1861 - The Zion Society is formed in Frankfurt, Germany.
1870 - 1890 - Russian group Chovevei Tzion (Lovers of Zion) sets up 30 Jewish farming colonies in Palestine, financially aided by Baron Edmond James de Rothschild. They were populated by European Jews with no common language; Eliezer ben Yehuda labored to revive Hebrew as a common spoken language. ([1])
1881 - 1884 - Russian pogroms kill tens of thousands of Jews. Hundreds of thousands of Jews flee.
1880 - 1920 - Two million Russian Jews migrate to the US.
1896 - Herzl writes Der Judenstaat (The State of Jews) advocating the creation of a Jewish state.
1896 - 1904 Herzl unsuccessfully approaches world leaders for assistance in the creation of a Jewish National Home.
1897 - The First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, urges "a publicly and legally assured home in Palestine" for Jews and establishes the World Zionist Organization (WZO).
1901 - Fifth Zionist Congress establishes the Jewish National Fund.
1902 - Herzl publishes the novel Altneuland (Old-New Land), which takes place in Palestine.
1939 - The British government issues the 'White Paper' setting a limit of 75,000 on future Jewish immigration to Palestine (See [1]).
1947 - On November 29, the United Nations approves partition of Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state. It is accepted by the Jews, but rejected by the Arabs (See [1][1].
1947 - November 30, guerrilla war starts between Jewish forces, centered around the Haganah and Palestinian Arab forces.
1948 - May 14. The State of Israel declares itself as an independent nation.