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DragonBall was created in Japan around 1984 by a man
named Akira Toriyama. It started out as a manga (the Japanese word
for "still movie", AKA comic book), then became the popular show we
have known and grown to love today. The story of DragonBall is based
on the old story "Journey To The West". It tells the story of a boy
named Goku, a special boy with great knowledge of martial arts, and
an appetite the size of his heart. It also tells his adventures with
his friends, such as the always-grumpy Bulma, the shape-shifting
Oolong, and wise old perverted Master Roshi, on their quest to find
the 7 mystical Dragon Balls. The legend of the Dragon Balls tells
that whoever manages to collect all 7 balls and summon the Eternal
Dragon (Shenlong to all you people who watch the Japanese version)
will be granted 1 wish. After about 3 seasons (I think) Dragon Ball
finally came to an end.
Up next we have DragonBall's successor, the ever-popular DragonBall Z. This told the story of a more mature grown-up Goku, and his family (his wife, and his son Gohan). We also learn more about Goku's past, and even his future. We also meet some new friends and foes, like the evil Saiyans, Goku's alien race, which include Radditz, Goku's brother. We also meet another popular DBZ character, the baddie-turned-almost-goodie Vegeta, a Saiyan Prince and warrior bent on becoming stronger than Goku. DBZ ran for many many years from 1986 to it's end in about 1994-95. After DragonBall Z, people had thought the DragonBall saga had come to complete end. Until...
... In 1996 DB and DBZ fans were introduced to currently the final chronicle of Goku and his friends, DragonBall GT. In this series, everyone started to become victims of age. Bulma was already in her 60s, and couldn't help out very much anymore. Goku and Vegeta were well into their 50s, and Gohan and his wife Videl have had a child, by the name of Pan. We also see some very odd things occur, first of all is the return of Chibi (Little) Goku! This series only ran for about 65 episodes, but made a very good impression on DB fans. After this series ended, the Dragon Ball series came to an end.
Around the same time DBGT ended in Japan, North American audiences were introduced to both Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. DB only ran for one season (a successful one), and DBZ is still one of the highest rated shows on cable TV, airing weekdays and weekends on Cartoon Network. Hopefully, we will also see the arrival of DBGT here in the states. We'll just have to wait and see...