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Interregnum ends
The Resotration of the English monarchy offically began in 1660 when the English, Scottish, and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II. -
Oxford Gazette first published
The Oxford Gazette was the first periodical news source that kept citizens up to date on current events. Charles II and the Royal Court moved to Oxford to escape the Great Plague of London and courtiers were unwilling to touch, let alone read, London newspapers for fear of contagion. -
The London Gazette is published
With the return of King Charles II to London from Oxford after the Great Plague of London, the Oxford Gazette moved to London as well and became known as the London Gazette. -
The Misanthrope is preformed
Le Misanthrope ou l'Atrabilaire amoureux, or The Misanthrope in English, was a play that satirizes French aristocracy. Since two of his previous works had been banned in France, Molière did not incorporate some of his more radical ideas and softened the ones that he did include. The Misanthrope is noted for having dynamic characters where other social satires of the time would utilize flat characters. -
Paradise Lost by John Milton is published
Paradise Lost is composed of ten books with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse. The poem series describes the banishment of Satan to Tartarus, the underworld and his defeat against the Son of God. The poem continues with the creation story and that of Adam and Eve, however, Milton portrays Adam as more intellectual than previously thought by other writers. -
Ashanti Empire Formed in Africa
This empire was formed in present-day Ghana.It began with clans such as the Oyoko that settled into Ghana. They have great faith in an object called the Golden Stool. It supposedly contains Sunsum- the spirit of the Ashanti. Ashanti heritage is still prominent in the country of Ghana to this day. -
John Bushnell sculpted for Sir Thomas Gresham
After traveling throughout Italy and praticing the Baroque style, John Bushnell returned to England as a much sought after artist because of the lack of Baroque artists in England at the time. Often regarded as one of his best statues, his commision for Sir Thomas Gresham exemplifies the Baroque style. -
Edward Pierce carved Bust of Wren
Known for his wooden sculptures Pierce made a Bust of Sir Wren, a prominant British architect, out of marble. This work highlights the influence of the Baroque movement in England. Since artists would be commisioned to create works of art at the time, many of Pierce's sculptures were made for churches and members of the English aristocracy. -
Test Act of 1673
This act was one of many that essentially was aimed at preventing Roman Catholics from taking public office. This law demanded that a person taking office had to take an oath declaring that they did not believe in transubstantiation. This is a Catholic belief that the bread and wine served at communion in church were not merely symbolic of Jesus Christ's body and blood, but that they were, by divine miracle, physically his actual body and blood that the congregation consumed. -
William Wycherley's The Country Wife is first preformed
Based off several of Molière's works, The Country Wife was very popular due to its lewdness. It expemplifies the excitement that existed in London after the return of theater. The play was not preformed between 1753 to 1924 because a cleaner version was written by David Garrick. One of the main issues that critics have with the play is a character tells a doctor to spread rumors about his impotence in order to get aristocratic women. -
The Rover is first performed
Aphra Behn is the first female playwright to have one of her plays publically performed. The Rover was her most sucessful play and regarded as one of her best. It is an example of a Restoration comedy, which florished due to revival of British theater. Before The Rover, the Duke Company performed her play The Forc'd Marriage in 1670. -
The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan published
The full title of John Bunyan's novel, sometimes considered one of the most significant works of religious English literature, is The Pilgrim's Progress to That Which is to Come. The novel explains the journey of the main character, Christian, along his journey to the Celestial City. -
Hudibras by Samuel Butler published
Hubrias tells the story of Sir Hudibras, a knight who is described with such praise as to be absurd, and the conceited person that is visible beneath. He is praised for his knowledge of logic despite appearing stupid throughout but it is his religious fervor which is mainly attacked. -
The first part of Absalom and Achitophel by John Dryden is published
Absalom and Achitophel is an allegory that uses the story of the rebellion of Absalom against King David as the basis for the discussion of the background to the Monmouth Rebellion, the Popish Plot, and the Exclusion Crisis. This political satire made controversial royal actions seem reasonable. -
Sodom by John Wilmot is published
John Wilmot, the 2nd Earl of Rochester, published the closet drama Sodom as a disguised satire on the court of Charles II. The play especially attacked his apparent willingness to tolerate Catholicism in England at a time when that religion was officially proscribed. -
Sir Godfrey Kneller paints The Chinese Convert
Through the reign of Charles ll to George l, Sir Godfrey Kneller performed the duties of court painter. He painted various portraits like the picture seen to the left. The picture to the left is titled The Chinese Convert, one of his more famous works.It was commisioned by King James ll during the visit of Shen Fu-Tsung. The man appearing in the portrait is of Shen Fu-Tsung. -
Oroonoko by Aphra Behn published
