Northern Renaissance

The Gutenberg Printing Press

Jan 1, 1440

The Gutenberg Printing Press was invented in 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg. This invention helped to spread words and ideas faster which improved education/knowledge. It also helped better record-keeping and made it easier to copy books, because before this was invented many books were copied by hand. The first thing ever printed on this printing press was a bible, called the Gutenberg Bible.

Timespan

Period: Jan 1, 1440 to Mar 24, 1603

Discovery of the Mouth of the Congo River

Aug 1, 1482

Diogo Cão, a Portuguese explorer, was sent by King John II of Portugal to continue to explore and claim land on the African coast. On this voyage, Cão discovers the mouth of the Congo River sometime during August of 1482. While there he put up a pillar, or Padrão, to show Portuguese dominance over the area.

Malleus Maleficarum

Jan 1, 1486

Malleus Maleficarum is Latin, it means The Hammer of the Witches. It was written by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger in 1486, and was first published in Germany in 1487. Malleus Maleficarum is considered to be the most famous book about witches. It argued that witches were real and explained how to recognize witches as well as how to punish them.

Christopher Columbus' 1st Voyage Begins

Aug 3, 1492

Columbus set sail on August 3, 1492, but was delayed by calm winds. He had thought that the whole voyage would only take 4 weeks, but the weeks past without seeing any land. His crew was tired and wanted to go back to Spain. He struck them a deal on October 10th saying that if they didn't see any land in 3 days then they'd go back. On October 12th, land was sighted. He had discovered the Bahamas. He went on to discover other islands in the West Indies, and on March 4, 1493 he returned to Spain.

95 Theses

Oct 31, 1517

Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Church. The 95 Theses was about Luther's grievances with the church. 3 main parts of it were that people could only reach salvation through faith not deeds, selling indulgences is wrong, and the pope doesn't have any power over the purgatory. Soon after the 95 theses was posted, it was soon copied and spread throughout Europe. This marks the start of the Protestant Revolution.

Diet of Worms

Apr 17, 1521

25 books were laid out in front of Martin Luther. Then he was asked if the books were his and if he would recant them. He answered yes to the first question, the books were his. But for the 2nd question, he asked for time to think about it since it involved his salvation. He was then allowed a day to think about it, and the next day the trail continued. To the 2nd question, he answered that he wouldn't recant them. This then lead to him being called a heretic and escaping to Wartburg Castle.

De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem

Jan 1, 1543

Andreas Vesalius published 'De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem' in Switzerland. The book was also known as 'Fabrica' and is considered to be one of the first modern studies of the human body/the first book on anatomy. The book had drawings of the human body dissected to show what was being explained. Fabrica corrected some of Galen's misconceptions of the body, but not all of them. This book would gain Vesalius fame.

Ars magna

Jan 1, 1545

The Ars magna is also known as the Great Art or the Rules of Algebra. It was written by Girolamo Cardano and is considered to be a basis for algebra. It contains solutions to cubic and quartic equations. It also talked about imaginary numbers/complex numbers as well.

Galileo Galilei

Feb 15, 1564

Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa, Italy on February 15, 1564. He was an astronomer, physicist, mathematician, as well as an inventor. He advocated the idea that the Earth was not the center of the universe, that the sun was. During his lifetime he invented a telescope and discovered 4 of Jupiter's moons as well as the first to see craters in Earth's moon. He also studied/worked on the pendulum clock among other things. Galileo was called the "Father of Modern Science" by Albert Einstein.

The Death of Elizabeth I

Mar 24, 1603

Queen Elizabeth I died from illness and depression, she was about 70 years old. A big thing that is said to have lead up to her death was the death of Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex. She missed him a lot and slowly began to become uninterested in her life. By March 1603, it was very clear that she was ill and depressed. She went to stay at Richmond Palace and wouldn't see any doctors. As the days past, she got sicker, and then on March 24, 1603 she passed away.