History of the English Language

By Stanlee
  • 597

    St. Augustine

    The arrival of St. Augustine and the introduction of Christianity into Saxon England brought more Latin words into the English language.
  • Period: 750 to 1000

    Beowulf's Writings

    Written in England some time between the 8th and the early 11th century.
  • Viking Invasion
    878

    Viking Invasion

    Around 878 Danes and Norsemen, also called Vikings, invaded Britain and the English got many Norse words added into the language.
  • 1066

    Norman Invasion

    William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy invaded and conquered New England, beginning the start of the language Middle English.
  • Period: 1337 to 1453

    The Hundred Years War

    During this war, Europe was also enduring the Black Death and that made soldiers more vulnerable to the disease. With the focus on war and politics and disease, this war slowed the growth of the English language.
  • Period: 1346 to 1352

    The Bubonic Plague

    The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that caused the death of 75-200 million people, recorded as the most fatal pandemic in human history.
  • Period: 1387 to 1400

    Chaucer's Canterbury tales

    A collection of 24 stories that runs over 17,000 lines written in English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400
  • Printing Press was Invented
    1450

    Printing Press was Invented

    Goldsmith and inventor Johannes Gutenberg began experimenting with printing in 1440, and by 1450, had a printing machine perfected and ready to use commercially.
  • The discovery of America
    Oct 10, 1492

    The discovery of America

    Christopher Columbus is credited with discovering the Americas in 1492. Americans get a day off work on October 10th to celebrate Columbus Day.
  • Copernicus Discovers Heliocentric Universe
    1543

    Copernicus Discovers Heliocentric Universe

    Nicolaus Copernicus discovers the model of how the sun is the center of the solar system, rather than the Earth.
  • Shakespeare's First Folio

    Shakespeare's First Folio

    The first published collection of Shakespeare's plays, produced seven years after his death.
  • Period: to

    The American Revolution

    This Revolution began with the passage of the Stamp act in 1765 and ended with the United States Bill of Rights in 1791.

  • Louisiana Purchase

    The Louisiana Purchase is when the US bought 828,000 square miles of Frances land. This is important to the US because it makes up 15 of its states today.

  • Expedition of Lewis and Clark

    Lewis and Clark were sent on an expedition by President Jefferson to explore the western territory. This would help with Manifest Destiny.
  • Period: to

    The Civil War

    The Civil War is a war fought between the Union (north) and the Confederate States (south) in the US. It is important to American History, because it resulted in the US being brought back together as one nation.