Oroonoko, or the Royal Slave, is published by Aphra Behn. It concerns the love of the novel's hero, an enslaved African in Surinam in the 1660's. Behn uses her own experiences in the new South American colony as inspiration. -
The Two Treatises of Government is published anonymously by John Locke
In the Two Treatises of Government, the First Treatise attacks patriarchalism in the form of refutation of Robert Filmer's Patriarcha while the Second Treatise outlines a theory of political or civil society based on natural rights and contract theory. -
The Athenian Mercury published
The periodical The Athenian Mercury, written by the Athenian Society, was published in London twice weekly between March 17, 1690 to June 14, 1697. This periodical initiates the advice column format to give knowledgeable advice on questions submitted by the magazine's readers. -
England, Wales, and Scotland are politically unified as Great Britain
On May first, 1707, England united with Scotland under the Acts of Union 1707 to form one, united kingdom called "Great Britain". Even though England and Scotland had shared a monarch since 1603, this act of Parliament united them as one nation, not just as two seperate nations sharing a monarch. This was difficult to maneuver, since there were several prominent differences between the countries. The Acts of Union in 1707 had 25 articles, and out of which 15 were related to economic matters. -
The Tatler first published
The Tatler, founded by Richard Steele and Joseph Addison, was first published in 1709. The two realized that the people wanted to read about the gossip happenning in the city and therefore, placed reporters in each of the city's most popular coffee houses to listen. As well, the Tatler first introduced a series of characters which initiated the journalistic persona of 17th century genre. -
The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope published
The Rape of the Lock is a mock-herioc narrative written by Alexander Pope. The poem satirizes a petty conflict by comparing it to the the world of the gods. -
King George I becomes King of Great Britain
Originally born in Hanover, part of what is now Germany, King George became King of England at the age of 54. He didn't know very much English, and was unaware of the workings of British politics, so he relied heavily on Prime Minister Robert Walpole for advice and assistance. King George I never learned very much English, but passed the crown to his son King George II in 1727 when he died. -
Work on Life of St. Paul begins
Sir James Thornhill was an English painter. The Life of Saint Paul is a mural on the Dome of the St. Paul Cathedral in London. It depicts various scenes from Saint Paul's life. He competed with other painters like Pellegrini and Sebastiano Ricci for the commision. He is also well known for his historical paintings, which culminated in his appointment by George l to be the historical painter on his court. -
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe published
Robinson Crusoe is a fictional autobiography of the title character, a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad who encounters cannibals, captives, and mutineers before being rescued. -
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift published
Gulliver's Travels is a story about Lemuel Gulliver who enjoys travelling but finds himself in the most strange of destinations with people less than six inches high, people 72 feet tall, flying aliens and Yahoos. The book was an instant sensation and sold out its first run in less that a week. The full title is: Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships. -
The Dunciad by Alexander Pope is published
The Dunciad, a landmark literary satire by Alexander Pope, celebrates the goddess Dulness adn the progress of her chosen agents as they bring decay and tastlesness to the Kingdom of Great Britain. -
A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift published
In A Modest Proposal, Swift suggests that the impoverished Irish might ease their economic troubles by selling their children as food for rich gentlemen and ladies. The essay mocks the heartless attitudes towards the poor, as well as Irish policy in general. The full title is: A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being a Burden on Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick. -
Beowulf manuscript damaged in a fire
Up to a third of the collection privately owned by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton was damaged in the 1731 fire in the Cottonian Library. -
Pamela, Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson published
Pamela, Virtue Rewarded is the story of a beautiful 15-yr old maid-servant whose master advances towards her after the death of his mother whose maid she was since she was 12. Mr. B, the master, abducts Pamela, locks her up in one of his estates, and attempts to seduce and rape her. She rejects him at first but she starts to fall in love with him. Mr. B proposes to Pamela towards the end of the novel adn Pamela attempts to acclimate to upper-class society. -
Lightning Rod is Invented
Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod while studying electricity. The lightning rod consisted of a pointed, metallic rod placed on top of a building to attract lightning strikes. He stated "The electrical fire would, I think, be drawn out of a cloud silently, before it could come near enough to strike...." Although Benjamin Franklin was not the first to make this sort of hypothesis about electricity and lightning, he was the first to devise a practical system for a lightning rod. -
Humours of an Election painted
William Hogarth, a well regarded British painter, painted a series of four pictures that depicted the Oxfordshire parliamentary election of 1754. He did several other series of paintings; they are supposed to be veiwed together in order to tell a story and impart a moral. He was one of the first major British artist to move away from portraits toward paintings that tell a narrative. -
