-
1485
Richard III is killed in battle
Richard III was King of England until his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat at Bosworth Field, the last decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses, marked the end of the Middle Ages in England -
1492
Christopher Columbus reaches America
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer, navigator, and colonist who completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. He led the first European expeditions to the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, initiating the permanent European colonization of the Americas. While what he thought he had discovered was a route to the Far East, he is credited with the opening of the Americas for conquest and settlement by Europeans. -
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 about, the most parodied work of art in the world". The Mona Lisa is also one of the most valuable paintings in the world. -
1516
Thomas More's Utopia is published
Utopia is a work of fiction and socio-political satire 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. Many aspects of More's description of Utopia are reminiscent of life in monasteries. -
1534
With the Supremacy Act, Henry VII 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. Prior to 1534, the supreme head of the English Church was the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. -
1558
Elizabeth I becomes queen of England
Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death on 24 March 1603. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the last of the five monarchs of the House of Tudor. Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. -
1564
William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is born
William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as both 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". Some of his works, include 39 plays and 154 sonnets. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. -
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 inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend and grandson Sir Matthew Brend, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613. -
Period: to
Shakespeare writes King Lear and Macbeth
Macbeth and King Lear are tragedies by William Shakespeare. It dramatizes the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. King Lear depicts the gradual descent into madness of the title character, after he disposes of his kingdom by giving bequests to two of his three daughters egged on by their continual flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. -
First permanent English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia
It was established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" and was considered permanent after brief abandonment in 1610. It followed several failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke, established in 1585 on Roanoke Island. Jamestown served as the capital of the colony of Virginia for 83 years, from 1616 until 1699. -
Shakespeare's sonnets are published
Shakespeare's sonnets are poems that William Shakespeare wrote on a variety of themes. When discussing or referring to Shakespeare’s sonnets, it is almost always a reference to the 154 sonnets that were first published all together. However there are six additional sonnets that Shakespeare wrote and included in the plays Romeo and Juliet, Henry V and Love's Labour's Lost. -
King James Bible is published
The King James Bible is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England. The books of the King James Version include the 39 books of the Old Testament, an intertestamental section containing 14 books of the Apocrypha, and the 27 books of the New Testament. -
The Mayflower lands at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts
The Mayflower was an English ship that famously transported the first English Puritans from Plymouth, England, to the New World in 1620. The ship has become a cultural icon in the history of the United States. There was a second ship named Mayflower, which made the London to Plymouth, Massachusetts, voyage several times. -
Newspapers are first published in London
Britain's press can trace its history back more than 300 years, to the time of William of Orange. Berrow's Worcester Journal, is believed to be the oldest surviving English newspaper. William Caxton had introduced the first English printing press in 1476 and, by the early 16th century, the first 'news papers' were seen in Britain. The first regular English daily newspaper, the Daily Courant, was launched with the reign of Queen Anne in 1702. -
John Milton begins Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. The first version, consisted of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition was arranged into twelve books. The poem concerns the biblical story of the Fall of Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Milton's purpose was to "justify the ways of God to men". -
Puritan Commonwealth ends; monarchy is restored with Charles II
The Commonwealth was the period when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were ruled as a republic following the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execution of Charles I. The republic's existence was declared through "An Act declaring England to be a Commonwealth". During the period, fighting continued, between the parliamentary forces and those opposed to them, as part of what is now referred to as the Third English Civil War.
