The Renaissance

By madison.gray12
  • Feb 1, 1445

    Gutenberg prints the first Bible

    Gutenberg prints the first Bible
    The Gutenberg Bible is the first substantial book printed in the West with moveable metal type. Before its printing in 1454 or 1455, books were either copied by hand or printed from engraved wooden blocks—processes that could take months or years to complete.
  • Jan 1, 1449

    Birth of Lorenzo de' Medici

    Birth of Lorenzo de' Medici
    Lorenzo de' Medici was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic, who was the most powerful and enthusiastic patron of the Renaissance
  • Jun 3, 1501

    Michelangelo sculpts the David

    Michelangelo sculpts the David
    Michelangelo, David, 1501-1504, marble
    David is one of Michelangelo’s most-recognizable works, and has become one of the most recognizable statues in the entire world of art.
  • Dec 3, 1504

    Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa

    Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
    The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci that has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about
  • Oct 31, 1517

    Martin Luther posts 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church

    Martin Luther posts 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church
    Acting on this belief, he wrote the “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,” also known as “The 95 Theses,” a list of questions and propositions for debate. Popular legend has it that on October 31, 1517 Luther defiantly nailed a copy of his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church.
  • Jul 6, 1537

    Thomas More writes Utopia

    Thomas More writes Utopia
    Sir Thomas More, venerated by Roman Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist
  • Mar 26, 1547

    King Henry VIII begins Protestant Anglican church

    King Henry VIII begins Protestant Anglican church
    However, in 1534 King Henry VIII declared himself to be supreme head of the Church of England. ... As a result of this schism, many non-Anglicans consider that the Church of England only existed from the 16th century Protestant Reformation.
  • Aug 12, 1564

    Galileo invents a thermometer

    Galileo invents a thermometer
    Although named after Italian physicist Galileo Galilei, the thermometer described in this article was not invented by him. Galileo did invent a thermometer, called Galileo's air thermometer (more accurately termed a thermoscope), in or before 1603.

  • William Shakespeare is born

    William Shakespeare is born
    According to tradition, the great English dramatist and poet William Shakespeare is born in Stratford-on-Avon on April 23, 1564. It is impossible to be certain the exact day on which 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. Shakespeare’s date of death is conclusively known, however: it was April 23, 1616. He was 52 years old and had retired to Stratford three years before.

  • Nicolas Copernicus publishes On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres

    Nicolas Copernicus publishes On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres
    De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the revolutions of the heavenly spheres), written by Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) and 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.