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1305
Giotto completes his work on the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua
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1308
Dante writes his epic poem the Divine Comedy
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1341
The first great humanist, Petrarch, is named the poet laureate of Rome.
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1419
Architect Brunelleschi designs the dome for the Florence Cathedral.
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1434
The Medici family becomes the head of the city-state of Florence.
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1450
Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press
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1453
The Ottoman Empire captures the city of Constantinople, signaling an end to the Byzantine Empire.
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1469
Lorenzo de Medici becomes head of the city-state of Florence. He is one of the great patrons of the arts.
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1485
Henry VII becomes king of England beginning the reign of the House of Tudor.
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1486
Boticelli completes the painting The Birth of Venus.
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1492
Explorer Christopher Columbus discovers the Americas.
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1495
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Last Supper.
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1498
Vasco da Gama arrives in India after sailing around the southern tip of Africa from Portugal.
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1501
Michelangelo begins his work on the sculpture David.
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1503
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
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1508
Michelangelo begins his painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
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1509
Henry VIII becomes king of England.
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1509
Humanist author Erasmus writes Praise of Folly.
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1511
Raphael paints his masterpiece The School of Athens
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1516
Sir Thomas More publishes his work Utopia on political philosophy.
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1517
Martin Luther posts his 95 theses on the door of the Church of Wittenberg. This signals the start of the Reformation.
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1519
Ferdinand Magellan begins his voyage around the world.
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1527
Rome is sacked by the troops of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
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1534
Henry VIII separates the Church of England from the Catholic Church of Rome so that he can divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn.
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1558
Elizabeth I becomes Queen of England.
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The Spanish Armada is defeated by the English navy.
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William Shakespeare builds the Globe theatre. He will write many of his great plays over the next few years including Hamlet and Macbeth.
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Galileo discovers the moons of Jupiter.
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The Thirty Years War begins.
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