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At 11 p.m. EST, an explosion occurs on BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Of the 126 crew members, 11 are missing.
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The fire is extinguished and the oil rig sinks. Search for the 11 missing workers continues.
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Two leaks that are dumping an estimated 1,000 barrels of oil per day into the sea are discovered. Search-and-rescue operations are suspended.
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The U.S. Coast Guard sets fire to the oil slick in an attempt to stop the leak.
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Obama halts any new offshore drilling and a luncheon awarding "offshore drilling safety" is postponed.
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Another leak is found and the initial estimated number of 1,000 barrels of oil leaking into the sea per day has jumped to 25,000 barrels of oil per day.
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BP claims to succeed in plugging one of the three leaks. An attempt to stop the other two leaks is unsuccessful.
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BP finally releases underwater pictures of the leak, allowing other scientists and engineers to see the problem.
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BP succeeds in capturing some oil and gas out of one of the leaks, but the amount leaking is still more than the amount captured.
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NASA reveals a picture of the spill that stretches hundreds of miles long in the Gulf of Mexico
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BP's "Top Kill" is implemented. The plan to plug the oil well has been delayed for unknown reasons. "Top Kill" appears to be working according to a U.S. Coast Guard admiral.
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"Top Kill" is abandoned after failed operations.
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Scientists claim to have found underwater oil plumes, one of which is "22 miles long, six miles wide and more than a thousand feet deep. BP denies the existence of any underwater oil plumes, and CEO Tony Hayward is qouted as saying "I'd like my life back."
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Experts believe that in a worst case scenario, the leak would last until Christmas. BP's stock plunges, and workers are banned from sharing photos of animals killed by the oil.
