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Jan 1, 1485
Richard III is killed in battle
died in the Battle of Bosworth Field. His defeat at Bosworth Field, the last decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses, symbolizes the end of the Middle Ages in England. He is the subject of the play Richard III by William Shakespeare. -
Jan 1, 1492
Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas
His objective was to sail west until he reached Asia where the riches of gold, pearls and spice awaited. Columbus's journal of his first voyage to America has been lost. However, we do have an accurate abstract of the journal written by Bartolome de las Casas, Columbus's biographer who had access to the original journal of the voyage. -
Jan 1, 1503
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
has been acclaimed as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world." It was acquired by King Francis I of France and is now the property of the French Republic, on permanent display at The Louvre museum in Paris since 1797. -
Jan 1, 1516
Thomas More's Utopia is published
Utopia is a work of fiction and political philosophy by Thomas More (1478–1535) published in Latin. The book is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious, social and political customs. -
Jan 1, 1543
With the Supremacy Act, Henry VIII proclaims himself head of Church of England
Henry's struggles with Rome led to the separation of the Church of England from papal authority, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and his own establishment as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. -
Jan 1, 1558
Elizabeth I becomes Queen of England
The daughter of Henry VIII, she was born into the royal succession, but her mother, Anne Boleyn, was executed two and a half years after her birth, with Anne's marriage to Henry VIII being annulled, and Elizabeth hence declared illegitimate. Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister, during whose reign she had been imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels. -
Apr 23, 1564
William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is born
The actual date of Shakespeare's birth is not known, but, traditionally, April 23, St George's Day, has been Shakespeare's accepted birthday, and a house on Henley Street in Stratford, owned by William's father, John, is accepted as Shakespeare's birth place. -
Globe Theatre is built in London
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend, and was destroyed by fire in 1613. A second Globe Theatre was built on the same site by June 1614 and closed in 1642. -
Shakespeare writes King Lear and Macbeth
King Lear is a tragedy. The title character descends into madness after disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman Celtic king. Macbeth is also a tragedy, and is considered to be one of his darkest and most powerful tragedies. The play dramatizes the corrosive psychological and political effects produced when evil is chosen. -
First permanent English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia
Named for King James I of England, Jamestown was founded in the Colony of Virginia. Late in the 19th century, Jamestown became the focus of renewed historical interest and efforts at preservation. In 1893, a portion of the island was donated to Preservation Virginia for that purpose. -
Shakespeare's sonnets are published
Shakespeare's sonnets are a collection of 154 sonnets, dealing with themes such as the passage of time, love, beauty and mortality, first published in a quarto entitled SHAKE-SPEARES SONNETS. Never before imprinted. -
King James Bible is published
First printed by the King's Printer Robert Barker, this was the third translation into English to be approved by the English Church authorities. The translation was done by 47 scholars, all of whom were members of the Church of England. -
The Mayflower lands at Plymoth Rock, Massachusetts
Plymouth Rock is the traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony. It is an important symbol in American history. The Rock, or one traditionally identified as it, has long been memorialized on the shore of Plymouth Harbor in Plymouth, Massachusetts. -
Newspapers are first published in London
The first newspaper was The Corante, which was translated from a Dutch coranto into English, and carried no news about England. The Corante was printed locally, instead of being a Dutch import. Early issues of the Corante are thought to have appeared as early as the spring of 1621. -
John Milton begins Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse. The first version, published in 1667, consisted of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. The poem concerns the Biblical story of the Fall of Man. Milton's purpose, stated in Book I, is to "justify the ways of God to men". -
Puritan Commonwealth ends; monarchy is restored with Charles II
Charles II issued the Declaration of Breda, in which he made several promises in relation to the reclamation of the crown of England. On 8 May it proclaimed that King Charles II had been the lawful monarch since the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649.
