The History of English By JoelRamos Period: 450 to 480 Earliest Old English inscriptions 792 Viking raids of Britain begin 800 Old English epic poem “Beowulf” composed 1100 London becomes de facto capital of England 1167 Oxford University established 1209 Cambridge University established 1500 Start of English Renaissance 1590 William Shakespeare writes his first plays 1622 Publication of the first English-language newspaper, the “Courante” or “Weekly News” 1788 First publication of “The Times” newspaper in London 1922 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) founded 1928 First edition of the “Oxford English Dictionary” is published 1954 Sir Ernest Gowers’ “The Complete Plain Words” published 1989 Second edition of the “Oxford English Dictionary” is published