Literary Events

  • 1516 Thomas More's Utopia is published

    1516 Thomas More's Utopia is published
    The book is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious, social and political customs. Many aspects of More's description of Utopia are reminiscent of life in monasteries.
  • 1564 William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is born.

    1564 William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is born.
    Though no birth records exist, church records indicate that a William Shakespeare was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564. From this, it is believed he was born on or near April 23, 1564, and this is the date scholars acknowledge as William Shakespeare's birthday.Jul 5, 2016
  • 1599 Globe Theatre is built in London

    1599 Globe Theatre is built in London
    The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend and grandson Sir Matthew Brend, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613.
  • 1605-1606 Shakespeare writes King Lar and Macbeth

    1605-1606 Shakespeare writes King Lar and Macbeth
    Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake.
  • 1609 Shakespeare sonnests are published

    1609 Shakespeare sonnests are published
    Shakespeare's Sonnets is the title of a collection of 154 sonnets by William Shakespeare, which covers themes such as the passage of time, love, beauty and mortality. ... The sonnets were first published in a 1609 quarto with the full stylised title: SHAKE-SPEARES SONNETS. Never before Imprinted.
  • 1611 King James Bible is published

    1611 King James Bible is published
    The King James Version (KJV), also known as the Authorized Version (AV) or the King James Bible (KJB), is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England begun in 1604 and completed in 1611.
  • 1621 Newspapers are first published in London

    1621 Newspapers are first published in London
    In 1621 the newspaper "Corante" is published in London.was published by the printer Nathaniel ButterOffsite Link in London. The earliest of the seven surviving copies is dated September 24, 1621, but it is thought that this single page news sheet began publication earlier in 1621.
  • c. 1658 John Milton begins Paradise Lost

    c. 1658 John Milton begins Paradise Lost
    Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consisted of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674, arranged into twelve books (in the manner of Virgil's Aeneid) with minor revisions throughout and a note on the versification
  • 1485 Richard The Third is Killed in battle

    1485 Richard The Third is Killed in battle
    Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 1483 until his death in 1485, at the age of 32, in the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty
  • c. 1503 Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa

    c. 1503 Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
    ona Lisa, oil painting on a poplar wood panel by the Italian painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer Leonardo da Vinci, probably the world’s most-famous painting. It was painted sometime between 1503 and 1519, when Leonardo was living in Florence, and it now hangs in the Louvre, in Paris, where it remains an object of pilgrimage in the 21st century. The poplar panel shows evidence of warping and was stabilized in 1951 with the addition of an oak frame and in 1970
  • c. 1543 With the supremancy Act, Henry VIII proclaims himself head of church of England

    c. 1543 With the supremancy Act, Henry VIII proclaims himself head of church of England
    The Acts of Supremacy are two acts of the Parliament of England passed in 1534 and 1559 which established King Henry VIII of England and subsequent monarchs as the supreme head of the Church of England. Prior to 1534, the supreme head of the English Church was the Pope of the ... VIII c. 1) by the Parliament of England.
  • 1558 Elizabeth I becomes queen of England

    1558 Elizabeth I becomes queen of England
    Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, the childless Elizabeth was the last monarch of the Tudor dynasty.
  • 1607 First permanet English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia

    1607 First permanet English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia
    William Kelso writes that Jamestown "is where the British Empire began ... this was the first colony in the British Empire." Jamestown was established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 4, 1607 (O.S., May 14, 1607 N.S.), and was sconsidered permanent after brief abandonment in 1610.
  • 1620 The Mayflower lands at Phymouth Rock, Massachustetts

    1620 The Mayflower lands at Phymouth Rock, Massachustetts
    Plymouth Rock is the traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620. It is an important symbol in American history. There are no contemporaneous references to the Pilgrims' landing on a rock
  • 1660 Purtian Commonwealth ends: monarchy is restored with Charles II

    1660 Purtian Commonwealth ends: monarchy is restored with Charles II
    Restoration, Restoration of the monarchy in England in 1660. It marked the return of Charles II as king (1660–85) following the period of Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth. The bishops were restored to Parliament, which established a strict Anglican orthodoxy.
  • 1492 Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas

    1492 Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas