The Renaissance

By kody_weymouth
  • Aug 22, 1485

    Richard III is killed in battle

    Richard III was King of England from 1483 until his death in 1485, in the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York. His defeat at Bosworth Field marked the end of the Middle Ages in England.
  • Jan 1, 1492

    Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas

    Columbus led his three ships - the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, out of the Spanish port of Palos on August 3, 1492. His objective was to sail west until he reached Asia where the riches of gold, pearls and spice awaited. His first stop was the Canary Islands.
  • Jan 1, 1503

    Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa

    The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait of a woman by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, which has been acclaimed as "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

    Utopia is a work of fiction and political philosophy 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.
  • Jan 25, 1543

    With the Supremacy Act, Henry VIII proclaims himself head of Church of England

    responsible for the English Catholic church breaking away from the authority of the Roman Catholic Church after the Pope excommunicated Henry in 1533 over his divorce from Catherine of Aragon. By 1536, Henry had broken with Rome, seized the church's assets in England and declared the Church of England as the established church with himself as its head.
  • Nov 17, 1558

    Elizabeth I becomes queen of England

    Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, the childless Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty.
  • Apr 23, 1564

    William Shakespeare, the bard of Avon, is born

    William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet, and the "Bard of Avon".

  • Globe Theatre is built in London

    The original Globe was an Elizabethan theatre which opened in Autumn 1599 in Southwark, on the south bank of the Thames, in an area now known as Bankside. It was one of several major theatres that were located in the area, the others being the Swan, the Rose and The Hope. The Globe was the principal playhouse of the Lord Chamberlain's Men (who would become the King's Men in 1603). Most of Shakespeare's post-1599 plays were staged at the Globe, including Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear

  • Shakespeare writes King Lear

    King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It depicts the gradual descent into madness of the title character, after he disposes of his kingdom giving bequests to two of his three daughters based on their flattery of him, bringing tragic consequences for all.

  • Shakespeare writes Macbeth

    Macbeth is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. Set mainly in Scotland, the play 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 at Jamestown, Virginia

    The Jamestown settlement in the colony of Virginia was the first permanent Enlgish settlement in the Americas. Established by the Virginia company of London as "James Fort".

  • Shakespeare's sonnets are published

    Shakespeare's Sonnets 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. It was first published in a 1609.

  • King James Bible is published

    First printed by the King's Printer Robert Barker, this was the third translation into English to be approved by the English Church authorities.

  • The Mayflower lands at Plymout Rock, Massachusetts

    In the landmark Mayflower Compact of 1620, the Pilgrims decided that they would rule themselves, based on majority rule of the townsmen. This independent attitude set up a tradition of self-rule that would later lead to town meetings and elected legislatures in New England.

  • Newspapers are first published in London

    During the 17th century, there were many kinds of publications that told both news and rumours. Among these were pamphlets, posters, ballads etc. Even when the news periodicals emerged, many of these co-existed with them. A news periodical differs from these mainly because of its periodicity. The definition for 17th century newsbooks and newspapers is that they are published at least once a week. Johann Carolus' Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien, published in Strassburg.

  • John Milton begins Paradise Lost

    Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. The first version, published in 1667, consisted of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse.

  • Puritan Commonwealth ends; monarchy is restored with Charles II

    The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The term Restoration is used to describe both the actual event by which the monarchy was restored, and the period of several years afterwards in which a new political settlement was established.