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Aug 22, 1485
Richard III is killed in battle
Richard III was King of England from 1483 until his death 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. -
Nov 10, 1485
Richard III is killed in battle
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Oct 12, 1492
Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas
Columbus led his three ships - the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria - out of the Spanish port of Palos. His objective was to sail west until he reached Asia where the riches of gold, pearls and spice awaited. -
Nov 10, 1503
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
Leonardo da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa in Florence, Italy. Although the Louvre states that it was "doubtless painted between 1503 and 1506", the art historian Martin Kemp says there are some difficulties in confirming the actual dates with certainty. -
Nov 10, 1516
Thomas More’s Utopia is published
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Nov 10, 1516
Thomas More’s Utopia is published
Utopia is a work of fiction and political philosophy by Thomas More published in Latin. 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. -
Nov 10, 1543
With the Supremacy Act, Henry VIII proclaims himself head of Church of England
The Acts of Supremacy are two acts of the Parliament of England which established King Henry VIII of England and subsequent monarchs as the supreme head of the Church of England. -
Apr 10, 1564
William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is born
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Apr 10, 1564
William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is born
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. -
Nov 10, 1564
Globe Theatre is built in London
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Elizabeth I becomes queen of England
Elizabeth I 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. -
Globe Theatre is built in London
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare and was destroyed by fire. -
Shakespeare writes King Lear and Macbeth
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Period: to
Shakespeare writes King Lear and Macbeth
King Lear is a tragedy that depicts the gradual descent into madness of the title character, after he disposes of his kingdom giving bequests to two of his three daughters based on their flattery of him, bringing tragic consequences for all. Macbeth is a tragedy that dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. -
First permanent English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia.
The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. Jamestown was established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 4, 1607 and was considered permanent after brief abandonment in 1610. -
Shakespeare’s sonnets are published
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Shakespeare’s sonnets are published
Shakespeare's Sonnets is the title of a collection of 154 sonnets which covers themes such as the passage of time, love, beauty and mortality. The first 126 sonnets are addressed to a young man; the last 28 to a woman. -
King James Bible is published
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King James Bible is published
The King James Version is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England begun in 1604 and completed in 1611. -
The Mayflower lands at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts
Plymouth Rock is the traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony. The first written reference to Pilgrims landing on a rock is found 121 years after they landed. The rock is traditionally identified as Plymouth Rock, weighing an estimated 20,000 pounds in its original form, has long been memorialized on the shore of Plymouth Harbor in Plymouth, Massachusetts. -
Newspapers are first published in London
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Newspapers are first published in London
The first true newspaper published in Britain was the Oxford Gazette. By the 18th century, many more newspapers were being published - 24 papers in all by the 1720s. The very first daily newspaper, the Daily Courant, was first published in London on March 11, 1702 by Edward Mallet. -
John Milton begins Paradise Lost
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John Milton begins Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse. The first version consisted of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. -
Puritan Commonwealth ends; monarchy is restored with Charles II
King Charles II was the first monarch to rule after the English Restoration. The Restoration of the English monarchy began when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
