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Jan 1, 1449
Birth of Lorenzo de’ Medici
The most powerful and enthusiastic patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. -
1455
Gutenberg prints the first Bible
The first book ever printed was the Bible. -
1464
Michelangelo sculpts the David
It is a 14.0 ft marble statue depicting the Biblical hero David, represented as a standing male nude. -
1503
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
The painting was among the first portraits to depict the sitter before an imaginary landscape and Leonardo was one of the first painters to use aerial perspective. -
1516
Thomas More writes Utopia
He was also a counselor to Henry VIII, and Lord High Chancellor of England. -
1517
Martin Luther posts 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church
began the Protestant Reformation. -
1543
Nicolas Copernicus publishes On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres
Was published just before his death. Placed the sun at the center of the universe and argued that the Earth moved across the heavens as one of the planets. -
1563
William Shakespeare is born
Was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. -
Galileo invents the thermometer
Discovered that the density of liquids (how much they contract and expand) reacts predictably to changes in temperature. -
King Henry VIII begins Protestant Anglican church
Pope Clement VII refused to grant Henry an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
