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1485
Richard III is killed in battle
He was one of the last kings and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat at Bosworth Field, marked the end of the Middle Ages in England. -
1492
Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas
The year 1492 is when Christopher Columbus set sail on his first voyage from Spain and discovered the Americas. He left in early August 1492 and reached an island in the Bahamas in October of the same year. -
1503
Leonardo de Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
The painting was among the first portraits to depict the sitter before an imaginary landscape and Leonardo was one of the first painters to use aerial perspective. -
1516
Thomas More's Utopia is published
Utopia is a work of fiction and socio-political satire by Thomas More published in 1516 in Latin. -
1543
With the Supremacy Act, Henry VIII proclaims himself head of the church of England
The title was created for King Henry VIII, who was responsible for the English Christian church breaking away from the authority of the Roman Catholic Church after the Pope excommunicated Henry in 1533 over his divorce from Catherine of Aragon. -
1558
Elizabeth I becomes queen of England
Two months after the death of Elizabeth's half-sister, Queen Mary I of England, Elizabeth Tudor, the 25-year-old daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, is crowned Queen Elizabeth I at Westminster Abbey in London. -
1564
William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is born
Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 -
Globe Theatre is built in London
Globe Theatre is a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. -
Shakespeares writes King Lear and Macbeth
In both plays Shakespeare draws tragic parallels between King Lear and Macbeth where they both tales spin into madness. -
First permanent English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia
The 1st English settlement in North America was the ill-fated colony on Roanoke Island, Virginia in 1585. Jamestown, Virginia was the first successful settlement on 13th of May, 1607. -
Shakespeares sonnets are published
A sonnet is a 14-line poem that rhymes in pattern. In Shakespeare's sonnets, the rhyme pattern is abab cdcd efef gg, with the final couplet used to summarize the previous 12 lines or present a surprise ending. -
King James Bible is published
The King James Bible is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the church of England. -
The Mayflower lands at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts
102 individuals, most of whom were Puritans, received a grant of land on which to set up their own colony. They set sail from England on the Mayflower, arriving in Massachusettes in December. -
Newspapers are first published in London
In 1621 the newspaper "Corante" is published in London. -
John Milton begins Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. -
Puritan Commonwealth ends; monarchy is restored with Charles II
Restoration of the monarchy marked the return of Charles II as king (1660–85) following the period of Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth. The bishops were restored to Parliament, which established a strict Anglican orthodoxy.
