Key dates related to the health of Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs:
August 2004: Apple CEO Steve Jobs discloses that he had been diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer called an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor. He says he has been cured to it through surgery. Tim Cook, an executive vice president, takes over Jobs’ duties while he recuperates, though Apple delayed disclosing that.
Oct. 14, 2004: In his first public appearance since undergoing surgery, Jobs, then 49, attends a news conference to unveil a new Apple store at a shopping mall near Palo Alto, Calif.
June 12, 2005: Jobs tells Stanford University graduates that his bout with cancer underscored the need to live each day to the fullest.
July 21, 2008: Speculation mounts that Jobs is ill, given recent weight loss. During Apple’s earnings conference call, Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer says Jobs has no plans to leave the company and his “health is a private matter.”
Sept. 9, 2008: Jobs kicks off an Apple event with a projected slide that says, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” He’s making a play off a famous Mark Twain quote after Bloomberg accidentally publishes, then retracts, an obituary it has prepared in advance for Jobs.
Dec. 16, 2008: Apple says Jobs won’t be giving the keynote presentation that’s usually the highlight of the annual Macworld trade show in January.
Jan. 5, 2009: Jobs explains what is now severe weight loss by saying he has a treatable hormone imbalance. He says he will continue to run the company.
Jan. 14, 2009: Jobs backtracks and announces he will be on medical leave until June, saying his health problems were “more complex” than he had thought. Cook, by now the chief operating officer, takes over daily duties.
June 23, 2009: A doctor at Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute in Memphis says Jobs received a liver transplant and has an “excellent prognosis.” Apple does not issue a statement about the transplant.
June 2009: Jobs returns to work.
Sept. 9, 2009: Jobs presides over an Apple event for the first time since the nearly six-month-long medical leave. He gets a standing ovation. Looking thin and speaking quietly, he tells the audience he had received the liver of a young adult who died in a car accident, and urges everyone to become organ donors.
January through October 2010: Jobs serves as master of ceremonies at several Apple gadget launches, including the unveiling of the much-anticipated iPad. He is still very thin, but public speculation is overshadowed by buzz around the new product.
March 12, 2010: Apple gives Cook $5 million bonus plus stock for “outstanding performance” running the company while Jobs was on leave.
Jan. 17, 2011: In a memo to Apple employees, Jobs announces a second medical leave with no set duration. Cook will fill in again to run day-to-day operations. Jobs says he will continue as CEO and will be involved in major decisions.
Aug. 24, 2011: Jobs, still on leave, says he is resigning as Apple CEO because he can no longer meet his duties and expectations. Apple and Jobs make no reference to his medical condition and provide no update. Jobs is elected chairman of the board.
Oct. 5, 2011: Jobs dies at 56. Apple does not give a specific cause in announcing his death.
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