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Aug 22, 1485
1485 Richard III is killed in battle
On 22 August 1485, Richard was killed at Bosworth Field, the last English King to die in battle, thereby bringing to an end both the Plantagenet dynasty and the Wars of the Roses. -
Nov 16, 1492
1492 Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas
During his first voyage in 1492, he reached the New World instead of arriving at Japan as he had intended, landing on an island in the Bahamas archipelago that he named "San Salvador". -
Nov 16, 1503
1503 Leonardo Da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait of a woman by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, which has been acclaimed as the best known, the most visited, the most written about, and the most sung about work of art in the world. -
Nov 16, 1516
1516 Thomas More's Utopia is published
Utopia is a work of fiction and political philosophy by Thomas More published in 1516 in Latin. The book is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious, social and political customs. Many aspects of More's description of Utopia are reminiscent of life in monasteries. -
Nov 16, 1543
1543 With the Supremacy Act, Henry VIII proclaims himself head of Church of England
The Acts of Supremacy are two acts of the Parliament of England passed in 1534 and 1559 which established King Henry VIII of England and subsequent monarchs as the supreme head of the Church of England. -
Nov 17, 1558
1558 Elizabeth I becomes queen of England
Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, the childless Elizabeth was the last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. -
Apr 23, 1564
1564 William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is born
Although, 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
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, and was destroyed by fire on June 29, 1613. -
1605-1606 Shakespeare writes King Lear and Macbeth
Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in 1606. King James symbolized a union which Shakespeare refers in the play. It was known that the new king was fascinated by witchcraft; Shakespeare might have been trying to win his approval by introducing the figures of the 'three weird sisters' into the play.
King Lear depicts the gradual descent into madness, 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. -
1607 First permanent English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia
William Kelso writes that Jamestown is where the British Empire began. Jamestown was established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 4, 1607, and was considered permanent after brief abandonment in 1610. -
1609 Shakespeare's sonnets are published
Shakespeare's Sonnets is the title of a collection of 154 sonnets by William Shakespeare, which covers themes such as the passage of time, love, beauty and mortality. -
1611 King James Bible is published
The King James Version, also known as the Authorized Version or the King James Bible, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England begun in 1604 and completed in 1611. -
1620 The Mayflower lands 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. It is an important symbol in American history. -
1621 Newspapers are first published in London
Corante was published by the printer Nathaniel Butter 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. -
1658 John Milton begins Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. The first version, published in 1667, consisted of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674. The poem concerns the Biblical story of the Fall of Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. -
1660 Puritan Commonwealth ends; monarchy is restored with Charles II
King Charles II, the first monarch to rule after the English Restoration. 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.
