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The Black Death was a fatal plague that swept through Europe and was passed along by fleas on rats. 75-200 million people died, this was about 50-60% of the population. It took 200 years to repopulate Europe to "pre-plague status."
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Linear perspective revolutionized art. It allowed art to have depth and appear to be in 3D.
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Johannes Gutenberg was the inventor of the printing press. The first book published on the printing press was the Bible in German.
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The last quarter of the 16th century witnessed an explosion of important sailing discoveries in the Age of Exploration. Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, Columbus reached the Bahamas in 1492, and Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498.
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Martin Luther was a catholic monk but had issues of the faith tied to salvation. He wrote the 95 thesis and started Lutheranism, which was the first protestant religion.
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Columbus sails west to get to Asia and it isn’t until later that they realize what he found wasn’t Asia. Although there were already natives there, Columbus is credited with “discovering” the new world.
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Forced into painting by the Pope, Michelangelo painted 9 scenes from the old testament onto the ceiling and walls of the Sistine Chapel. The paintings immediately become controversial and are said to be too pornographic for a church house.
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He was an English playwright. His works influenced the arts and people of his time. His plays that he wrote all the way back then are still preformed to this day.
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Hans Lippershey, credited with invention of the telescope. The first person to apply for a patent for a telescope was a Dutch eyeglass maker named Hans Lippershey (or Lipperhey). In 1608, Lippershey laid claim to a device that could magnify objects three times. This led to advancements in astronomy and of the planets around us.