nairobi.
She becomes a research assistant at the University of Nairobi.

1971:
Becomes the first women to receive a PhD in East and Central Africa.
She also taught veterinary anatomy at the University of Nairobi.

1976:
Became the chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy.
Active in the National Council of Women in Kenya through to 1987.

1977:
Became an associate professor
Founded the Green Belt Movement (GBM)

1992:
The Green Belt Movement conducted Civic and Environmental Education Workshops in response to tribal clashes prior to the elections.

1998:
Planting of indigenous trees by the Green Belt Movement

2002:
Wangari is elected to Parliament with 98% of the vote, representing the Tetu constituency

2003:
Served as Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources in Kenya’s ninth parliament

2004:
She is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

2005:
Appointed Goodwill Ambassador to the Congo Basin Forest Ecosystem

2006:
Founded the Nobel Women’s Initiative with her sister laureates

2007:
Invited to be co-chair of the Congo Basin Fund

2009:
Names Professor Maathai a UN Messenger of Peace

2010:
Appointed to the Millennium Development Goals Advocacy Group
Became a trustee of the Karura Forest Environmental Education Trust
Founded Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies

2011:
25 September, Professor Maathai died after a battle with ovarian cancer

(http://www.cstraight.com, 2014)