Renaissance/Reformation/Scientific Revolution Timeline

Johannes Gutenburg

1395

Johannes Gutenburg was a German inventor and craftsman. He eventually came up with the invention of a printer with movable type. He is most important for this accomplishment that led to the printing of the Bible.

Humanism

1400

Humanism is a system of thought that after the medieval era and in the Renaissance. It consisted of moving away from spiritual and divine thinking of the Medieval Era and into the revival of ancient Greek and Roman thought. It spanned from 1400-1650. It was important because it was the building block for thought during the Renaissance.

Perspective

1400

Perspective is the idea of using geometric lines and vanish points to create depth in a painting. A famous example is the "School of Athens." It was used more and more by Renaissance artists as art blossomed during the Renaissance. It created a new feel to art as it had much more depth and wonder. It was important in paintings.

Lorenzo de' Medici

Jan 1, 1449

Lorenzo de' Medici was a Florentine statesman, ruler, and patron of arts. He was known for his contributions towards artists like Michelangelo. He alone was responsible for half of the contributions for the flowering of Renaissance art and genius. He was important because without his contributions many artists and their ideas may not have been shared.

Printing Revolution

1450

The printing revolution started with a man named Johannes Gutenburg. He created the printing press with movable type which allowed for many new things to be printed, red, and interpreted by people. One of those things being the Bible. Which is why it was so important because now people could read and understand it.

Leonardo da Vinci

Apr 15, 1452

Leonardo da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, inventor, and many more things. He was known as the ideal "Renaissance man" because he was very well rounded. He created paintings like the "Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper." He was very important because his inventions and studies of anatomy were used later on to build things like helicopters and further advance the medical field.

Machiavelli

May 3, 1469

Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian statesman and writer. He was the secretary of the Florentine republic. His most famous work, "The Prince" brought him a lot of judgement and a reputation of a cynic. Although he is important because this work is read today and is used to better understand Government subjects as well as past Governments.

Erasmus

Oct 27, 1469

Desiderius Erasmus was a humanist and great scholar of the Renaissance. He was also an important figure in patristics and classical literature. He is most well known for pioneering humanist ideas and spreading them and is most important for this reason. Humanist ideas would continue to grow because of people like him.

Copernicus

Feb 19, 1473

Nicolaus Copernicus was an astronomer, mathematician, and scientist. He studied the solar system and founded the heliocentric model of the solar system. This is where the sun, rather than the earth, is the center of the solar system. Although the Catholic Church hated his ideas because they taught that the earth was the center of the solar system. He's important because his studies were used later on to study and make better models.

Michelangelo

Mar 6, 1475

Michelangelo was a painter, sculptor, poet, and architect. He painted wonders like Rome's Sistine Chapel. He sculpted works like "David" and "Pieta." Michelangelo was important because his works are still studied today and he painted things that leave people in awe still today.

Raphael

Apr 6, 1483

Raphael was a high Renaissance painter and architect. He was most famous for his "Madonnas" and his painting called the "School of Athens." Raphael was important because he changed the way people see art like da Vinci and Michelangelo.

Martin Luther

Nov 10, 1483

Luther was a German Monk who began the Protestant Reformation. He fought against the Catholic Church and spoke out against indulgences and things like that. I would say he's most important for starting the Reformation and also translating the Bible so more people could read and understand it.

Thomas Cranmer

Jul 2, 1489

Thomas Cranmer was most importantly the archbishop of Canterbury and advisor to Henry VIII and Edward VI. He made the Book of Common Prayer and was interested in reformation. Although he was executed by Queen Mary for heresy.

Henry VIII

Jun 28, 1491

Henry VIII was an English king who had six wives. His first wife could not bare him a son so he decided to get a divorce and marry another. Although the Catholic Church would not allow him to do so. So, he broke off from the Catholic Church and founded the Church of England and made it the official church so he could get divorced. This was a very important step in the reformation.

Sale of Indulgences

1500

In the early 1500's Pope Leo X and the Catholic Church offered people indulgences. These indulgences allowed people to "remove" their past sins with money. Of course none of it was true and because of this Martin Luther made the 95 theses.

Inquisition

1500

The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church. The Inquisition was used to combat heresy. It significantly expanded in response to the Protestant Reformation to counter reform.

John Calvin

Jul 10, 1509

John Calvin was a journalist, theologian, and a protestant reformer. He also saw defects in Catholicism much like Luther, but he started his own religion called Calvinism. Calvinists are better known as pilgrims that fled to America because of a lack of respect and religious freedom. Creating Calvinism is probably why he's most important.

Elizabeth I

Sep 7, 1533

Elizabeth I took the throne as Queen of England after Mary Tudor. She took the throne with a lot of problems like a war with France and a lot of religious turmoil. Mary executed many protestants for heresy. Elizabeth got the country out of war and kept the country stable for a long while. This is why she was so important and they called it the Elizabethan era.

Heliocentric Theory

1543

This theory was first presented by Copernicus. His theory stated that the sun was the center of the solar system rather than the Earth. All the planets would orbit around the sun. This was in contrast to the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Council of Trent

1545

In 1545, the Council of Trent was a council of the Roman Catholic Church. They were prompted by the Protestant Reformation to try and self-reform Catholicism. It is sometimes seen as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation.

Francis Bacon

Jan 22, 1561

Francis Bacon was an English statesman and philosopher. He served as an attorney general and Lord Chancellor of England. Although he resigned because of charges of corruption. His most important work was philosophical in his promotion of the scientific method.

William Shakespeare

1564

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, actor, and poet. He created famous plays like "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet." He also created hundreds of sonnets. He is most important for spreading the vernacular through his plays and creating many words in the English language.

Galileo

Feb 15, 1564

Galileo Galilei was an Italian astronomer, physicist, engineer, philosopher, and mathematician. He constructed a telescope and supported the Copernican theory of the heliocentric model. He is most important because of his findings and the way he found them using the telescope and mathematics.

Scientific Method

1600

Scientific theory was used and promoted by many scientists including Isaac Newton and Francis Bacon. It was used with mathematics after rediscovering Plato and his ideas. Scientists used scientific theory to thoroughly check hypotheses.

Isaac Newton

Jan 4, 1643

Isaac Newton was a physicist and mathematician who paved the way for modern physics. He studied the laws of motion. He also created a reflecting telescope and discovered gravity. He is very important because his works were used for modern physics and math.