Dictionary of the English Language by Samuel Johnson published
The Dictionary of the English Language is considered the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English Language. Until the completion of the Oxford English Dictionary, 173 years later, Johnson’s was viewed as the preeminent English dictionary. In the mid 18th century, book, texts, maps, pamphlets, and newspapers were widely available to the public at a reasonable cost. Such an explosion of the printed word demanded a set pattern of grammar, definition, and spelling for those words. -
Symphony No. 1 is First Performed
Mozart composed his first symphony at the age of nine. He wrote it as his family moved to Chelsea, London, due to his father's throat cancer. It was written in three movements, and was scored for strings, two horns, and two oboes. Interestingly, the second movement of this symphony has similar characteristics of more complex symphonies that Mozart composed later in his career, such as the repeated use of the notes Do, Re, Mi, and Fa. -
Gainsborough paints The Blue Boy
One of Thomas Gainsborough most famous works, The Blue Boy, is a response to Joshua Reynolds' critique of Gainsborough's use of colors in his other works. Gainsborough also painted many landscapes; however, it was eaiser to find patrons for portraits than landscapes. Many different rivalries existed between painters, but due to their successes, Gainsborough and Reynolds' rivalry was regarded with more seriousness. -
Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral by Phillis Wheatley published
Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral is a collection of 39 poems. Wheatley broke barriers as the first American black woman to be published. People questioned whether or not Wheatley had written the poems herself and men such as John Hancock, Thomas Hutchinson, and Andrew Oliver signed an attestation clause verifying that they believed Wheatley had written the poems herself. -
Boston Tea Party
Colonists in America, angered by the British tax on tea, disguised themselves as American Indians and dumped 342 cartons of British tea into the Boston Harbor. This action was a large spark of the Revolutionary War, since it angered England, as well as inspired colonists to take action towards gaining their independence. -
Sir Joshua Reynolds paints self-portrait
Sir Joshua Reynolds was a protrait artist, who promoted the "Grand Style." This style focused on presenting individuals in a noble manner and not including unattractive features. In his self-portrait from 1775, this approach can be see with his rosy cheeks and full head of hair, which signifies good health. -
The Progress of Human Culture is started
Although he was born in Ireland, James Barry's largest contribution to art came with his mural series entitled The Progress of Human Culture. The mural adorns the walls of the Great Room in the Royal Society of Arts. Barry painted in a Romantic style when he first arrived at London, and he eventually helped move the English Neoclassical movement forward. -
Oberon, Titania and Puck with Fairies Dancing is painted
William Blake, an English poet and painter, helped initate the Romantic movement. He often drew inspiration for his paintings from literary works such as A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Divine Comedy, and many others. It is often referred to as one of Blake's more graceful and beautiful works. -
Storming of the Bastille
Bastille was a prison and fortress in Paris, France. At the time, France was in an economic crises under the rule of King Louis the sixteenth.The prision was seen as a symbol of royal authority in Paris, so its fall was extremely significant, even though at the time it only contained seven prisoners. This day signified the beginning of the French Revolution. Bastille Day is still celebrated on this date in remembrance of the beginning of the French Revolution. -
The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell published
The Life of Samuel Johnson is a biography of Dr. Samuel Jornson. Although Boswell did not meet Johnson until 1763, he acquired the information of the entirety of Johnson's life by means of additional research. This biography was a very important stage in the development of the modern genre of the biography. -
Inside of a Stable was exhibited
George Morland painted pictures of common English scenes, opposed to the portraits painted of the aristocracy by his contemporaries. Inside of a Stable is considered to be Morland's masterpeice. Since he was not being patronized by the aristocracy, Morland made prints of works to sell in large numbers. -
A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft published
A Vindication of the Rights of Women was published in response to the educaton and political theorists of the 18th century who did not believe that women should have an education. Wollstonecraft argues that women ought to have an education commensurate with their position to society, claiming that women are essential to the nation because they are responsible for the education its children, “cult of domesticity”, and because they could be “companions” to their husbands. -
Lawrence paints a protrait of Burdett
Sir Thomas Lawrence was a leading portrait artist in England. Lawrence had his own studio in Bath at the age of twelve. He painted many polticians and other members of the English aristocracy, such as Sir Francis Burdett. In 1792, Lawrence was appointed to be the Royal Painter by George lll. -
Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge published
Lyrical Ballads offically marks the beginning of the English Romantic movement in Literature. Wordsworth and Coleridge set out to overturn what they considered priggish, learned and highly sculpted forms of 18th century English poetry and bring poetry within reach of the average person by writing verses using normal, everyday language.
