-
Jan 1, 1449
Birth of Lorenzo de’ Medici
Lorenzo de' Medici was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance. Known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (Lorenzo il Magnifico) by contemporary Florentines, he was a diplomat, politician and patron of scholars, artists, and poets. -
Dec 2, 1455
Gutenberg prints the first Bible
The Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42) was the first major book printed with movable type in the West. -
Nov 22, 1460
Vasco da Gama sails to India
Vasco da Gama (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvaʃku ðɐ ˈɣɐmɐ]) (c. 1460 or 1469 – 24 December 1524), 1st Count of Vidigueira, was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. -
Jul 2, 1478
Spanish Inquisition is introduced
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition (Spanish: Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition (Inquisición española), was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. -
Aug 3, 1492
Columbus discovers the new world
Columbus led his three ships - the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria - out of the Spanish port of Palos on August 3, 1492. His objective was to sail west until he reached Asia (the Indies) where the riches of gold, pearls and spice awaited. His first stop was the Canary Islands where the lack of wind left his expedition becalmed until September 6. -
Sep 8, 1504
Michelangelo sculpts the David
David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504, by the Italian artist Michelangelo. It is a 5.17-metre (17.0 ft)[1] marble statue of a standing male nude. -
Jan 3, 1513
Niccolo Machiavelli writes The Prince
In 1513 Machiavelli wrote his best-known work, Il Principe ( The Prince ) -
Jan 3, 1516
Thomas More writes Utopia
More coined the word "utopia" – a name he gave to the ideal and imaginary island nation, the political system of which he described in Utopia, published in 1516. -
May 2, 1517
Martin Luther posts 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church
On this day in 1517, the priest and scholar Martin Luther approaches the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, and nails a piece of paper to it containing the 95 revolutionary opinions that would begin the Protestant Reformation. -
Jan 2, 1519
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
-
Jan 2, 1520
Rapheal paints the Transfiguration
The Transfiguration is considered the last painting by the Italian High Renaissance master Raphael. It was left unfinished by Raphael, and is believed to have been completed by his pupil, Giulio Romano, shortly after Raphael's death in 1520. -
Jan 3, 1529
King Henry VIII begins Protestant Anglican church
The English Reformation was a series of events in 16th century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. -
Jan 3, 1534
Founding of the Society of Jesus by Ignatius of Loyola
The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu, S.J., SJ or SI) is a Christian male religious order of the Roman Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits and are also known colloquially as "God's Marines" -
Jan 3, 1536
John Calvin publishes Institutes of the Christian Religion
The Institutes of the Christian Religion (Institutio Christianae religionis) is John Calvin's seminal work on Protestant systematic theology. Highly influential in the Western world[1] and still widely read by theological students today, it was published in Latin in 1536 (at the same time as the English King Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries) and in his native French in 1541, with the definitive editions appearing in 1559 (Latin) and in 1560 (French). -
Jan 2, 1543
Nicolaus Copernicus publishes On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres
De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) is the seminal work on the heliocentric theory of the Renaissance astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. -
Nov 17, 1558
Elizabeth I begins rule in England
Elizabeth I (known simply as "Elizabeth" until the accession of Elizabeth II; 7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. -
Apr 23, 1564
William Shakespeare is born
William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 (baptised) – 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". -
King Philip II of Spain assembles the Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada (Spanish: Grande y Felicísima Armada or Armada Invencible, literally "Great and Most Fortunate Navy" or "Invincible Fleet") was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England and putting an end to her involvement in the Spanish Netherlands and in privateering in the Atlantic and Pacific. -
Galileo invents a thermometer
A Galileo thermometer (or Galilean thermometer) is a thermometer made of a sealed glass cylinder containing a clear liquid and several glass vessels of varying densities. As temperature changes, the individual floats rise or fall proportion to their respective density. -
Sir Walter Raleigh tries to establish Roanoke (present day North Carolina)
In 1819, Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618), English adventurer to the new world, writer, & favorite courtier of Queen Elizabeth I, is beheaded in London, under a sentence brought against him 15 years earlier for conspiracy against King James I.
