Nokia admitted it was slow to react to the rise of new devices such as the iPhone. Photograph: Dave Thompson/PA  Nokia can trace its roots back to 1865 and a pulp mill in south-west Finland. A century and a half later, Nokia's handset business is being bought by Microsoft for €5.44bn after a troubled few years for the mobile phone giant. Here we track Nokia's rise, and subsequent fall.  1865: Mining engineer Fredrik Idestam sets up a wood pulp mill at the Tammerkoski Rapids in south-western Finland.  1871: The Nokia name is born, inspired by the Nokianvirta river on the banks of which Idestam opens a second mill.  1898: Eduard Polón founds Finnish Rubber Works, which later becomes Nokia's rubber business, making everything from rubber boots to tyres. Nokia wellies are still made today, though not by the telecoms company.  1912: Arvid Wickström sets up Finnish Cable Works, the foundation of Nokia's cable and electronics business.  1967: The official merger of Nokia Ab, Finnish Cable Works and Finnish Rubber.  1979: Nokia creates radio telephone company Mobira Oy as a joint venture with leading Finnish TV maker Salora.  1981: Launch of the Nordic Mobile Telephone service, the world's first international cellular network, and the first to allow international roaming.  1982: Nokia introduces the first car phone – the Mobira Senator – to the network. That same year, the Nokia DX200, the company's first digital telephone switch, goes into operation.  1984: Nokia launches the Mobira Talkman portable car phone – a chunky piece of kit but a start.  1987: Nokia introduces the Mobira Cityman, the first handheld mobile phone. It weighs in at 800g and comes with a price tag of 24,000 Finnish Marks (about £3,400). The Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, is pictured using one to make a call from Helsinki to his communications minister in Moscow.  1991: The Finnish prime minister, Harri Holkeri, makes the world's first "global system for mobile communications" call, using Nokia equipment.  1992: Nokia launches its first digital handheld GSM phone, the Nokia 1011. The Nokia president and chief executive, Jorma Ollila, decides to focus on mobile phones and telecommunications, and the process begins of selling off its rubber, cable and consumer electronics divisions.  1994: Nokia launches the 2100 series, the first phones to feature the Nokia Tune ringtone. It goes on to sell 20m phones worldwide in the 2100 series. Nokia's target had been 400,000.  1998: Nokia becomes the world leader in the mobile phones market.  1996-2001: Nokia's turnover increases almost fivefold from €6.5bn to €31bn.  1999: Nokia launches the Nokia 7110, a phone capable of rudimentary web-based functions, including email. It uses the Orange network to access the internet using Wireless Application Protocol (WAP).  2000: Nokia does a deal with music publisher EMI enabling users to choose their favourite tunes as their ringtones.  2001: Nokia launches its first phone with a built-in camera, the Nokia 7650. But a profits warning, blamed on a slowdown in the mobile market, stuns investors. It announces plans to cut 1,000 jobs, but things start to look up by the end of the year.  2002: Nokia launches its first video capture phone, the Nokia 3650. It also launches its first 3G phone, the Nokia 6650. With 3G technology, phones can now be used to browse the web, download music, watch TV on the move, and more.  2004: Nokia reveals that although it is still the market leader it is losing share to its rivals, with its 35% share comparing with a target of 40% as it falls behind with its new product range.  2005: Nokia sells its billionth phone – a Nokia 1100 – in Nigeria, and global mobile phone subscriptions pass 2bn.  2007: Nokia is forced into one of the world's largest product recalls after it admits the batteries in 46m phones could be faulty. Meanwhile, a longer-term problem emerges: Apple launches the iPhone.  2008: Nokia reports a 30% fall in third-quarter profits. Nokia smartphone sales fall by 3.1% during the quarter, while sales of Apple iPhones grow by 327.5%.  2009: Nokia announces plans to cut 1,700 jobs worldwide as the recession hits mobile phone sales. Nokia admits it was slow to react to the rise of new devices such as the iPhone and plans to fight back. But it is too late to avoid the first loss in more than a decade.  2010: Competitors such as the iPhone and Android-based devices are posing a serious challenge to Nokia's future. It appoints former Microsoft man Stephen Elop as president and chief executive. Nokia cuts a further 1,800 jobs despite a rise in profits.  2011: Elop warns staff "we are standing on a burning platform", and announces a strategic partnership with Microsoft days later to compete with Apple and Google's Android platform. Nokia cuts a further 4,000 jobs worldwide from its 65,000-strong workforce. Elop denies it is in talks about a takeover by Microsoft. Nokia is overtaken by Samsung and Apple in the smartphone sector as profits and sales dwindle. Nokia launches new smartphones.  2012: Nokia cuts 4,000 jobs and moves smartphone manufacturing to Asia. Shares fall following a profits warning and it slumps to a €1.3bn loss. Analysts foresee a possible takeover by Microsoft as it cuts 10,000 more jobs and announces its last factory in Finland will close.  2013: Nokia returns to profit after an 18-month spell of losses. Microsoft buys Nokia's handset business for €5.44bn (£4.6bn).
From making rubber boots in a pulp mill to leading the world in mobile phones, Nokia failed to meet the challenge of the iPhone