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Jan 1, 1449
Birth of Lorenzo de’ Medici
patron of the arts -
1504
Michelangelo sculpts the David
This astonishing Renaissance sculpture was created between 1501 and 1504. It is a 14.0 ft marble statue depicting the Biblical hero David, represented as a standing male nude. Originally commissioned by the Opera del Duomo for the Cathedral of Florence, -
1517
Martin Luther posts 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church
Martin Luther posts his 95 theses. On this day in 1517, the priest and scholar Martin Luther approaches the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, and nails a piece of paper to it containing the 95 revolutionary opinions that would begin the Protestant Reformation. -
1519
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa, oil painting on a poplar wood panel by the Italian painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer Leonardo da Vinci, probably the world’s most-famous painting. It was painted sometime between 1503 and 1519, -
1534
King Henry VIII begins Protestant Anglican church
However, in 1534 King Henry VIII declared himself to be supreme head of the Church of England. -
1535
Thomas More writes Utopia
Thomas More is known for his 1516 book Utopia and for his untimely death in 1535, after refusing to acknowledge King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. He was canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint in 1935 -
1543
Nicolas Copernicus publishes On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres
written by Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) and published just before his death, placed the sun at the center of the universe and argued that the Earth moved across the heavens as one of the planets. -
1564
William Shakespeare is born
1564, Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom -
Galileo invents a thermometer
Although named after Italian physicist Galileo Galilei, the thermometer described in this article was not invented by him.
