Pick a Day

Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington is born in Phoenix, Arizona. Known for writing songs about inner turmoil and singing them with blistering ferocity, he helps the band build a huge and fiercely loyal fanbase. Bennington, though, struggles with depression and substance abuse and dies by suicide in 2017 at 41.

Linkin Park founder Mike Shinoda is born in Agoura Hills, California. His smooth vocal flow provides a counterbalance to Chester Bennington's screams, creating a dynamic tension that helps distinguish the band.

Dave "Phoenix" Farrell (bassist for Linkin Park) is born in Plymouth, Massachusetts. He is raised in Mission Viejo, California.

Joseph Hahn is born in Dallas, Texas. As Linkin Park's DJ and director of many of their music videos, he adds an innovative electronic edge to the band's nu-metal sound and visual aesthetic.

Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson is born in Agoura Hills, California. His heavy-but-melodic riffs power hits like "Crawling" and "What I've Done," helping the band become one of the most popular acts of the '00s.

Linkin Park drummer Rob Bourdon is born in Calabasas, California.

Linkin Park release their debut album, Hybrid Theory. Bolstered by the hit "In The End" and the Grammy Award-winning "Crawling," it becomes the best-selling album of 2001.More

In Colorado Springs, Linkin Park launch the first Projekt Revolution festival, which runs every year through 2004, then returns in 2007, 2008 and 2011. Artists to play the festival over the years include Korn, My Chemical Romance, and Chris Cornell.

For the first time since 1963, there are no British acts in the US Hot 100, as Americans reject acts like Blur, Oasis and Robbie Williams.More

Linkin Park release Meteora, the follow-up to their smash debut, Hybrid Theory. The nu-metal album features the hit singles "Numb" and "Breaking The Habit."

Limp Bizkit appear at the Hawthorne Racetrack in Chicago as part of Metallica's Summer Sanitarium tour with Deftones, Linkin Park and Mudvayne. But the crowd soon shows how they feel about frontman Fred Durst and his crew, as the band is booed and Durst is pelted with coins and bottles, leading him to launch into homophobic taunts. As a result, Limp Bizkit leaves the stage after 30 minutes and only six songs, but not before Durst challenges audience members to a fight.

Linkin Park and Jay-Z release the collaborative EP Collision Course, which features mash-ups of the artists' songs. "Numb," from the nu-metal band's sophomore album, Meteora, is mixed with the rapper's Black Album track "Encore." The result, "Numb/Encore," wins the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 2006 ceremony.

Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance marries Mindless Self Indulgence bassist Lyn-Z backstage at Linkin Park's Projekt Revolution festival.

Linkin Park release their fourth studio album, A Thousand Suns, an apocalyptic-themed concept album that finds the rap-rockers exploring electronic rock on singles like "The Catalyst" and "Waiting For The End."

The film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter sees its theatrical release in the United States, notable in the music world for having "Powerless" by Linkin Park playing over the end credits.

Tragedy strikes at a Linkin Park concert in Cape Town, South Africa, when high winds cause scaffolding to collapse. This sends an advertisement tower plummeting into the crowd of fans in the parking lot after the show, killing one and injuring 19 more.

Linkin Park release the album One More Light, which ends up being their last album with lead singer Chester Bennington, who dies by suicide on July 20. The lead single, "Heavy," reflects his troubled state of mind.

The day after the suicide of lead singer Chester Bennington, Linkin Park cancel their upcoming tour and set up a tribute page on their website with resources for suicide prevention.

Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, 41, is found dead, a suicide by hanging. Bennington was close friends with Chris Cornell, who died in similar fashion two months earlier.

Linkin Park release "The Emptiness Machine," their first song without frontman Chester Bennington, who died by suicide in 2017. It's the debut of their new lead singer, Emily Armstrong, who quickly wins over fans with her Bennington-like passion.