Facebook birthday: 15 defining moments for the social network

Under Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook has grown from a social network for US colleges to one of the world's biggest technology companies

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

It has been 15 years since a 19-year-old college student launched a website that would go on to define and dominate the internet era.

The social network, originally called TheFacebook, is now used by almost a third of the world’s population and its most recent figures show that it’s continuing to grow.

A series of scandals in recent years has resulted in calls for Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to be subpoened, while others believe he should step down as CEO.

Yet under Mr Zuckerberg’s guidance, the company continues to evolve into arguably the most successful company of the internet era.

With revenue of around $55 billion in 2018, Facebook would be the 76th wealthiest country in the world.

So how did a dorm room project go on to be one of the world’s largest technology companies? Here are 15 moments that defined Facebook.