The History of the English Language

By darianpfeiffer
  • 1776 BCE

    The American Revolution

    The American Revolution
    The American Revolution was the time period between 1765 and 1783 where the 13 colonies at the time seeked departure from British rule.
  • 1755 BCE

    Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

    Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
    Samuel Johnson wrote the dictionary of the English language in 1755. the dictionary took just over eight years to compile, required six helpers, and listed 40,000 words.
  • 1623 BCE

    Publication of Shakespeare's first Folio.

    Publication of Shakespeare's first Folio.
    The first folio was the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays. It was published in 1623. Seven years after Shakespeare's death, his friends and colleagues collected almost all of his plays in a folio edition.
  • 1616 BCE

    Death of Shakespeare.

    Death of Shakespeare.
    William Shakespeare was one of the greatest writers in the history of the English language. He passed away in 1616. 7 years later, his first folio was created.
  • 1607 BCE

    Jamestown is established

    Jamestown in Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in America. In 1607 ships had brought 214
    English settlers to Jamestown. By the
    summer of that year, only 60 remained alive.
  • 1600 BCE

    The Invention of the Printing Press

    The Invention of the Printing Press
    The printing press greatly impacted society. There was finally a common language to print, books became cheaper, and English became more easy to read.
  • 1600 BCE

    The Discovery of North America

    The Discovery of North America
    The English colonization of North America brought about a variety of American English. Some English words and pronunciations froze when they reached America.
  • 1500 BCE

    The English Renaissance.

    The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England. The renaissance introduced new science, new human morals, and new religion.
  • 1450 BCE

    The Great Vowel Shift

    The Great Vowel Shift was a massive sound change affecting the long vowels of English. A vowel that would be pronounced in a place in the mouth would be pronounced higher up in the mouth.
  • 1400 BCE

    The Canterbury Tales

    The Canterbury Tales
    The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer. It is the story of a group of thirty people who travel as pilgrims to Canterbury. The story was written in Middle English and has over 17,000 lines.
  • 1349 BCE

    The Black Death

    The Black Death was one of the most devastating plauges in human history. It resulted in the deaths of 75 to 200 million people in Europe
  • 1096 BCE

    Oxford University is Established

    Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. Oxford is a historic institution. There is no clear date of foundation, but teaching existed there in some form in 1096
  • 1085 BCE

    Domesday Book is Compiled

    The Domesday Book was written in December in the year 1085 by William the Conqueror, who invaded England in 1066.
  • 1066 BCE

    The Norman Invasion

    In the year 1066, the Duke of Normandy invaded and conquered England. They brought a type of French language with them. For a while, there was a language divide in the classes. The English language became dominant in Britain later on, however it had many French words added. This language was described as Middle English.
  • 900 BCE

    Beowulf's Writing

    Beowulf's Writing
    Beowulf is remembered as one of the most important works in English literature and may be the oldest surviving long poem in old English. The poem may have been written any range of dates from 700 to the year 1000
  • 878 BCE

    Dane Law is Established

    The Danelaw is a name given to the part of England where the laws of the Danes dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons.
  • Period: 400 to

    History