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Jan 1, 1485
Richard III is killed in battle
He was killed at the age of 32, in the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. -
Jan 1, 1492
Cristophe Columbus reaches the Americas
After sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sights a Bahamian island, believing he has reached East Asia. -
Jan 1, 1503
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
The best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world. -
Jan 1, 1516
Thomas More's Utopia is published
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
Is known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. His disagreements with the Pope led to his separation of the Church of England from papal authority -
Jan 1, 1558
Elizabeth I becomes queen of England
The childless Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. -
Jan 1, 1564
WIlliam Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is born
Was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. -
Globe theatre is built in London
It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son -
Shakespeare writes King Lear and Macbeth
King Lear It depicts the gradual descent into madness of the title character. Macbeth dramatises 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 as Jamestown, Virginia
Is where the British Empire began and this was the first colony in the British Empire -
Shakespeare's connets are published
Is the title of a collection of 154 sonnets accredited to William Shakespeare which cover themes such as the passage of time, love, beauty and mortality. -
King James Bible is published
released in 1611, was authorized by King James in order to have as accurate a translation as possible, which could be printed and widely circulated. -
The Maylower lands at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts
The culmination of the voyage in the signing of the Mayflower Compact was an event which established a rudimentary form of democracy, with each member contributing to the welfare of the community. -
Newspapers are first published in London
First titled newspaper, Corante -
John Milton begans Paradise lost
Is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century
