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1485
Richard III is killed in battle
On 22 August 1485, Richard met the outnumbered forces of Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth Field. The size of Richard's army has been estimated at 8,000 and Henry's at 5,000, but exact numbers are not known. All that can be said is that the Royal army 'substantially' outnumbered Tudor's. Before dying the king famously cried “Treason!" -
1492
Christopher Columbus Reaches the America’s
He led the first European expeditions to the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, initiating the permanent European colonization of the Americas. Columbus discovered the viable sailing route to the Americas, a continent which was not then known to the Old World. While what he thought he had discovered was a route to the Far East, he is credited with the opening of the Americas for conquest and settlement by Europeans. -
1503
Leonardo da Vinci paints the “Mona Lisa
The painting is thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, and is in oil on a white Lombardy poplar panel. It had been believed to have been painted between 1503 and 1506; however, Leonardo may have continued working on it as late as 1517. Recent academic work suggests that it would not have been started before 1513. It is now on permanent display at the Louvre Museum in Paris since 1797. -
1516
Thomas More’s Utopia is published
Utopia (Libellus vere aureus, nec minus salutaris quam festivus, de optimo rei publicae statu deque nova insula Utopia) is a work of fiction and socio-political satire by Thomas More (1478–1535) 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.[1] -
1543
With the SUmpremacy Act, Henry VIII proclaims himself head of Church of England
English act of Parliament that recognized Henry VIII as the “Supreme Head of the Church of England.” The act also required an oath of loyalty from English subjects that recognized his marriage to Anne Boleyn. It was repealed in 1555 under Mary I, but in 1559 Parliament adopted a new Act of Supremacy during the reign of Elizabeth I. -
1558
Elizabeth I becomes queen of England
Queen Elizabeth I (September 7, 1533 to March 24, 1603) claimed the throne in 1558 at the age of 25 and held it until her death 44 years later. The daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I was born a princess but declared illegitimate through political machinations. Eventually, upon her half-sister Mary Tudor’s death, she took the crown. -
1564
William Shakespeare, the bard of Avon, is born
William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 (baptised) – 23 April 1616)[a] was an English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as both the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.[2][3][4] He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. -
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, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend. -
Period: to
Shakespeare writes King Lear and Macbeth
King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It depicts the gradual descent into madness of the title character, after he disposes of his kingdom by giving bequests to two of his three daughters egged on by their continual flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. Macbeth is a tragedy and is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. -
First permanent English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia
In 1607, 104 English men and boys arrived in North America to start a settlement. On May 13 they picked Jamestown, Virginia for their settlement, which was named after their King, James I. The settlement became the first permanent English settlement in North America. -
Shakespeare Sonnets are published
Shakespeare's sonnets are poems that William Shakespeare wrote on a variety of themes. When discussing or referring to Shakespeare’s sonnets, it is almost always a reference to the 154 sonnets that were first published all together in a quarto in 1609; however there are six additional sonnets that Shakespeare wrote and included in the plays Romeo and Juliet, Henry V and Love's Labour's Lost. -
King James Bible is published
The King James Bible is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, begun in 1604 and published in 1611. The books of the King James Version include the 39 books of the Old Testament, an intertestamental section containing 14 books of the Apocrypha, and the 27 books of the New Testament. -
The Mayflower lands at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts
As the Mayflower approached land, the crew spotted Cape Cod just as the sun rose on November 9. The Pilgrims decided to head south, to the mouth of the Hudson River but they failed getting their and decided to just stay and explore Cape Cod. The Pilgrims would spend the next month and a half exploring Cape Cod. On December 25, 1620, they had finally decided upon Plymouth, and began construction of their first buildings. -
Newspapers are first published in London
Corante: or, Newes from Italy, Germany, Hungarie, Spaine and FranceOffsite Link was published by the printer Nathaniel ButterOffsite Link 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.
Corante was the first private newspaper published in English. As a result of a 1586 edict from the Star ChamberOffsite Link, it carried no news about England. -
John Milton begins “Paradise Lost”
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consisted of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674, arranged into twelve books with minor revisions throughout and a note on the versification. It is considered by critics to be Milton's major work, and it helped solidify his reputation as one of the greatest English poets of his time.
