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1400
Johan Gutenberg
Johan Gutenberg was the first to complete the full edition of the Bible using a printing press with movable type. The printing revolution had started and would revolutionize Europe during 1455. Before the printing press there were limited amounts of books in all of Europe, but by 1500,15 to 20 million volumes were produced. Gutenberg transformed the education world, as the printing press exposed so many Europeans to new ideas. -
1400
Humanism
Humanism was a movement of the Renaissance that focused on education and the classics. One that practiced humanism was known as a "humanist". These humanists practiced and studied the culture of Greece and Rome. The practiced those two cultures to increase their understanding of their own culture and and times. -
1415
Perspective
Perspective was an artist's technique to give their paintings and drawings a three dimensional effect for people to look at. This influenced Renaissance artists to give their work "energy" or "realism". Many of these Renaissance artists practiced perspective compared to what the Medieval artists had done. Leonardo da Vinci used the technique of perspective when making the painting "The Last Supper". -
Jan 1, 1449
Lorenzo de'Medici
Lorenzo de' Medici was a grandson of the Medici family and a patron of the arts. His great wealth from his family transformed Florence. Florence symbolized the brilliance of the Italian Renaissance. Lorenzo was a financial supporter of the arts and invited artists to visit the Medici Palace where they there learned more about the arts. -
1450
Printing Revolution
The printing revolution brought huge changes to society. Printing books were easier than ever, which increased the amount of books that were sold, which lowered the price of them, and therefore more people purchased them. The more that were purchased the more educated that people were during this time. Education then exposed Europeans to new ideas and new places. -
Apr 15, 1452
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, architect, inventor, military engineer and draftsman, the perfect representation of a “Renaissance man” during this time. Leonardo's works hold people with their realism. He is most famous for his paintings, such as the Mona Lisa, and Last Supper. With his inquisitive thoughts and eager abilities Leonardo thrived in everything he accomplished, which influenced other painters making him the leading light of the Italian Renaissance. -
Oct 27, 1466
Erasmus
Erasmus was an important scholar. He wrote texts on a number of subjects and used knowledge of languages to make the Greek edition of the Bible. Erasmus was also a dominant figure of the early humanist movement. He remains one of the early Renaissance controversial figures. -
May 3, 1469
Machiavelli
Machiavelli is known for writing "The Prince", a guide for rulers on how to gain and maintain their power. During this time he looked at rulers with ruthless power politics and then began writing this guide. Today Machiavelli's guide continues to bring up arguments as it raises important ethical questions and about how the government really uses their power. -
May 21, 1471
Albert Durer
Albert Durer was known as "Leo of the North" for extending art to Northern Europe. Albert's important innovation was applying painting techniques to engraving. Many of his engravings portray religious themes, which was one of the renaissances themes as well. -
Feb 19, 1473
Copernicus
Copernicus was an astronomer, mathematician, translator, artist, and physicist. He is known for proposing the heliocentric theory, where the sun is is the middle of the solar system and the planets surround it. Many people rejected the theory because it was always known that Earth was the center based on the classical thinkers. -
Mar 6, 1475
Michelangelo
Michelangelo was known as the most famous artist of the Italian Renaissance. He was a painter, sculptor, architect and poet. His works include the famous sculpture "David" another sculpture "The Pieta" and one of his most famous projects was painting huge series of murals to decorate the ceiling on the inside of the Sistine Chapel. These projects again make him as the best-documented artist of the 16th century. -
Feb 7, 1478
Thomas More
Thomas More was a friend of Erasmus, a humanist who pressed for social reform. He described a Utopian society for women and men who would live in peace and harmony. However today and back then the idea of a perfect society is ultimately impractical. -
Apr 6, 1483
Raphael
Raphael younger than Leonardo and Michelangelo was widely known for his artistic talent and most of all "his sweet and gracious nature". He studied many artists before him and then came up with his own unique style of painting. He is famous for his portrayals of the Madonna, and painting the School of Athens which he included the faces of Leonardo and Michelangelo. -
Nov 10, 1483
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was originally headed for the career as a lawyer. He was known as a rebellious kid and at the age of 21 he committed his first act of rebellion by leaving his studies to become a monk. From there he began the Protestant Reformation, becoming one of the most influential and controversial figures in Christian history. He then saw church corruption and worldliness where he wrote the 95 theses about the indulgences as he disagreed that buying your way into heaven was legitimate. -
Jul 2, 1489
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer was appointed archbishop by Henry of the new church. Cranmer discretely annulled the marriage of King Henry and Ann Boleyn because Henry wanted a boy and Ann gave birth to a girl. He helped King Henry rule by helping him with that point in his life. -
Jun 28, 1491
Henry VIII
Henry the VII was the King of England who was known for marrying 6 times trying to have a son that would soon replace him. He played a critical role in the English Reformation, as he soon would turn his country into a Protestant nation. Throughout Henry's time as being as king he didn't have the best of luck with his health and was always getting seriously sick or injured, he died from being seriously obese. -
Jul 10, 1509
John Calvin
As protestant ideas are inspiring violence in England, John Calvin is leading a movement in Switzerland. He was very similar to Luther with his ideas. Calvin made a powerful impact on Protestantism. He was credited as the most important figure in the second generation of the Protestant Reformation. -
1517
Sale of Indulgences
Churches began to sell Indulgences for people to lessen the time for them and their ancestors in purgatory. Many bought them and many others revolted against the church for practicing this and telling the people of the church that its the right thing. John Wycliffe was one who revolted against the church and used sermons and writings to call for change. -
1543
Heliocentric Theory
The Heliocentric Theory is the theory that the sun is at the middle of our solar system. Copernicus came up with this theory. He said that the sun is the center and that Earth and all the other planets revolve around it. -
1545
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was a group of Catholic leaders that met between 1545 and 1563 to respond to Protestant challenges and direct the future of the Catholic Church. This was led by Italian cardinal Carlo Borromeo . The council took steps to end abuses in the Church -
Jan 22, 1561
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon is best known for his advancement of the scientific theory. Francis strove to create new outlines of science and see what other aspects he could find from experimentation and interaction. Unlike other scientists he used those two factors to begin research. -
Feb 15, 1564
Galileo
Galileo was a mathematician, philosopher, physicist and astronomer. He constructed a telescope which he then supported Copernicus's theory that the sun was the center of the solar system, however every time he brought the idea up he was accused of heresy by the church. Galileo studied more into the solar system and created a bigger and better telescope lens where he could see the solar system more clearly and come up with new ideas. He laid the foundation for modern physics and astronomy. -
Apr 26, 1564
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was a huge figure during the Renaissance time. He wrote 37 plays and came up with more than 1,700 words in the dictionary during his time. He spoke a language that could be understood by those during his time, unfortunately today the English language has changed drastically making it very hard to understand his work. -
Scientific Method
The scientific method was a new approach to science based off of observation and experimentation. Francis Bacon went further into science and said that those to aspects should be apart of whats called the Scientific Method. He is credited with coming up with the scientific method and improving science itself. -
Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton formed a theory as to why and how the planets moved like they did. One day he saw an apple falling from a tree and from there wondered if the same force that pulled the apple from the tree might also control the movements of the planets. He then perfected his theory about the forces and called it gravity.
