| 1886 |
The term 'Orienteering' was being used by the military to mean crossing unknown territory with the aid of a map and compass |
| 1897 |
The world's first public orienteering competition held in Norway. |
| 1899 |
The world's first ski orienteering competition held in Norway. |
| 1919 |
Major Ernst Killander, President of the Stockholm Amateur Athletic Association, devised a cross-country competition where runners not only ran a course but had to choose their own routes using a map and compass. He is considered the 'Father of Orienteering' |
| 1922 |
The first night orienteering event was held near Stockholm, Sweden. |
| 1923 |
The first regional championships held in Sweden. |
| 1925 |
The first ladies event was held in Gothenburg |
| 1927 |
A District Relay Championship was organised in Uppsala. Eric Tobe, a member of the winning team, went on to become the first President of the International Orienteering Federation when it was set up in 1961. |
| 1932 |
In the first international match, held near Oslo, Sweden defeated Norway. |
| 1941 |
The first orienteering events in North America started on November 10, 1941 |
| 1946 |
The Nordic Committee for Orienteering, a pre-cursor for the IOF was formed. |
| 1949 |
The Swedish Orienteering Association held an international conference in Sandviken in which 11 nations took part. |
| 1955 |
Events first held in Australia. |
| 1960 |
An open international competition held outside Stockholm in 1960 attracted seven nations |
| 1961 |
The International Orienteering Federation was formed with Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, East Germany, Finland, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and West Germany as member nations. |
| 1962 |
The first official European Championships held in Norway. |
| 1966 |
The first World Championships held in Finland. |
| 1969 |
IOF member countries now number 16 with first countries outside Europe - Japan and Canada joining. |
| 1970 |
Orienteering Federation of Australia (OFA) was formed |
| 1973 |
Australia, New Zealand and USA join the IOF. |
| 1973 |
Orienteering Association of Tasmania formed. |
| 1974 |
Orienteering Association of Western Australia formed. |
| 1975 |
First World Orienteering Championships ski event held. |
| 1994 |
First European Championships in trail orienteering |
| 1998 |
The first official World Masters Orienteering Championships held in Czechoslovakia |
| 1998 |
Ski-orienteering held at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. |
| 1999 |
The first ever World Cup in trail orienteering |
| 1999 |
The first World Championship in Mountain Bike Orienteering held. |
| 2000 |
The IOF has 58 member countries. |
