In the Star Trek universe, Vulcans were the one alien race that seemed to be willing to give humanity a chance when the rest of the galaxy was happy to avoid Earth. Vulcans were some of humanity's first and most loyal friends and were one of the founding members of the United Federation of Planets. If not for their influence, galactic history might have taken a different turn.
The years given are in the human calendar, the same as what was used on Earth during the 21st century. It might seem culturally insensitive to Vulcans, but it's safe to say most of the readers are Terrans from this place and time period.
7 The Time Of Awakening, 400
The art of training their minds for mental discipline had begun eons before this, but it was around the year 400 that Surak made the practice an intrinsic part of Vulcan philosophy. He traveled the planet with his message of logic and pacifism, and although his teachings weren't accepted everywhere it was enough to change the culture forever.
Thanks in part to Surak, peace returned to Vulcan, and those that rejected him left the planet to eventually become Romulans. This period in Vulcan history is referenced many times in Star Trek lore. One example is the TOS episode "The Savage Curtain" in which Surak is the historic figure that appears to Spock.
6 Return To Space, 1957
A long period of brutal wars set Vulcan's technological and scientific advancements back for centuries, and it was not until the mid-20th century that Vulcans were able to return to space. This rebuilding process took 1,500 years after their civilization had faced almost total annihilation, so it was a significant achievement.
The knowledge wasn't exactly lost, as the Vulcans did have warp-capable ships and their designs, but it took some time to learn how to rebuild them; they wouldn't break warp 2 for another hundred years. One thing that impressed and surprised them during this period was the launch of Sputnik from a primitive planet in the Milky Way galaxy, on the part of a race that was supposed to be too backward for space travel.
5 First Contact With Earth, 2063
Other local alien races, such as the Andorians and Tellerites, thought that Earth was too primitive to be any of their concern. Vulcans, however, suspected that there was more to humans after the launch of Sputnick in the mid-20th century, and checked up on them from time to time.
That's why Vulcans were the first aliens to discover that humans had discovered warp speed, which prompted First Contact. Despite their first impressions of humans as "a savagely illogical race" the meeting between the two races was prescient. Humans and Vulcans would still view each other with suspicion for some time, but Vulcans and Humans would have more successful diplomatic ties than most other races.
4 The Treaty Of 2097
Weytahn was a barren planetoid, about the same size as Earth's moon, that was in a strategic location between Andorian and Vulcan space. Both races lay claim to Weytahn, but it was the Andorians who terraformed the planet and attempted to colonize it in 2050.
Vulcans annexed the planet and forcibly expelled the colonists, and tensions were at a breaking point for decades. This Treaty effectively ended any hostilities surrounding the planet, giving full control of it to the Vulcan High Command, and it was renamed Paan Mokar. However, the Andorians held a grudge and attempted to invade the planet in 2152.
3 The Secret Of P'Jem, 2151
P'Jem was originally a remote Vulcan monastery located on a planet conveniently close to Andorian territory. Its strategic position, however, was always a point of suspicion, and it was eventually revealed that the Vulcan High Command was using the site covertly to spy on their rivals.
The Star Trek: Enterprise episode "The Andorian Incident" covers this part of Vulcan history in detail, including how T'Pol helped expose the secret. The fallout to T'Pol and her family back on Vulcan lasted much longer than the events of this episode.
2 The Coalition Of Planets, 2155
The idea of a united coalition on an intergalactic level was a revolutionary one at the time, something only humans could dream up and only Vulcans could support. The Founding Of The United Federation Of Planets became a reality less than ten years later in 2161.
Although there were only five founding members that would grow to more than a hundred over the next two centuries. The UFD would maintain a tenuous peace for the next century until the Federation-Klingon War, which lasted from 2256-2257.
1 The Babel Conference, 2268
Sarek, one of the more notable Vulcans in galactic history, was pulled out of retirement to attend this crucial meeting. The USS Enterprise was deemed to be a safe, neutral site to transport the delegates safely to their meeting place, but the hostility between Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites proved otherwise.
The main issue at hand was admitting a new planet, Coridan, into the United Federation of Planets. Certain commercial interests were nervous about their mining and drilling rights, while some politicians were concerned about the denizens of Coridan making new and powerful friends.