History of english

  • 450

    450-480 Earliest Old English inscriptions

    450-480 Earliest Old English inscriptions
    Old English
  • 800

    800 Old English epic poem “Beowulf” composed

  • 871

    871 Alfred the Great becomes king of Wessex and encourages English prose and translation of Latin works

  • 1000

    1000 The discovery of North America was during the year

  • 1000

    1000 Suspected date of Beowulf's writing was during the year

  • 1000

    1150 The oldest surviving manuscripts in Middle English date from this period

  • 1066

    1066 The Norman Invasion started during the year

  • 1362

    1362 English is used in English Parliament for the first time

    1362 English is used in English Parliament for the first time
    Middle English
  • 1385

    1385 English replaces Latin as the main language in schools

  • 1387

    1387- 1400 Chaucer's Canterbury Tales was between the years

  • 1440

    1440 The invention of the Printing Press was introduced in the year

  • 1500

    1500 Start of English Renaissance

  • 1526

    1526 William Tyndale prints his English translation of the New Testament of “The Bible”

  • 1607 Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the New World, established

    1607 Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the New World, established
    Modern English
  • 1623 Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio was during the year

  • 1765-1783 The American Revolution was between the years

  • 1788 Noah Webster publishes “The American Spelling Book”

  • 1804 Lewis and Clark document exploration of routes to American West

  • 1828 Noah Webster publishes his “The American Dictionary of the English Language”

  • 1989 Second edition of the “Oxford English Dictionary” is published