The Renaissance

Petrarch

1304

Petrarch is a famous Italian poet and scholar. He is considered one of the most famous love poets of all time. One of his most famous poems is the Canzoniere.

Johannes Gutenberg

1395

Johann is famous for his invention of the printing press. With this invention books were much more easily created and were made more affordable for common people. Due to the books being much more affordable more and more people were becoming more educated.

Humanism

1400

The devotion to humanity and things involving people instead of spirituality. Humanism started back during the Renaissance. It was very popular as people started to enjoy life more instead of trying to make after they die better.

Perspective

1415

Perspective painting was invented by Filipo Brunelleschi. It is when on a piece of paper or something flat the painter creates a 3D look by making things in the back of the painting smaller. Brunelleschi painted the first perspective piece in 1415 and it was of the inside of the Baptistery.

Printing Revolution

1440

The Printing Revolution started when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. This revolutionized the way books were made and the pricing of books. This also made the bible more affordable and people could begin reading it and seeing the corruption churches had used to fund themselves.

Leonardo Da Vinci

1452

Leonardo was an inventor, painter, sculptor, and architect. His paintings include The Mona Lisa, Vitruvian Man, and The Last Supper. His inventions were also hundreds of years ahead of his time, although not created Da Vinci had blueprints for submarines and helicopters.

Erasmus

1466

Erasmus was one of Europe's most famous and influential scholars. He also defined much of the Northern humanist movement. One of his most famous writings was the De Libro Arbitrio; it was about how he agreed with Luther.

Albrecht Durer

1471

Albrecht Durer was a German painter, printmaker, and theorist from Nuremberg. Durer used many different forms of art including woodcuts and engravings. His most famous pieces include Apocalypse woodcuts, Knight, Death, and the Devil, Saint Jerome in his Study and Melancholy.

Copernicus

1473

Copernicus was a very famous astronomer. He was instrumental in the creation of the heliocentric model in which the Earth and all the other planets revolve around the sun. His theory was met with many controversies but he stood his ground and was one of the first to create such a model.

Michelangelo

1475

Michelangelo was another very famous painter and sculptor. His most famous paintings include The Last Judgment, The Sistine Chapel ceiling, and The Torment of Saint Anthony. His sculptures are world renown including David, Pieta, and Moses.

Martin Luther

1483

Martin Luther is one of the most famous religious figures in all of Christian history. He's one of the most famous due to his 95 Theses that he wrote regarding the corruption of the church. He also went on to create Lutheranism and was hunted down and chased out of many kingdoms and towns.

Raphael

1483

Raphael is a famous painter and architect. His paintings include a series of "Madonna's". He's also famous for his large figure compositions in the Vatican.

Henry VIII

1491

Henry VIII was the king of England and was married 6 times. He was disappointed in Catherine for giving birth to only a girl so he attempted to divorce her. The pope at the time would not give Henry an annulment because it was against the bible. In retaliation Henry broke away from the Christian church and created Protestantism and he was the head of it. With the new religion he was able to divorce his wife and remarry.

John Calvin

1509

John Calvin is a famous journalist and theologian. He's most famous for being Martin Luther's successor as the preeminent Protestant theologian. He also created a very strict religious government not allowing a lot of different things.

Sale of Indulgences

1517

The sale of indulgences was started in 1517 as a way to excuse all sins by the person purchasing the indulgence. Indulgences were used by the church to make money and were very expensive. People could even buy them for their dead relatives to excuse all their sins.

Elizabeth I

1533

Elizabeth took over as queen after her sister Mary died in 1558. She called a truce on the religious wars and didn't go after people to convert to Christian or Protestant like her father and sister. She ruled for 44 years and during that time England prospered.

Heliocentric Theory

1543

The heliocentric theory was first invented by Nicholaus Copernicus. The model was all of the planets going around the sun instead of all the planets going around Earth. This theory was revolutionary and unaccepted by many people including the church because it went against the bible. It was also supported by Galileo.

Scientific Method

1561

The Scientific Method was created by Francis Bacon. It is a body of techniques for acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and including previous knowledge. It was created to better understand maths and sciences.

Galileo

1564

Galileo was an Italian astronomer, mathematician, and physicist. He made a telescope and looked at Jupiter and found that its moons revolved around it and not the Earth. With this in mind Galileo supported Copernicus' theory and released it to the public. However the church told him to recant what he had said or face death, Galileo recanted but continued his studies in astronomy.

Isaac Newton

1643

Newton was an English physicist and mathematician. He's most famous for his theory of gravity. He also wrote the book principia which is about his gravity and the principles of physics. He revolutionized the world with his theories and knowledge of physics.