Deon Hemmings of Jamaica waves after receiving her gold medal in the women's 400- metre hurdles at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. - AP

1984 - Black Uhuru wins the first ever Reggae Grammy for the album Anthem.

1985 - An increasingly popular Bloodfire Posse makes their first United Kingdom appearance at the second Reggae Sunsplash Festival.

1986 - The movie Club Paradise, shot mostly in Jamaica, is released. It stars American actor Robin Williams, British actor Peter O'Toole and a host of Jamaican actors, including Jimmy Cliff and Ms Lou.

1987 - Kimberly Mais creates history when she is selected from over 1,000 local and international models to do Japan's Kirin beer campaign.

1988 - The island faces its biggest natural disaster in decades as Hurricane Gilbert causes widespread damage.

1989 - The Government forms Caymanas Track Limited (CTL) to oversee the 196-acre property Caymanas Park, now one of the Caribbean's leading race tracks.

1990 - Irie FM, now one of Jamaica's most popular radio stations, begins broadcasting.

1991 - Nelson and Winnie Mandela visit Jamaican shores. Thousands go out to meet them.

1992 - Juliet Cuthbert wins two silver medals at the Barcelona Olympics.

1993 - Lisa Hanna wins the Miss World title in South Africa.

1994 - Bob Marley is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1995 - The National Democratic Movement is formed by Bruce Golding after he split from the Jamaica Labour Party.

1996 - Deon Hemmings becomes the first Jamaican woman to win a gold medal at the Olympics, when she wins the 400-metre hurdles in the Atlanta Games.

1997 - Jamaica qualifies for the World Cup in France. The Reggae Boyz draw with Mexico at the National Stadium to secure the third qualifying spot.

1998 - Twelve-year-old Jody-Anne Maxwell wins the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

1999 - Jamaica, like the rest of the world, braces to see what will happen when the clock strikes midnight, bringing in the year 2000.

2000 - Courtney Andrew Walsh becomes test cricket's leading wicket taker when he dismisses Zimbabwe's Henry Olonga at, where else? Sabina Park.

2001 - Leonie Forbes is awarded the My Life in the Theatre medal by the Mexican Theatre Centre, for outstanding theatre personalities of Latin America and the Caribbean

2002 - Jamaica hosted the World Junior Championships where a young Usain Bolt won the 200 metres. A sign of things to come, wasn't it?

2003 - Jamaica's cultural icon Miss Lou returns to the island for a visit after spending many years abroad. It turns out to be her last time on Jamaican shores.

2004 - Veronica Campbell wins the women's 200 metres at the Sydney Olympics. The women's 4 X 100 relay team also wins gold.

2005 - It all can't be good news, and in this year murders reach a record 1,671.

2006 - Jamaica gets its first female Prime Minister when Portia Simpson Miller, having won the presidency of the ruling People's National Party, is sworn in.

2007 - For the first time in 18 years, the Jamaica Labour Party wins a general election.

2008 - Jamaican athletes take six gold medals, three silver medals and two bronze medals, making it our most successful Olympics ever. The athletes are also responsible for three world records and one Olympic record. Usain Bolt wins two individual records in the 100 and 200 metres and is a member of the men's 4x100-metre relay.