23 February 1903 : U.S. leases naval station at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba.[1]
6 October 1903 : Guantanamo Bay Naval Station leased to U.S.[2]
12 December 1913 : Naval Station officially opens. Cuban flag lowered.
31 May 1934 : The 1934 Treaty of Relations[3] abrogates the 1903 Treaty of Relations,[4] explicitly spells out the right for the US to walk away from the lease.[5]
1 April 1941 : Renamed Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Operating Base, after vast construction program for build-up of the Station
Frederick Snare Corporation.[6]
18 June 1952 : Renamed Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base.
List of commanders and commandants
Commandants
10 December 1903 – May 1904 : William H. Allen
17 May 1904 – September 1906 : Charles C. Rogers
8 September 1906 – July 1907 : Albert A. Ackerman
August 1907 – May 1908 : Clark D. Stearns (acting)
May 1908 – April 1909 : Charles H. Harlow
May 1909 – November 1909 : Myles Joyce (acting)
November 1909 – January 1912 : Walter Ball
18 January 1912 – June 1913 : George W. Kline
June 1913 – January 1914 : Merritt S. Corning (acting)