1941:

Keel laid at the Brooklyn Navy Yard for the USS Missouri (BB-63)

1944:

Launched by Miss Margaret Truman, daughter of President Harry S. Truman, who was the Missouri's sponsor on January 29, 1944

• Commissioned in June
• Joined the Pacific Fleet in November
• First arrival in Hawaii on December 1944

1945:

Site of Japan's official surrender to the United States and the end of World War II. Surrender signed on the 01 deck of the Missouri on September 2, 1945.

1946:

April 5: Arrived in Istanbul, Turkey, to deliver remains of Turkish ambassador, who died in 1944, to the United States.

1947:

September 8-19: President Harry Truman and family ride Missouri from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Norfolk, Virginia. Crossing-the-line ceremony held September 11 with the first family participating.

1948:

June-August: Participated in midshipman training cruise, visiting Lisbon, Portugal, and Villefranche, France

1950:

January 17: Missouri ran aground on Thimble Shoal at Hampton Roads, Virginia. The ship went nearly a half mile inland before stopping.
August 19: Departed Norfolk, Virginia, for first Korean War deployment.
September 14: Arrived off east coast of Korea.
September 21: Visited by General Douglas MacArthur off the coast of Inchon, Korea.

1952:

September 11:

departed Norfolk, Virginia, for second Korean War deployment.

October 25:

Arrived in operating area off Korean east coast. Conducted shore bombardment operations against Wonsan and Tanchon shortly thereafter.

1953:

February 26: Captain Edsall dies of a heart attack while entering port, Sasebo, Japan.
May 4: Arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, following second Korean War deployment.
June-August: Conducted midshipman cruise, visiting Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Colon, Panama; and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

1954:

June-August: Conducted midshipman cruise, which included joint operations by all four Iowa Class battleships and visits to Lisbon, Portugal; Cherbourg, France; and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

1955:

February 26:

Missouri decommissioned and placed in mothballs at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

1971:

Missouri named to the Register of Historic Places for its historic role in the unconditional surrender of Japan.

1984-86:

Ship modernized and re-activated.

1986:

May 10:

Missouri re-commissioned.
September 10-December 19: Round the world shakedown cruise visiting Pearl Harbor; Sydney, Hobart, Albany and Fremantle in Australia; Diego Garcia; Istanbul; Naples; Palma de Mallorca; Lisbon; and Panama.

1987:

September-November: Operated in support of Operation Earnest Will in the vicinity of the Straits of Hormuz.

1991:

Deployed to the Persian Gulf during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm for the liberation of Kuwait.

1992:

March 31:

Decommissioned for the second and final time.

1995:

Removed from the Navy's ship registry, clearing the way for the battleship to be donated by the U.S. Navy for preservation as a memorial museum.

1996:

Navy selected the non-profit USS Missouri Memorial Association, Inc. for donation of the historic, decommissioned battleship in August.

1998:

Missouri arrived at Waikiki’s shores on Father’s Day, June 21, and then was towed on June 22 into Pearl Harbor, where she now serves as a floating memorial just one ship’s length from the USS Arizona Memorial.

1999:

The Battleship Missouri Memorial opened to public visitation on January 29, the 54th anniversary of the launching of the ship from Brooklyn Navy Yard.