Terri Schiavo had been brain damaged since 1990 when, aged 26, her heart stopped beating temporarily and oxygen was cut off to her brain.
Her parents - the Schindlers - had been locked in a legal battle with her legal guardian and husband Michael Schiavo since 1998.
They opposed his wish to remove the feeding tube and let her die.
25 February 1990: Terri Schiavo collapses at home
November 1992: Michael Schiavo wins case against doctors he accused of misdiagnosing his wife; awarded $700,000 for her care and $300,000 for himself
Terri's parents insist that she is capable of human interaction
29 July 1993: Schindlers file petition to have Mr Schiavo removed as Mrs Schiavo's guardian; case later dismissed
May 1998: Mr Schiavo files petition to remove Mrs Schiavo's feeding tube
11 February 2000: Judge Greer rules feeding tube can be removed, but this is not carried out immediately
20 April 2001: Schindlers win a stay to exhaust appeals
23 April 2001: US Supreme Court refuses to intervene
24 April 2001: Feeding tube removed from
26 April 2001: Judge orders doctors to reinsert tube
22 November 2002: After more hearings, Judge Greer rules there is no evidence that Mrs Schiavo has any hope of recovery and orders tube to be removed on 3 January 2003
13 December 2002: Judge Greer stays order to remove feeding tube to allow appeal
Terri's husband Michael insists she would have wanted to die
6 June 2003: Appeal court upholds Judge Greer's ruling
26 August 2003: Florida Governor Jeb Bush asks court to appoint new guardian for Mrs Schiavo; court does not act
17 September 2003: Judge orders feeding tube removal on 15 October
22 September 2003: Parents petition Federal Court
15 October 2003: Doctors remove Mrs Schiavo's feeding tube
21 October 2003: Florida's lower house passes a law giving Jeb Bush the power to order doctors to feed Mrs Schiavo - the law is known as "Terri's Law"
22 October 2003: Doctors start giving fluids to Mrs Schiavo and a day later her feeding tube is reinserted
30 October 2003: Michael Schiavo asks Florida Court to strike down Terri's law as unconstitutional
6 May 2004: County Court rules that Terri's Law is unconstitutional and a violation of the right to privacy
23 September 2004: Florida's Supreme Court strikes down Terri's Law
4 October 2004: Jeb Bush files motion for rehearing of Mrs Schiavo's case
The case has bounced back and forth between courts
1 December 2004: Jeb Bush asks US Supreme court to accept the case for review
25 January 2005: US Supreme Court rejects Jeb Bush's appeal to change ruling
23 February 2005: Judge extends a last-minute stay and orders that doctors must wait for a further court ruling before removing Mrs Schiavo's feeding tube
25 February 2005: County Court judge issues a three week stay
12 March 2005: Michael Schiavo refuses an offer of $1m (£520,000) from a Californian businessman to keep his wife alive
16 March 2005: Florida Appeals Court refuses to block removal of Mrs Schiavo's feeding tube and sets 18 March 2005 as the day the tube will be removed
17 March 2005: The Schindlers file an emergency motion at the US Supreme Court to block the removal of Mrs Schiavo's feeding tube.
They say lower courts need time to consider whether their daughter's religious freedom and due process
rights have been violated.
18 March 2005: The US House of Representatives and US Senate both move to block the removal of Mrs Schiavo's feeding tube - but Judge Greer rejects the manoeuvres and orders the tube removed.
20 March 2005: The Senate passes an emergency bill calling for a federal court to review the case.
21 March 2005: The House of Representatives backs the bill in the early hours of the morning, and it is signed almost immediately into law by President Bush.
22 March 2005: A Florida judge refuses to order doctors to resume feeding, on the grounds that the family is unlikely to win a new court case.
23 March 2005: A panel of appeal judges backs the Florida decision.
24 March 2005: The US Supreme Court refuses to hear an emergency appeal by Mrs Schiavo's parents, and later a Florida judge rejects a petition by Governor Jeb Bush to become her legal guardian.
25 Mar 2005:: A federal judge rejects parents' second appeal. And an appeals court rejects bid to overturn federal judge ruling.
26 Mar 2005:: A Florida state judge rejects the parents' latest appeal. The Schindlers' lawyer described it as their last chance to save Mrs Schiavo, after they decided to end federal appeals.
27 Mar 2005: The Florida Supreme Court rejects an emergency appeal by Mrs Schiavo's parents.
29 Mar 2005: The Schindlers agree to Michael Schiavo's request for an autopsy to be carried out after the woman's death to establish the extent of her brain damage.
30 March 2005: A US federal appeals court rejects a petition by the parents to have the feeding tube reinserted. Hours later, the US Supreme Court
refuses for the sixth time to intervene.
31 March 2005: Terri Schiavo's parents announce her death, 13 days after her feeding tube was removed.