renaissance

  • Jan 1, 1485

    1485 Richard III is killed in battle

    1485 Richard III is killed in battle
    Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 1483 until his death in 1485, at the age of 32, in the Battle of Bosworth Field.
  • Jan 1, 1492

    1492 Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas

    1492 Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas
    Columbus led his three ships - the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria - out of the Spanish port of Palos on August 3, 1492.
  • Jan 1, 1503

    c.1503 Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa

    c.1503 Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
    Mona Lisa
    oil painting on a poplar wood panel by the Italian painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer Leonardo da Vinci, probably the world’s most-famous painting.
  • Jan 1, 1516

    1516 Thomas More's Utopia Is published

    1516 Thomas More's Utopia Is published
    Written in Latin for a European audience, More's Utopia is the quintessential humanist dialogue. First published in Louvain, Belgium, in 1516, Utopia was an immediate sensation
  • Jan 1, 1543

    c.1543 With the Supremacy Act, Henry VIII proclaims himself head of Church of England

    c.1543 With the Supremacy Act, Henry VIII proclaims himself head of Church of England
    The first Act of Supremacy was legislation in 1534 that granted King Henry VIII of England Royal Supremacy, which means that he was declared the supreme head of the Church of England. It is still the legal authority of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Royal Supremacy is specifically used to describe the legal sovereignty of the civil laws over the laws of the Church in England.
  • Jan 1, 1558

    1558 Elizabeth I becomes queen of England

    1558 Elizabeth I becomes queen of England
    Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death.
  • Jan 1, 1564

    1564 William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is born

    1564 William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is born
    Though no birth records exist, church records indicate that a William Shakespeare was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564. From this, it is believed he was born on or near April 23, 1564, and this is the date scholars acknowledge as William Shakespeare's birthday.
  • 1599 Globe Theatre is built in london

    1599 Globe Theatre is built in london
    The Globe was built in 1599 using timber from an earlier theatre, The Theatre, which had been built by Richard Burbage's father, James Burbage, in Shoreditch in 1576. The Burbages originally had a 21-year lease of the site on which The Theatre was built but owned the building outright.
  • 1605-1606 Shakespear writes King Lear and Macbeth

    1605-1606 Shakespear writes King Lear and Macbeth
    King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It depicts the gradual descent into madness of the title character, after he disposes of his kingdom giving bequests to two of his three daughters based on their flattery of him, bringing tragic consequences for all. Derived from the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman Celtic king, the play has been widely adapted for the stage and motion pictures, with the title role coveted by many of the world's most accomplished actors.
  • 1607 First permanent English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia

    1607 First permanent English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia
    The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.
  • 1609 Shakespear's sonnets are published

    1609 Shakespear's sonnets are published
    Shakespeare's Sonnets is the title of a collection of 154 sonnets accredited to William Shakespeare
  • 1611 King James Bible is published

    1611 King James Bible is published
    The King James Version (KJV), also known as the Authorized Version (AV) or King James Bible (KJB), is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England that began in 1604 and was completed in 1611.
  • 1620 the Mayflower land at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts

    1620 the Mayflower land at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts
    Plymouth Rock is the traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620.
  • 1621 Newspapers are first published in London

    1621 Newspapers are first published in London
    Corante: or, Newes from Italy, Germany, Hungarie, Spaine and FranceOffsite Link was published by the printer Nathaniel ButterOffsite Link in London. The earliest of the seven surviving copies is dated September 24, 1621, but it is thought that this single page news sheet began publication earlier in 1621.
  • c.1658 John Miltion begins Paradise Lost

    c.1658 John Miltion begins Paradise Lost
    Milton composed the ten books of Paradise Lost between 1658 and 1663.
  • 1660 Puritan Commonwealth ends; monarchy is restored with Charles II

    1660 Puritan Commonwealth ends; monarchy is restored with Charles II
    The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.