-
1347
Black Death Hits Europe
The Black Death arrived in Caffa and Messina, Sicily, Italy in the year 1347. It killed ⅓ - ⅔ of Europe’s population, or around 70-200 million. With all the dead people, especially Christians, some moved away from the Church and some moved closer to it. Also, Feudalism fell. This allowed the serfs to move up in class, and the social hierarchy was weak. With people moving away from the Church, more people shifted their view to science. -
1440
Johannes Gutenberg Invents the Printing Press
When Gutenberg invented the printing press, he revolutionized Europe. In 1440, Gutenberg invented not only the printing press, but movable type. This allowed many books to be printed easily, where before, it would take months to finish a book. This in a way closed a gap that existed in 1440, the knowledge gap, just as the engine closed the power gap and the internet closed the distance gap, this allowed for people of all races to share knowledge. -
1492
Christopher Columbus sails to the United States
In 1492, Christopher Columbus, an explorer, sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, thinking he would arrive in India. He was sponsored by King Ferdinand of Spain. Instead, he ended up landing in North America, in specifically the US. He shared his findings with the Spanish, and soon all of Europe heard. A few short years later, thousands of pilgrims traveled to North America to explore and to settle. -
1503
The Mona Lisa is Completed
In 1503, Leonardo Da Vinci completed his most famous piece of art, the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa portrays a beautiful woman with a smile on her face, looking at the viewer. It is not known who this woman is though. Today, the Mona Lisa, although extremely small, sits in Le Louvre Museum in Paris. -
1504
The David is Completed
In 1504, Michelangelo finished creating one of his most spectacular works of art, The David. The David was a marble sculpture that pictured an ideal man. It is truly beautiful. The David stands around 17 ft tall, which made it the first giant Renaissance nude statue. -
1517
Luther Posts his 95 Theses
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the Church door in Wittenberg. He was then called to the Diet of Worms to have a trial. Ultimately, this lead to a revolt against the ways of the Church and created a new branch of Christianity. This allowed people to follow their own set of beliefs based on the Bible, and not just what the Church told them. People realized that they decided their own fate. -
1534
Jacques Cartier Claimed Canada for France
In 1534, Jacques Cartier sailed the Atlantic and claimed Canada for France when he arrived. He was a Breton explorer and sailed with 61 men. He was also the first to map the gulf of St. Lawrence. He eventually named Canada after the Huron word “Kanata,” meaning “settlement.” Jacques Cartier is one of the main reasons that even today, Canada has a French-speaking region. -
Galileo Invents the Telescope
In 1609, Galileo invented the first telescope which allowed magnification of objects by X20. This allowed for scientists to view the universe more closely and lead to viewing celestial bodies more closely. With this, people understood that we revolve around the Sun, the moon is not a perfect sphere, and that we are not the only planet to have moons. This opened up a greater understanding of how the universe works, and allowed further insight into astronomy. -
Shakespeare Opens the Globe Theater
The Globe Theater, the very theater that William Shakespeare performed most of his plays, opened in 1614. This theater is in the shape of a circle, so everyone can see the stage. This was the first actual theater that Shakespeare owned, and it gave him his chance to exhibit his talent through his plays. -
Newton Presents his Three Laws of Motion
In 1686, Sir Isaac Newton presented his three laws of motion. The first is that an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. The second is that force can be represented by mass times acceleration, and the last one is that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. These laws were the base of everything we do today with physics and motion. They are fundamental and we wouldn’t be where we are without them
