-
1485
Richard III is killed in battle.
Richard III was King of England from 1483 until his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. -
1492
Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas.
In 1492, a Spanish-based transatlantic maritime expedition led by Christopher Columbus encountered the Americas, continents which were largely unknown in Europe and were outside the Old World political and economic system. The four voyages of Columbus began the Spanish colonization of the Americas. -
1503
Leonado da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait painting that has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world". -
1516
Thomas More's Utopia is published
Utopia is a work of fiction and socio-political satire by Thomas More in Latin. The book is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious, social and political customs. -
1543
Henry VIII proclaims himself head of Church of England.
The Supreme Head of the Church of England is given to the person who was responsible for the foundation of the English Protestant church that broke away from the authority of the Roman Catholic Church after Pope Paul III excommunicated Henry in 1538 over his divorce from Catherine of Aragon -
1558
Elizabeth I becomes queen of England
In 1558 upon Mary's death, Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister to the throne and set out to rule by good counsel. She depended heavily on a group of trusted advisers, led by William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley. One of her first actions as queen was the establishment of an English Protestant church, of which she became the Supreme Governor. This Elizabethan Religious Settlement was to evolve into the Church of England. -
1564
William Shakespeare is Born
William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as both the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". -
Globe Theater is built in London.
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend and grandson Sir Matthew Brend, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613 -
Period: to
Shakespeare writes King Lear and Macbeth.
King Lear is a tragedy that depicts the gradual descent into madness of the title character, after he disposes of his kingdom by giving bequests to two of his three daughters egged on by their continual flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all.
Macbeth most clearly reflects the playwright's relationship with his sovereign. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy. -
First permanent English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia.
The Virginia Company of England made a daring proposition: sail to the new, mysterious land, which they called Virginia in honor of Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, and begin a settlement. They established Jamestown, Virginia. -
Shakespeare's sonnets are published.
Shakespeare's sonnets are poems that William Shakespeare wrote on a variety of themes. When discussing or referring to Shakespeare’s sonnets, it is almost always a reference to the 154 sonnets that were first published all together in a quarto in 1609 -
King James bible is published.
King James version is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, begun in 1604 and completed/published in 1611. The books of the King James Version include the 39 books of the Old Testament, an intertestamental section containing 14 books of the Apocrypha, and the 27 books of the New Testament. -
The Mayflower lands at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts
a merchant ship called the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, a port on the southern coast of England. Typically, the Mayflower’s cargo was wine and dry goods, but on this trip the ship carried passengers: 102 of them, all hoping to start a new life on the other side of the Atlantic. Nearly 40 of these passengers were Protestant Separatists– -
Newspapers first published in London.
When the English started printing their own papers in London, they reverted to the pamphlet format used by contemporary books. The publication of these newsbooks was suspended between 1632 and 1638 by order of Star Chamber. After they resumed publication, the era of these newsbooks lasted until the publication of the Oxford Gazette in 1665. -
John Milton begins Paradise Lost.
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. The first version, published in 1667, consisted of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse -
Puritan Commonwealth ends; monarchy is restored with Charles II
Restoration, Restoration of the monarchy in England in 1660. It marked the return of Charles II as king (1660–85) following the period of Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth. The bishops were restored to Parliament, which established a strict Anglican orthodoxy.
