The Legacy of Renaissence

  • 1305

    Giotto completes his work on the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua.

  • 1308

    Dante writes his epic poem the Divine Comedy.

  • 1341

    The first great humanist, Petrarch, is named the poet laureate of Rome.

  • 1419

    Architect Brunelleschi designs the dome for the Florence Cathedral.

  • 1434

    The Medici family becomes the head of the city-state of Florence.

  • 1450

    Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press.

  • 1453

    The Ottoman Empire captures the city of Constantinople, signaling an end to the Byzantine Empire.

  • 1469

    Lorenzo de Medici becomes head of the city-state of Florence. He is one of the great patrons of the arts.

  • 1485

    Henry VII becomes king of England beginning the reign of the House of Tudor.

  • 1486

    Boticelli completes the painting The Birth of Venus.

  • 1492

    Explorer Christopher Columbus discovers the Americas.

  • 1495

    Leonardo da Vinci paints the Last Supper.

  • 1498

    Vasco da Gama arrives in India after sailing around the southern tip of Africa from Portugal.

  • 1501

    Michelangelo begins his work on the sculpture David.

  • 1503

    Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa.

  • 1508

    Michelangelo begins his painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

  • 1509

    Henry VIII becomes king of England.

  • 1509

    Humanist author Erasmus writes Praise of Folly.

  • 1511

    Raphael paints his masterpiece The School of Athens.

  • 1516

    Sir Thomas More publishes his work Utopia on political philosophy.

  • 1517

    Martin Luther posts his 95 theses on the door of the Church of Wittenberg. This signals the start of the Reformation.

  • 1519

    Ferdinand Magellan begins his voyage around the world.

  • 1527

    Rome is sacked by the troops of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.

  • 1534

    Henry VIII separates the Church of England from the Catholic Church of Rome so that he can divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn.

  • 1558

    Elizabeth I becomes Queen of England.

  • The Spanish Armada is defeated by the English navy.

  • William Shakespeare builds the Globe theatre. He will write many of his great plays over the next few years including Hamlet and Macbeth.

  • Galileo discovers the moons of Jupiter.

  • The Thirty Years War begins.