Chronology of Events
| Date | Event (Tibetan Calendar Date) |
| 17 December 1933 | Thirteenth Dalai Lama Passes Away in Lhasa at the age of 57 (Water-Bird Year, 10th month, 30th day) |
| 6 July 1935 | Born in Taktser, Amdo, Tibet (Wood-Pig Year, 5th month, 5th day) |
| July 1939 | Departs Amdo for three-month journey to Lhasa |
|
1939 |
Public Declaration of the Official Recognition of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama near town of Bumchen |
| 8 October 1939 | Enters Lhasa after three-month journey from Amdo (Earth-Hare Year, 8th month, 25th day) |
| 22 February 1940 | Enthronement Ceremony (Iron-Dragon Year, 1st month, 14th day) |
| 1940 | Begins monastic education at the age of five |
| 1942 | Receives Vows of Novice Monk from Taktra Rinpoche (1st month, 10th day) |
| 17 November 1950 | Assumes full temporal (political) power after China's invasion of Tibet in 1949 (Iron-Tiger Year, 10th month, 11th day) |
| 16 December 1950 | Departs Lhasa for Dromo because of Chinese threat |
| January 1951 to July 1951 | Resides in Dromo (Yatung) |
| 23 May 1951 | 17-Point Agreement signed by Tibetan delegation in Peking under duress |
| 16 July 1951 | Chinese delegation led by General Chiang Chin-wu, newly appointed Commissioner and Administrator of Civil and Military Affairs of Tibet, meets with His Holiness in Dromo (Yatung) |
| 24 July 1951 | Departs Dromo (Yatung) for Lhasa (Iron-Hare Year, 5th month, 17th day) |
| 17 August 1951 | Arrives Lhasa from Dromo (Iron-Hare Year, 6th month, 13th day) |
| 1954 | Receives Gelong Ordination from Ling Rinpoche (Wood-Horse Year, 1st month, 15th day) |
|
1954 |
Confers 1st Kalachakra Initiation in Norbulingka Palace, Lhasa. |
| July 1954 to June 1955 | Visits China for peace talks and meets with Mao Zedong and other Chinese leaders, including Chou En-Lai, Chu Teh and Deng Xiaoping |
| November 1956 to March 1957 | Visits India to participate in 2500th Buddha Jayanti celebrations |
| February 1959 | Receives Geshe Lharampa Degree during Monlam Ceremonies in Lhasa (Earth-Pig Year, 1st month, 13th day) |
|
10 March 1959 |
Tens of thousands of Tibetans gathered in front of Norbulingka Palace, Lhasa to prevent His Holiness from going to a performance at the Chinese Army Camp in Lhasa. Tibetan People's Uprising begins in Lhasa. |
|
15 March 1959 |
Artillery Shells fired from Chinese troops land outside Norbulingka Palace |
| 17 March 1959 | Escapes at night from Norbulingka Palace in Lhasa |
|
March 1959 |
Tibetan Government formally reestablished at Lhudup Dzong. 17-Point Agreeement formally repudiated by Tibetan Government. |
| 30 March 1959 | Enters India from Tibet after a 14-day harrowing escape |
|
18 April 1959 |
Hold international press conference and formally repudiates the 17-Point Agreement |
| 20 April 1959 | Arrives Mussoorie and resides at Birla House |
| 30 April 1960 | Arrives in Dharamsala to take up residence at Swarg Ashram |
| 1963 |
Presents a draft democratic constitution for Tibet. First exile Tibetan Parliament (Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies) established in Dharamsala. |
| 1967 | First visits abroad (since coming into exile) to Japan and Thailand |
| 1968 | Moves residence from Swarg Ashram to present day Thekchen Choeling (Byrne Estate) |
| September to November 1973 | First visit to the West (Italy, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, UK, West Germany & Austria) |
|
1979 |
First contact with the Government of the People's Republic of China established since coming into exile in 1959 |
| 21 September 1987 | Delivers historic Five Point Peace Plan for Tibet in Washington, D.C. to members of the U.S. Congress |
| June 1988 | Delivers historic Strasbourg Proposal for Tibet in Strasbourg, France to members of the European Parliament |
| 10 December 1989 | Awarded Nobel Prize for Peace in Oslo, Norway |
|
1992 |
Initiates a number of additional major democratic steps, including the direct elections of Kalons (Ministers) by the Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies and the establishment of a judiciary branch. Previously Kalons appointed directly by His Holiness. |
|
2001 |
First direct democratic elections held by the Tibetan people for the post of Kalon Tripa (senior Minister) in the history of Tibet |
