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200
Printing Revolution
The first version of printing was woodblock printing in Asia in the 200's followed by moveable type in 1040. During the Renaissance, Gutenberg perfected on the movable type and made the printing press. The printing revolution and Gutenberg's printing press were precursors to a rise of schools, an increase in literacy, which caused a demand for books, and the invention of cheaper paper. -
1214
Scientific Method
The Scientific Method was further developed during the Renaissance. Galileo used controlled experiments and analyzed data to prove, or disprove, his theories. The process was later refined by scientists such as Francis Bacon and Isaac Newton. Roger Bacon is credited as the first scholar to promote inductive reasoning as part of the scientific method. -
Jul 20, 1304
Petrarch
Petrarch was an Italian scholar and poet in the Italian Renaissance who was one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch’s inquiring mind and love of classical authors led him to travel, visiting men of learning and searching monastic libraries for classical manuscripts. His rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited with initiating the 14th-century Renaissance. -
1395
Johann Gutenberg
Gutenberg was a German blacksmith, goldsmith, printer, and publisher. He created the Printing Press with movable type around 1439. This revolutionized the printing technology. He produced many copies of the Gutenberg Bible and by 1500, printing presses were running in more than 200 European cities. -
1400
Humanism
During the Renaissance, humanism challenged the worldview of the Middle Ages. It was the study of Greek and Latin classics and the ancient Church Fathers, in the hopes of reviving worthy ancient values. Italian humanists searched out manuscript collections, making volumes of Greek and Latin teachings available to scholars. Northern humanists were more interested than Italians in religious reform and educating laity. -
Jan 1, 1449
Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo de' Medici was an Italian statesman and ruler of the Florentine Republic. He was the most powerful and enthusiastic patron of the Renaissance. He is well known for his contribution to the art world by sponsoring artists such as Botticelli and Michelangelo. -
Apr 15, 1452
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci lived the Renaissance ideal of a universal person. He was a painter, advisor to kings, an engineer, physiologist, botanist, etc. da Vinci was a true "Renaissance Man." He died May 2, 1519. -
Oct 28, 1466
Erasmus
Erasmus was one of the major religious scholars of his age. He wrote many texts on many subjects, which included a new Greek edition of the Bible. Erasmus also disturbed by corruption in the church and sought religious reform. -
May 3, 1469
Machiavelli
Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat, politician, historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer of the Renaissance. He is best known for writing "The Prince" in 1513. This recommended temporary use of fraud and brutality to achieve Italian unity. It also coined the term "Machiavellian." -
May 21, 1471
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer was a painter, printmaker, and theorist of the German Renaissance. Dürer applied Renaissance painting techniques to engravings. His engravings and paintings often portrayed religious upheaval or were quite realistic. -
Feb 19, 1473
Copernicus
Copernicus was a Renaissance and Reformation era mathematician, scientist, and astronomer. He challenged the long accepted view that the Earth was the center of the universe. Copernicus proposed a revolutionary theory that the solar system was a heliocentric model. This theory was rejected. -
Mar 6, 1475
Michelangelo
Michelangelo was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet. He is considered to be the most famous artist of the Italian Renaissance. Michelangelo is know for the Statue of David and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. -
Feb 7, 1478
Thomas More
Sir Thomas More, venerated by Roman Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. Thomas More is known for his 1516 book, "Utopia," and for his untimely death in 1535, after refusing to acknowledge King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. He was canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint in 1935. -
Apr 6, 1483
Raphael
Raphael was a well known architect and painter during the Renaissance. He is known for his "The School of Athens" and his "Madonna" paintings. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the idea of human grandeur. -
Nov 10, 1483
Martin Luther
Luther was a German monk and professor who sparked a revolt in 1517. He had issues with the corruptness of the Church and the selling of indulgences. Luther composed his 95 Theses and they spread and sparked a debate across Europe. -
Jul 2, 1489
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. Since Parliament passed several laws to make the "Anglican" Church more Protestant, Cranmer drew up the book, "The Book of Common Prayer," which became at all Anglican services. Mary Tudor tried to restore Catholicism and had many Protestants burned at the stake for heresy, including Thomas Cranmer. -
Jun 28, 1491
Henry VIII
Henry was the King of England until his death in 1509. He was the second Tudor monarch succeeding his father. During his reign, Henry took over the English Church and became the head. He also had 6 different wives and suffered many health problems throughout his life. -
Jul 10, 1509
John Calvin
Calvin was a French-born priest and lawyer. He was strongly influenced by the Reformation ideas. He accepted most Lutheran beliefs, but added his own beliefs in predestination. He created Calvinism, which in the late 1500's, spread throughout northern Europe. Calvin was also invited to lead a community in Geneva, Switzerland. Although, challenges to the Catholic Church started a series of religious wars. To escape persecution in England, groups of Calvinists set sail for America in the 1600's. -
1517
Sale of Indulgences
Indulgences were sold by the Church as a way to forgive your sins, although only the rich could afford to buy them. The indulgences lessened the time one would spend in purgatory. Many Christians objected to these sales. Martin Luther, who was angered by the sale of indulgences, drew up the 95 Theses argu9ing that the sale of indulgences had no place in the Bible and that Christians could only be sowed by faith. -
Sep 7, 1533
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from November 17, 1558 until her death. Elizabeth was the last monarch of the House of Tudor. She was the long-ruling queen of England, governing with relative stability and prosperity for 44 years. The Elizabethan era would unite England and avoid future religious wars and confrontation. -
1543
Heliocentric Theory
This theory by Copernicus proposed a sun-centered solar system. This view challenged the views of Ptolemy and Aristotle, who believed the Earth was the center, which became Church doctrine. Copernicus created the heliocentric theory, because the geocentric theory didn't accurately explain the movements of the sun, moon and planets and he wanted to prove to the Church that his theory is the truth about the solar system. -
1545
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was an ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. Prompted by the Reformation, the Council of Trent was highly important for its sweeping decrees on self-reform and for its assertive definitions that clarified virtually every doctrine contested by the Protestants. It has also been described as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation. -
Feb 15, 1564
Galileo
Galileo was an Italian astronomer, physicist, engineer, philosopher, and mathematician. He built a telescope and observed several moons in orbit around Jupiter. He said that these movements were the same as these of the planets around the sun. All of this contradicted the Church doctrine that the Earth was the center of the universe. Galileo was forced to recant his theories before the inquisitions. -
Apr 23, 1564
William Shakespeare
Shakespeare was an English playwright and was the towering figure of the Northern Renaissance. Between 1590 and 1613, he wrote 37 plays, most of which are still performed today. He explored Renaissance ideas such as the complexity of the individual. Throughout his time, he used a common language used by everyone and added 1,700 words to the English language. -
Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton was an English mathematician, astronomer, and physicist is a key figure in the scientific revolution. He made discoveries in optics, motion and mathematics. Newton helped develop the principles of modern physics, including the laws of motion.
