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Jan 1, 1485
Richard III is killed in battle
Paradise Lost tells the age old story of man's fall from Eden. Central figures in the epic poem include God, Jesus, Satan, Adam, Eve,and the archangels, Raphael and Michael. An epic poem is defined as an "extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language celebrating feats of a legendary or traditional hero." (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2000). -
Sep 27, 1492
Christopher Colubus 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. His objective was to sail west until he reached Asia (the Indies) where the riches of gold, pearls and spice awaited. His first stop was the Canary Islands where the lack of wind left his expedition becalmed until September 6. -
Jan 1, 1503
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona LIsa
Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa is one of the most famous and most celebrated works of all time. The mastery of the painting lies in its subtle detail, including the faint smile, and Mona Lisa's distinctive gaze. The work is said to have been commissioned by a gentleman named Francesco del Giocondo, who hired Leonardo to paint a portrait of his wife, and this is why The Mona Lisa is sometimes referred to as La Gioconda. While this is a theory on the origination of the painting, scholars have disag -
Jan 1, 1516
Thomas More's Uptoia is published
A book with a series of stories written by Thomas More -
Feb 11, 1543
With the Supremacy Act, Heny VIII proclaims himself head of Church of England
Today in 1531, The Catholic Church in England recognized King Henry VIII as its supreme head. This day marked an important step in the formation of the Church of England as a separate entity independent of papal authority. Like the Protestant Reformation that rocked mainland Europe during the 16th century, England's break from the Vatican and Roman Catholicism was long in coming and fraught with strife. -
Jan 15, 1558
Elizabeth I becomes queen of 'England
Elizabeth was crowned Queen on Sunday 15th January 1559. -
Jan 1, 1564
William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is born
William Shakespeare was believed to have been born in the Shakespeare family home in Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, England His actual date of birth cannot be substantiated as at this time in England births were not formally registered and Birth Certificates were not produced -
Globe Theate is built in London
The first Globe Theatre was built in London in 1599. It was built on the Southbank of the river Thames in Southwark, London in close proximity to the Bear Garden. The land had been owned by the Bishop of Winchester and this estate was called the Liberty of the Clink. -
Shakespeae writes King Lear and Macbeth
Written within a year of each other, these are widely regarded as Shakespeare’s most profound tragedies. The course will consider them not only as studies in moral evil, but also as tragedies of state with a peculiar relevance to the Jacobean period. -
First permanent English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia
In 1607, 13 years before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, a group of 104 English men and boys began a settlement on the banks of Virginia's James River. They were sponsored by the Virginia Company of London, whose stockholders hoped to make a profit from the resources of the New World. The community suffered terrible hardships in its early years, but managed to endure, earning the distinction of being America's first permanent English colony -
Shakespeare's sonnets are published
Shakespeare's sonnets were published in 1609, no doubt without authorization, by the unsavory Thomas Thorpe (1580-1614), described as "a publishing understrapper of piratical habits" who "hung about scriveners' shops"; in order to pinch manuscripts. -
King James Bible is published
The King James Bible, published in 1611, was England's authorized version of the Bible translated from the original Hebrew and Greek languages into English at the request of King James I of England. -
The Mayflower lands at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts
In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereigne Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britaine, France and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc. having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honour of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northerne parts of Virginia, doe by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, covenant an -
Newspapers are first published in London
In 1621 the newspaper "Corante" is published in London. -
John milton begins Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost tells the age old story of man's fall from Eden. Central figures in the epic poem include God, Jesus, Satan, Adam, Eve,and the archangels, Raphael and Michael. An epic poem is defined as an "extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language celebrating feats of a legendary or traditional hero." (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2000). -
Puritan Commonwealth ends; monarchy is restored with Charles II
The New Commonwealth (or The New Commonwealth of the Americas as it is known officially) is the largest and most powerful single nation on Earth. It is an austere totalitarian theocracy covering all of north and central America, Greenland, Iceland and Britain, plus most of Chipangu [Japan], the islands of the Pacific, the Philippines, England-in-the-South [New Zealand], New Eden [New Guinea] and parts of Terra Australis [Australia]. It has an average level of technology, but is the most populous
