-
1304
Petrarch
Petrarch was an Italian scholar and poet during the early Italian Renaissance who was one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch is best known for the Iyric poetry of his Canzoniere and is considered one of the greatest love poets of world literature. He was or is important because he was the founder or father of humanists. -
1400
Humanism
Humanism is a Renaissance cultural movement which turned away from medieval scholasticism and revived interest in ancient Greek and Roman thought. When it increased it increased the importance of education on ancient Greek and Latin to understand ancient manuscripts. Some of the first humanists were great collectors of antique manuscripts, including Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio, Coluccio Salutati, and Poggio Bracciolini. -
1400
Johann Gutenberg
Johannes was a German inventor who invented a moveable type mechanical printing in Europe. Gutenberg was also a German blacksmith. The printing press was so important because it allowed for people to share large amounts of information quickly and in huge numbers. -
1440
Printing Revolution
The shift from hand printing to mechanical printing led to the print revolution. This revolution transformed the lives of people, changing their relationship to information and knowledge. It started when Gutenberg invented a moveable type mechanical printer. -
Jan 1, 1449
Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo was an Italian salesman and the most powerful enthusiastic patron during the Renaissance. He was famous for his contribution to the art and for being the ruler of Florence. He was important for the major influence on the growth for the Renaissance. -
Apr 15, 1452
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci was a artist during the Renaissance. He was famous for The Mona Lisa and The Last supper. He is important as an overall genius. -
Feb 29, 1468
Pope Paul III
Paul was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States . He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation. He encouraged the beginning of the reform movement and that was to affect the Roman Catholic Church. -
Mar 6, 1475
Michelangelo
Michelangelo was a sculptor, painter, architect, and poet during the Renaissance. He was famous for the Sistine Chapel ceiling, David, pieta, etc. He was important because his work demonstrated a blend of psychological insight, physical realism and intensity never before seen. -
1483
Raphael
Raphael was a master painter and architect during the Renaissance. He was famous for his Madonnas and for his large figure compositions in the Vatican. He was important for his work because it was admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for his visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur. -
Nov 10, 1483
Martin Luther
Martin was a German professor of theology, composer, priest, monk, and a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation. His writings were responsible for fractionalizing the Catholic Church and sparking the Protestant Reformation. Luther is one of the most influential figures in Western history. -
Jun 28, 1491
Henry VIII of England
Henry was King of England from 1509 until his death in 1547 and he was the second Tudor monarch. He was one of the most famous kings in English history. He was famous for his many wives (6) and his decision to execute many of them. -
Sep 7, 1533
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth was the Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 until her death in 1603. She was sometimes called the virgin queen. During Mary's reign, Elizabeth was imprisoned in the Tower of London on charges of supporting a rebellion to overthrow the Queen, she narrowly escaped execution. -
1543
Heliocentric Theory
Heliocentrism is the astronomical model in which the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun at the center of the Solar System. Historically, heliocentrism was opposed to geocentrism, which placed the Earth at the center. Nicolaus Copernicus was the one that invented or created the Heliocentric Theory. -
1545
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent, held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation. The council met for the last time from 1562 to 1563 -
1564
William Shakespeare
William was a English poet, playwright, and actor. He was also regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He was famous for his plays Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet. He was important for his works because they resemble life, love, death, revenge, grief, jealousy, murder, magic and mystery. -
Feb 15, 1564
Galileo
Galileo was an astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath from Pisa. He improved the telescope to be able to see planets. He also published, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, and the first scientific paper based on his findings on the telescope called, The Starry Messenger, in 1610. -
Rene Descartes
Descartes was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. He is famous for having made an important connection between geometry and algebra. He died by pneumonia at the age of 53 in Sweden. -
Sale of Indulgences
An indulgence was a payment to the catholic Church that purchased an exemption from punishment for some types of sins. This provoked Luther to write the 95 theses condemning what he saw as the purchase and sale of salvation. Pope Pius V abolished the sale of indulgences in 1567. -
Isaac Newton
Newton was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian, and a greatly known author of all time. Isaac is the most important scientists in history because he developed the theory of gravity, the laws of motion, and calculus. Isaac Newton developed the principles of modern physics. -
Scientific Method
Francis Bacon was the one who created or came up with the Scientific Method. He didn't fully come up with the idea but the work of Nicolaus Copernicus influenced Bacon tremendously. The scientific method is an empirical method of acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century.
