Timeline: Renaissance Period

Oct 22, 1485

Richard III was killed in battle

Oct 22, 1492

Chirstopher Columbus reaches the Americas

Oct 22, 1503

Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa

Oct 21, 1516

Thomas More's Utopia is published

Utopia describes the travels of one man, Raphael Hythloday, to an undiscovered island that he considers to be the best country on earth.

Oct 22, 1543

With the Supremacy Act, Henry VII proclaims himself head of Church of England

Oct 22, 1558

Elizabeth I becomes queen of England

Oct 21, 1564

William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is born

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.

Oct 21, 1599

Globe Theatre is built in London

The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613. A second Globe Theatre was built on the same site by June 1614 and closed in 1642.

Oct 21, 1605

Shakespeare writes King Lear and Macbeth

King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. 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. Macbeth is considered to be one of the darkest and most powerful tragedies

Oct 22, 1607

First permanent English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia

Oct 22, 1609

Shakespeare's sonnets are published

Oct 22, 1611

King James Bible is published

Oct 22, 1620

The Mayflower lands at Rlymouth Rock, Massachusetts

Oct 22, 1621

Newspapers are first published in London

Oct 22, 1658

John Milton begins Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse.