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Jan 1, 1485
Richard III is killed in battle
Killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. He was the last English king to die in battle. He suffered two head wounds that would have killed him almost immediately. -
Jan 1, 1492
Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas
Born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451. He worked as a seaman and then a maritime entrepreneur. He became obsessed with the possibility of pioneering a western sea route to Cathay (China), India, and the gold and spice islands of Asia. -
Jan 1, 1503
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
A half-length portrait painting thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo. It is in oil on a white Lombardy poplar panel. It had been believed to have been painted between 1503 and 1506; however, Leonardo may have continued working on it as late as 1517. -
Jan 1, 1516
Thomas More's Utopia is published
Work of fiction and socio-political satire by Thomas More published in 1516 in Latin. The book is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious, social and political customs. Many aspects of More's description of Utopia are reminiscent of life in monasteries. -
Jan 1, 1543
With the Supremacy Act, Henry VIII proclaims himself head of Church of England
the Act of Supremacy in 1543 was passed, which declared that the King was "The only Supreme Head in Earth of the Church of England" and the Treasons Act 1534 made it high treason, punishable by death, to refuse to acknowledge the King as such. -
Jan 1, 1558
Elizabeth I becomes queen of England
She was the last of the five monarchs of the House of Tudor.
Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, his second wife, who was executed two-and-a-half years after Elizabeth's birth. She was sometimes called The Virgin Queen. -
Apr 23, 1564
William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is born
The great English dramatist and poet was born in Stratford-on-Avon on April 23, 1564. It is impossible to know the exact day he was born, but church records show that he was baptized on April 26, and three days was a customary amount of time to wait before baptizing a newborn. -
Globe Theatre is built in London
famous London theatre in which the plays of William Shakespeare were performed -
Shakespeare writes King Lear and Macbeth
King Lear is a tragic story that depicts the gradual descent into madness of the title character, after he disposes of his kingdom by giving bequests to two of his three daughters egged on by their continual flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all.
Macbeth is a tragedy thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatizes the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. -
First permanent English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia
The colonists settled in Jamestown, Virginia because they thought that it might have gold and silver. The main crop there was tobacco. -
Shakespear's sonnets are published
He introduces a young man. He also introduces the Dark Lady, who is no goddess. Shakespeare explores themes such as lust, homoeroticism, misogyny, infidelity, and acrimony in ways that may challenge, but which also open new terrain for the sonnet form. -
King James Bible is published
England's authorized version of the Bible translated from the original Hebrew and Greek languages into English at the request of King James I of England. -
The Mayflower lands at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts
The traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony. The Pilgrims did not refer to Plymouth Rock in any of their writings; the first known written reference to the rock dates to 1715 when it was described in the town boundary records as "a great rock. -
Newpapers are first published in London
Corante was the first private newspaper published in English. As a result of a 1586 edict from the Star Chamber, it carried no news about England. -
John Milton begins Paradise Lost
An epic poem in blank verse. It is considered by critics to be Milton's major work, and it helped solidify his reputation as one of the greatest English poets of his time.The poem concerns the biblical story of the Fall of Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. -
Puritan Commonwealth ends; monarchy is restored with Charles II
The bishops were restored to Parliament, which established a strict Anglican orthodoxy.The Indemnity and Oblivion Act was created, which became law on 29 August 1660, pardoned all past treason against the crown, but specifically excluded those involved in the trial and execution of Charles I.
