-
Michelangelo begins work on the Modonna and Child sculpture.
-
Leonardo Da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa.
-
Christopher Colombus dies in Spain.
-
Michelangelo paints the Sistine Chapel.
-
Henry VIII assumes the throne of England.
-
Martin Luther posts the 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenburg Church.
-
Charles V becomes Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
-
Ferdinand Magellan leaves Spain to begin the first circumnavigation of the world.
-
Martin Luther refuses to recant his critique of the Catholic Church and Charles V declares him a heretic.
-
Niccolò Machiavelli dies in Italy.
-
The first printed version of The Prince is published five years after the author's, Machiavelli's, death.
-
England splits from Roman Catholic Church; Henry VIII confiscates church property and establishes Church of England.
-
Sir Thomas More, an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist, is executed.
-
Ann Boleyn, married to Henry VIII, is executed after failing to produce a male heir.
-
Nicolaus Copernicus publishes his book on the heleocentric theory shortly before his death on May 24, 1543.
-
Edward VI ascends the throne, but dies after 6 years and 159 days.
-
Mary I becomes Queen of England.
-
Mary I, a catholic, persecutes hundreds of protestants during her reign.
-
It officially ended the religious struggle between Lutherans and the Holy Roman Catholic Church.
-
Elizabeth I becomes Queen of England.
-
St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre begins in France; Thousands of Calvinist Huguenots killed throughout France.
-
English attempt to establish colony on Roanoke Island; All colonists disappear.
-
Mary, Queen of Scots, is executed.
-
Spanish Armada defeated by English fleet; Spanish invasion of England fails due to battle and weather.
