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1485
Richards III is killed in battle
He was King of England his death was 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 reached the Americans
Columbus sighted Cuba, which he thought was mainland China, and in December the expedition landed on Hispaniola, which Columbus thought might be Japan. He established a small colony there with 39 of his men. -
1503
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
It is half-length portrait painting 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. -
1516
Thomas More's Utopia is published
Utopia is a work of fiction and socio-political satire. 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. -
1543
With the Supremacy Act, Henry VIII proclaims himslef head of church of England
It confirmed the King's status as having supremacy over the church and required the nobility to swear an oath recognizing Henry's supremacy. 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 succeeded her half-sister to the throne and set out to rule by good counsel.[2] She depended heavily on a group of trusted advisers, led by William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley. One of her first actions as queen was the establishment of an English Protestant church, of which she became the Supreme Governor. This Elizabethan Religious Settlement was to evolve into the Church of England. -
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". His extant works, including collaborations, consist of approximately 39 plays,154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses. -
Globe Theatre is built in London
The Globe Theatre was a theatre 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 dramatizing 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.
It was located on the east bank of the Powhatan River about 2.5 mi southwest of the center of modern Williamsburg selected for its deep water anchorage and good defensive position. William Kelso writes that Jamestown "is where the British Empire began".It was established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" -
Shakespeare's sonnets are published
154 sonnets that were first published all together in a quarto. Plus there are six additional sonnets that Shakespeare wrote and included in the plays Romeo and Juliet, Henry V and Love's -
King James Bible is published
It is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, begun in 1604. The books of the King James Version include the 39 books of the Old Testament, an intertestamental section containing 14 books of the Apocrypha, 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. Since they were not landing within the jurisdiction of the Virginia Company, they had no charter to govern them. So the Pilgrims decided that they would rule themselves. -
Newspapers are first published in London
First titled newspaper, Corante. -
John Milton begins Paradise Lost
It is an epic poem in blank verse concerning the biblical story of the Fall of Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Milton's purpose, stated in Book I, is to "justify the ways of God to men". -
Puritan Commonwealth ends; monarchy is resotred with Charles II
The bishops were restored to Parliament, which established a strict Anglican orthodoxy. It was marked by an expansion in colonial trade, the Anglo-Dutch Wars, and a revival of drama and literature.
