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1485
Richard III is killed in battle
Richard III was King of England from 1483 until his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat at Bosworth Field, the last decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses, marked the end of the Middle Ages in England. He is the protagonist of Richard III, one of William Shakespeare's history plays. -
1492
Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas
On August 3, 1492, Columbus and his crew set sail from Spain in three ships: the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. On October 12, the ships made landfall—not in Asia, as Columbus assumed, but on one of the Bahamian islands. -
1503
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, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world".The Mona Lisa is also one of the most valuable paintings in the world.
The painting is thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo. -
1516
Thomas More's Utopia is published
Utopia is a work of fiction and socio-political satire by Thomas More (1478–1535). 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. -
1534
With the Supremacy Act, Henry VIII proclaims himself head of church of England
The Supreme Head of the Church of England was a title created for King Henry VIII of England. The Act of Supremacy of 1534 confirmed the King's status as having supremacy over the church and required the nobility to swear an oath recognizing Henry's supremacy. 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. -
1558
Elizabeth I becomes queen of England
Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death on 24 March 1603. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth 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. -
1564
William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is born
William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as both 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 build in London
The Globe Theatre was built by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend and grandson Sir Matthew Brend, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613. -
Period: to
Shakespeare writes King Lear and Macbeth
King Lear is a tragedy depicting 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 dramatising 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 founding of Jamestown, America's first permanent English colony, in Virginia in 1607 – 13 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in Massachusetts – sparked a series of cultural encounters that helped shape the nation and the world. -
Shakespeare's sonnets are published
Shakespeare's sonnets are poems that William Shakespeare wrote on a variety of themes. When discussing or referring to Shakespeare’s sonnets, it is almost always a reference to the 154 sonnets that were first published all together in a quarto -
King James Bible is published
It is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England. The books of the King James Version include the 39 books of the Old Testament, and the 27 books of the New Testament. -
The Mayflower lands at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts
The Pilgrims were originally bound for Virginia to live north of Jamestown under the same charter granted to citizens of Jamestown. 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 first published in London
William Caxton had introduced the first English printing press in 1476 and, by the early 16th century, the first 'news papers' were seen in Britain. They were, however, slow to evolve, with the largely illiterate population relying on town criers for news.The first regular English daily newspaper, the Daily Courant, was launched with the reign of Queen Anne in 1702. -
John Milton begins Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse. The first version, published in 1667, consisted of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674, arranged into twelve books with minor revisions throughout and a note on the versification. 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. -
Puritan Commonwealth ends; monarchy is restored with Charles II
Restoration of the monarchy in England in 1660. It marked the return of Charles II as king following the period of Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth. The bishops were restored to Parliament, which established a strict Anglican orthodoxy.
