Renaissance

  • Lorenzo de Medici's birth
    Jan 1, 1449

    Lorenzo de Medici's birth

    Lorenzo de' Medici was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic, who was the most powerful and enthusiastic patron of the Renaissance.
  • Gutenberg prints the first Bible
    1455

    Gutenberg prints the first Bible

    Johann Gutenberg holds the distinction of being the inventor of the movable-type printing press. In 1455, Gutenberg produced what is considered to be the first book ever printed: a Latin language Bible, printed in Mainz, Germany.
  • Michelangelo sculpts the David
    1501

    Michelangelo sculpts the David

    David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504 by Michelangelo. It is a 5.17-metre marble statue of a standing male nude. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a favoured subject in the art of Florence.
  • Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
    1503

    Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa

    The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci that has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung.
  • Thomas More writes Utopia
    1516

    Thomas More writes Utopia

    Sir Thomas More, venerated by Roman Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist.
  • Martin Luther posts 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church
    Oct 31, 1517

    Martin Luther posts 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church

    Acting on this belief, he wrote the “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,” also known as “The 95 Theses,” a list of questions and propositions for debate. Popular legend has it that on October 31, 1517 Luther defiantly nailed a copy of his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church.
  • King Henry VIII begins Protestant Anglican church
    1534

    King Henry VIII begins Protestant Anglican church

    However, in 1534 King Henry VIII declared himself to be supreme head of the Church of England. ... As a result of this schism, many non-Anglicans consider that the Church of England only existed from the 16th century Protestant Reformation.
  • Nicolaus Copernicus publishes On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres
    1543

    Nicolaus Copernicus publishes On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres

    De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the revolutions of the heavenly spheres), written by Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) and published just before his death, placed the sun at the center of the universe and argued that the Earth moved across the heavens as one of the planets.
  • William Shakespeare
    Apr 23, 1564

    William Shakespeare

    William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor, 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"
  • Galileo invents a thermometer

    Galileo invents a thermometer

    Although named after Italian physicist Galileo Galilei, the thermometer described in this article was not invented by him. Galileo did invent a thermometer, called Galileo's air thermometer (more accurately termed a thermoscope), in or before 1603.