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Jan 1, 1346
Black Death Begins in China
Although there is no specific date when the Black Death began, historians believe the sickness started to spread at about this time. This plague is actually believed to have been a disease call Bubonic Plague which is spread by rats. There is a cure for it nowadays, but back in the 13th century, no one knew how to cure it. The Black Death killed between 30-60% of Europe's population, opening up jobs and creating more food. Many peasants had better jobs because of this, helping the economy. -
Jan 1, 1377
Filippo Brunelleschi Born
Filippo Brunelleschi was a Italian architect and sculptor. He is credited with rediscovering the idea of linear perspective (the Greeks and Romans are believed to have discovered it). The idea behind linear perspective was that if all lines converged at a point in the painting, objects nearer the point would appear farther away. Renaissance artists would be forever changed by this concept, as they could finally paint objects that appear farther away. -
Jan 1, 1400
Renaissance Begins in Florence, Italy
In the late 1300's to early 1400's, the city of Florence in Italy had become rich as a trade route from the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. This meant that merchants had more money to spend on the arts, and peasants had more food. This launched an explosion in growth and artistic expression which spread across Europe as the economy improved. -
Period: Jan 1, 1400 to
Approximate Period of the Renaisance
This is the approximate period that the Renaisance took place in. -
Jan 1, 1412
Joan of Arc Born
(Saint) Joan of Arc was a French peasant turned military commander. She led attacks against the English and defended France's territory. Joan was most famous for leading a small group of men into battle against the English at Orleans and finishing the battle victorious. She changed France's attack style as well as being one of the first female military commanders, which signalled a change in outlook on woman. She was ultimately burned to death in England after being captured. -
Jan 1, 1440
Printing Press is Invented
Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440. Johannes Gutenberg was a German goldsmith and businessman who began experimenting with printing in 1438 with the financial backing of two other businessmen. This invention was extremely important due to the amount of literature it was able to produce in a short period of time. All these books were spread across Europe, informing the public of discoveries and new theories. This also helped encourage education in Europe. -
Apr 15, 1452
Leonardo da Vinci is Born
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was a true Renaissance man. He was an artist, a scientist, an inventer, a mathmatician, and a writer. All these occupations were considered great jobs at the time and were envied by all. Leonardo painted works such as The Last Supper and Mona Lisa. He also invented a primitive helicopter and a bicycle. His works changed the way people thought and some great inventions came from him. -
Jan 1, 1460
Vasco da Gama is Born
Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese sailor and explorer. He was mainly recognized for sailing around the southern tip of Africa to India. The journey was gruesome and many men and crew members died through the year long journey. When Vasco returned, he was greeted as a hero and put in charge of Portugal involvement in India. He is credited with the deaths of thousands of Muslims from Africa and India. de Gama changed the map of the world at the time and inspired many to explore. -
Feb 19, 1473
Nicolaus Copernicus Born
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Polish mathmatician and astronomer. He first theeorized that all the planets revolved around the sun and published two books on that topic; Commentariolus and De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium. The second book was banned by the Roman Catholic church due to the fact that it disagreed with what most people accepted. His writings changed the way people thought about the universe and ultimately became the foundations for new work about the cosmos. -
Mar 6, 1475
Michelangelo is Born
Michelangelo was a famous sculptor and painter who sculpted the man David and painted the Last Judgement in the Sistine chapel. He was renowned for his amazing art and grew quite famous due to the realism that his sculptures portrayed. Never before had a sculpture looked so life-like or so muscular, signalling a change in art from this time period. -
Jan 1, 1478
The Spanish Inquisition Begins
The Spanish Inquisition was a terrible time in Spain's past. It's main purpose was to get confessions of sin from Jewish and Muslim people. The methods to obtain this confession were brutal. Many medieval torture methods were used and a large number were killed before they could give confession. This put fear into every Spanish citizen, making them very wary of the church and it's powers. -
Jan 1, 1480
Ferdinand Magellan Born
Ferdinand Magellan was the son of two nobles. He was one of the first to theorize the Earth was round, and the first to (almost) prove it. Ferdinand set sail across the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean from Spain, but only made it to the Philippines where he was fatally shot in a battle with the natives. Most of the rest of his crew made it back to Spain, proving the Earth had to be round. -
Period: Jan 1, 1485 to
The Reformation
This is the approximate period during which the Church was broken up into many smaller ones. -
Oct 11, 1492
Christopher Colombus Discovers the New World
Christopher Colombus landed in the Caribbean, launching a whole new wave of discoveries. The New World had many different and valuable resources to offer Europe, such as spices and wood. The world suddenly became interested in exploration once again, and new lands were found more often. -
Oct 31, 1517
Martin Luther Demands Reform from the Church
Martin Luther was a deeply religous man who inspired great changes to the church. He became a monk in 1505 when he was nearly hit by a lightning bolt and promised that if he was not killed, he would become a monk. Martin Luther had been trained as a lawyer, and this was helpful in his pursuit of reform. He wrote about all the the problems with the religon after struggling to make piece with God, and these were called the 95 Theses. These documents are believed to be what started the Reformation. -
Aug 25, 1530
Ivan Chetvyorty Vasilyevich Born
Ivan Chetvyorty Vasilyevich (also known as Ivan the Terrible) was Russia's first tsar. He is credited with conquering the land Russia has today. Ivan often went through violent outbreaks against his family and advisors, which caused great public mistrust. He had full control over the land around Moscow, creating terror through his police force and executing thousands of people. Ivan the Terrible created a powerful military that sent fear through his enemies and civilians of the Renaissance. -
Jan 1, 1532
King Henry the VIII Breaks from the Roman Catholic Church
King Henry the VIII broke away from the Roman Catholic Church due to his wish to divorce his wife. He passed a bill to give himself more power over the religon and this continued the Reformation. Ultimately, this became the grounds to create the Protestant church in England. -
Feb 15, 1564
Galileo Galilei Born
Galileo (as he is referred to) was an Italian astronomer and mathematician. He founded new principles in physics and disproved several commonly accepted theories. He also gave more proof to the Sun being in the center of the Solar System, which ultimately got him removed from the church and shunned for his finding. Although his theories were not popular at the time, Galileo made some great leaps in physics and changed the way many people think about the universe. -
Apr 26, 1564
William Shakespeare is Baptised
William Shakespeare was a poet, actor, and playwright. He wrote many famous plays like Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet. Although he was a respected and well-known playwright in his time, he was not famous until the 1800's when people rediscovered his plays. William was credited with helping to publicize the theatre, a relatively unknown form of art at the time. -
Jan 1, 1570
Samuel de Champlain Born
Samuel de Champlain was a French explorer and diplomat. He is credited with establishing Quebec city and helping discover the region of Acadia. His earliest voyages went up the St. Lawrence river, where they discovered an area that seemed suitable to build a fort. This would become Quebec city, a trading hub for the French fur traders. Samuel de Champlain changed the map of the world, and discovered many things about the New World and it's original people. -
Queen Elizabeth I recieves Flush Toilet
Queen Elizabeth I recieved one of the first flush toilets ever invented from her godson Sir John Harrington. The flush toilet revolutionized the way people defecated, making much cleaner and sanitary. Before it was invented, people used clay or metallic pots to relieve themselves. The contents were promptly poured out onto the street, spreading infections through the population. -
Sir Isaac Newton Born
Sir Isaac Newton was a British philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, and physicist. He is perhaps most famous for his discoveries in gravity. He also published a widely accepted book on physics, stating three main principles of physics. Sir Isaac Newton changed the way people thought about the universe and forever changed the scientific community,
