Renaissance Timeline

  • Birth of Lorenzo de’ Medici
    Jan 1, 1449

    Birth of Lorenzo de’ Medici

    He was the patron of the arts.
  • Gutenberg prints the first Bible
    1455

    Gutenberg prints the first Bible

    It was the first book ever printed (not handwritten) which made writing books easier.
  • Michelangelo sculpts the David
    1501

    Michelangelo sculpts the David

    It is considered to be one of the best and popular sculptures of the world.
  • Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
    1501

    Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa

    It is the most popular, most visited, most written about painting and priceless painting ever
  • Thomas More writes Utopia
    1516

    Thomas More writes Utopia

    It was about a perfect equal world.
  • Martin Luther posts 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church
    1517

    Martin Luther posts 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church

    He hammered a piece of paper to the church door containing 95 revolutionary opinions that began the Protestant Revolution.
  • King Henry VIII begins Protestant Anglican church
    1534

    King Henry VIII begins Protestant Anglican church

    He declared himself to be the supreme head church of England
  • Nicolas Copernicus publishes On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres
    1543

    Nicolas Copernicus publishes On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres

    He was the first to say the Earth orbited around the sun
  • William Shakespeare is born
    1543

    William Shakespeare is born

    Shakespeare is regarded as the best English poet
  • Galileo invents a thermometer

    Galileo invents a thermometer

    The instrument measured the density of liquid changes due to the temperature