- Venezuela was named by Europeans during 1499 Alonzo de Hojeda expedition.
- In 1498 Christopher Columbus landed in Venezuela.
- In 1964 Venezuela's first presidential handover from one civilian to another took place.
- In 2002 Venezuela's national currency, the Bolivar, plummeted 25% against the US dollar after government scrapped exchange rate controls; opposition strike crippled oil industry
- On March 6, 2013, Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez died at age 58 after 14 years in power. He died of cancer after undergoing several operations in Cuba.