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Jan 1, 1440
Printing Press
The printing press was invented in 1440 by a man named Johannes Gutenberg. The printing press allowed for mass printings and copies of any written texts. It made life easier because people no longer had to hand copy everything -
Jan 1, 1517
Martin Luther speaks out
After having heard about the church selling indulgences, Martin Luther created the Ninety-five theses and posted them on the door of the catholic church. This encouraged people to speak against high power, leading into the Age of Reason -
Nov 7, 1543
Scientific Revolution
The Scientific Revolution began in 1543 and ended in 1600. It was a leading even to the Age of Reason. The Revolution was about the way people percieve the world, nature, and man's thought proccess. It was a philosophical revolution that led to the Age of Reason. -
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was born in 1688 in London. He was only 4'6" and suffered from headaches due to him having tuberculosis as a child. He was a poet that wrote satire pieces. One of his most popular writings was Homer's Iliad. This was influential to people at this time because it went against the government at the time and showed how violence was ridiculous and unnecessary. -
Montesquieu
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Deism
Deism wasn't exactly an event, but more of an idea. It is the idea that God put the universe in motion, and left it to run on its own. He wouldn't interfere in any natural or human matters. Newton created this idea and spread it among many people. It wasn't accepted, but frequently thought about. -
Ben Franklin
In 1706, Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston. He was pulled out of school when he was eleven to help his father with candle making. As he grew older, he had a total of seventeen children. He was not only a philosopher, but also a scientist, inventor, statesman, printer, philosopher, musician, and an economist. He was influential to people during the Age of Reason because of his scientific discoveries. -
Denis Diderot
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Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine, born in 1737. He failed out of school when he was only twelve years old. After many failures and being fired may times, he eventually became a journalist, in which he wrote a popular piece of work, "Common Sense." It was an influential piece because it spoke against authority in Britian and monarchy at the time. -
Candide
Candide was a story written in 1758 by Voltaire. It was a satire novel that made fun of optimism. Through both events and different characters in the story, Voltaire argues that optimistic people end up in bad situations, and with the worst of luck. This is influential to the Age of Reason because people at this time questioned themselves as to why people should be optimistic. -
French Revolution
In 1787, French citizens redesigned the government and created monarchy and the feudal system. The French people speaking out and doing something about the things they didn't believe in was a prominent idea and was very influential on this time period, -
Voltaire
Voltaire was a philosophical writer born in 1694. During the age of reason, he influenced the French and American Revolutions, He was among the top most influential writers of the time because he believed in freedom of religion, trade, civil liberties, and social reform
