1937 – “The Guiding Light” premieres as a 15-minute radio program sponsored by Proctor & Gamble. A book containing the characters’ backstory, as well as sermons delivered by the lead character, the Rev. Dr. John Rutledge, becomes a best seller.

1951 – Radio listeners participate in the outcome of the show by deciding the fate of Meta Bauer, who was on trial for the murder of Ted White. The show received more than 75,000 votes, and the character was acquitted by reason of temporary insanity.

1952 – “The Guiding Light” premieres on television, set in Five Points, a Chicago suburb. Actors perform the live script twice each day, once on television and later in the day on radio.

1962 – Longtime character Bert Bauer learns she has uterine cancer. The first social issue-oriented storyline helped educate the audience about the importance of annual Pap smears. Show moved from Los Angeles locale to the fictional Midwestern suburb of Springfield.

1966 – First major African-American characters on a soap are introduced. Cicely Tyson, and later, Ruby Dee, appears as Martha Frazier. Billy Dee Williams, then James Earl Jones portray her husband, Dr. Jim Frazier.

1977 – “Guiding Light” drops “The” from its name and expands to 60 minutes after becoming a 30-minute taped program in 1968.

2002 – Soap celebrates 50 years on television and 65 years on the air with its 13,941st episode on June 28. By comparison, prime-time’s current longest running show “Law and Order” boasts a total of 262 episodes in its 12th season.