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1346
The Black Death
The Black Death arrived in Europe by sea in October 1346 when 12 Genoese trading ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina after a long journey through the Black Sea.The people who greeted the ships were greatly surprised to find most of them were dead and the ones who were alive were greatly ill. -
Apr 15, 1452
Birth of Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was a painter, architect, inventor, and student of all things scientific. His natural genius crossed so many disciplines that he epitomized the term “Renaissance man.” Today he remains best known for his art, including two paintings that remain among the world’s most famous and admired, Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. -
Jun 28, 1491
Henry VIII
Henry VIII, (born June 28, 1491, Greenwich, near London, England—died January 28, 1547, London), king of England (1509–47) who presided over the beginnings of the English Renaissance and the English Reformation. His six wives were, successively, Catherine of Aragon (the mother of the future queen Mary I), Anne Boleyn (the mother of the future queen Elizabeth I), Jane Seymour (the mother of Henry’s successor, Edward VI), Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. -
Oct 31, 1517
Start of the Reformation
The Reformation, specifically referred to as the Protestant Reformation, was a schism from the Catholic Church initiated by Martin Luther and continued by John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, and other early Protestant Reformers in 16th-century Europe. It is usually considered to have started with the publication of the Ninety-five Theses by Luther in 1517 and lasted until the end of the Thirty Years' War with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. -
May 2, 1519
Death of Leonardo de Vinci
Leonardo died at Clos Lucé, France, on May 2, 1519. François I had become a close friend. Vasari records that the King held Leonardo's head in his arms as he died, although this story, beloved by the French and portrayed in romantic paintings by Ingres, Ménageot and other French artists, may be legend rather than fact. Vasari also tells us that in his last days, Leonardo sent for a priest to make his confession and to receive the Holy Sacrament. -
May 21, 1527
Philip II of Spain
During Philip's reign there were separate state bankruptcies in 1557, 1560, 1569, 1575, and 1596. This was partly the cause of the declaration of independence that created the Dutch Republic in 1581. A devout Catholic, Philip is also known for organising a naval expedition against Protestant England in 1588, the Spanish Armada, which was unsuccessful, mostly due to storms and serious logistical problems. -
1545
Defending the Catholic Reformation
Such reforms included the foundation of seminaries for the proper training of priests in the spiritual life and the theological traditions of the Church, the reform of religious life by returning orders to their spiritual foundations, and new spiritual movements focusing on the devotional life and a personal relationship with Christ, including the Spanish mystics and the French school of spirituality. -
Charles I
Charles I was the first of our monarchs to be put on trial for treason and it led to his execution. This event is one of the most famous in Stuart England’s history – and one of the most controversial. No law could be found in all England’s history that dealt with the trial of a monarch so the order setting up the court . -
King Louis XIV
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great (Louis le Grand) or the Sun King (le Roi Soleil), was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who reigned as King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. Starting at the age of 5, his reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country in European history. In the age of absolutism in Europe, Louis XIV's France was a leader in the growing centralization of power. -
Peter the great
Peter the Great is credited with dragging Russia out of the medieval times to such an extent that by his death in 1725, Russia was considered a leading eastern European state. He centralised government, modernised the army, created a navy and increased the subjugation and subjection of the peasants. His domestic policy allowed him to execute an aggressive foreign policy. -
Two Treatises on Government
When Shaftesbury failed to reconcile the interests of the king and Parliament, he was dismissed; in 1681 he was arrested, tried, and finally acquitted of treason by a London jury. A year later he fled to Holland, where in 1683 he died. None of Shaftesbury’s known friends was now safe in England. Locke himself, who was being closely watched, crossed to Holland in September 1683. -
The steam engine is invented
In 1712, Thomas Newcomen invented an effective and practical steam engine. The steam engine designed by him consisted of a piston or a cylinder that moved a huge piece of wood to drive the water pump. -
The spinning jenny is invented
The spinning jenny is a multi-spindle spinning frame, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764 by James Hargreaves in Stanhill, Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire in England. -
French Revolution
After bad harvests and costly wars, King Louis XVI is forced to convene this ancient assembly in order to raise taxes. -
Tennis Court Oath
Tennis Court Oath ,French Serment du Jeu de Paume , ( June 20,1789), dramatic act of defiance by representatives of the non-privileged classes of the French nation (the Third Estate) during the meeting of the Estate-General ( traditional assembly) at the beginning of the French Revolution -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
The Declaration of the Rights of Man was one of the most important papers of the French Revolution. This paper explains a list of rights, such as freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and separation of powers.This paper was written using some of the ideas of natural rights, these rights are for all men. -
Reign of Terror
Between June 1793 and the end of July 1794, there were 16,594 official death sentences in France, of which 2,639 were in Paris.[2][4] However, the total number of deaths in France was much higher, owing to death in imprisonment, suicide and casualties in foreign and civil war. -
Convention condemns and executes the King
In November, evidence of Louis XVI’s counterrevolutionary intrigues with Austria and other foreign nations was discovered, and he was put on trial for treason by the National Convention. The next January, Louis was convicted and condemned to death by a narrow majority. On January 21, he walked steadfastly to the guillotine and was executed. Nine months later, Marie Antoinette was convicted of treason by a tribunal, and on October 16 she followed her husband to the guillotine. -
Napoleon Era
Italian Campaign, Napoleon took over the French "Army of Italy", drove the Austrians and Sardinians out of Piedmont, defeated the Papal States, and occupied Venice. This was his major victory. -
German Campaign
Napoleon's army regrouped in German territory, and battled the Coalition successfully in several locations before suffering a decisive defeat in the Battle of the Nations(Leipzig) at the hands of Germany's General Blucher. -
Napoleon abdicated as emperor
Napoleon was sent into exile on the Mediterranean island of Elba. He was given "sovereignty" over the island, and actually had his own navy. -
Escape of Elba
Napoleon escaped from Elba, landing in southern France and marching towards Paris, gathering an army around him as he went. -
Losing support at home
On June 18, Napoleon led his remaining 72,000 troops against the Duke of Wellington’s 68,000-man allied army, which had taken up a strong position 12 miles south of Brussels near the village of Waterloo. In a fatal blunder, Napoleon waited until mid-day to give the command to attack in order to let the ground dry. The delay in fighting gave Blucher’s troops, who had eluded their pursuers, time to march to Waterloo and join the battle by the late afternoon. -
Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone
Alexander Graham Bell, (born March 3, 1847, Edinburgh, Scotland—died August 2, 1922, Beinn Bhreagh, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada), Scottish-born American inventor, scientist, and teacher of the deaf whose foremost accomplishments were the invention of the telephone (1876) and the refinement of the phonograph (1886). -
The Brooklyn Bridge opens
After 13 years of construction, the Brooklyn Bridge opens. It's the first suspension bridge to use steel – rather than iron – cables, and the first bridge across the East River. Today it remains both an important traffic link and an iconic image of New York City. -
Henry Ford creates the Model T.
The first production Model T was produced on August 12, 1908 and left the factory on September 27, 1908, at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit, Michigan. On May 26, 1927, Henry Ford watched the 15 millionth Model T Ford roll off the assembly line at his factory in Highland Park, Michigan.